Let me start by saying I am a chevy guy. Have been all my life. I haven't worked on many Fords so I am not familiar with the ignition system. My buddy got a damn good deal on a 86 f150 4x4 with a good bit of suspension work done with a 5.8 windsor. We had the truck running a few years ago but stopped because the carb was pretty much shot and funds were short. Now he is ready to start back on it. Now to the problem. He recently bought a new distributor, coil, and Ignition Module. I can get fire from the coil but only when the key is first put in the ON position, then nothing while cranking, and it fires one more time when key is released back into the ON position. I have tried going through the wires to maybe find a bad spot but I have found that the original owner has done some color swapping and wire rerouting. I also learned that the truck, according to the VIN, was originally a 4.9L. So I am not sure what harness I can get to replace the old one. One idea I was tossing around, since the truck will be a hunting/work truck, is it possible to just swap a points style distributor from an older v8 into the truck to get it on the road? If so what engine is compatible with the Windsor? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

 

That sounds like power going to the ignition is not connected to the correct wire on the ignition switch. Usually, the ignition switch will turn off most accessories when you turn it to crank. This removes power from all switched circuits. But there should be a terminal on the ignition switch that continues to supply power, to the ignition system, while cranking. You need to power the ignition module from this circuit. For the old points ignition systems, the non-cranking circuit feeds the coil through a resistor, while the "crank-on" circuit is direct, to provide full power to the coil during cranking. I don't remember if this is also the case for electronic ignitions, so you might want to look for any resistance in the circuit.

So you might want to trace the connector to the ignition module back to the ignition switch, to make sure they are correct.

 

I think the Wht wire on the dura spark box is hot while cranking and red is hot on/running. hope this helps