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1987 - 1996 F150 & Larger F-Series Trucks 1987 - 1996 Ford F-150, F-250, F-350 and larger pickups - including the 1997 heavy-duty F250/F350+ trucks

Distributor wiring?

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Old Nov 8, 2015 | 09:18 PM
  #1  
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From: Olanta, PA
Distributor wiring?

Ok all, I was looking at my relays again todays and decided to pull the entire engine wiring Harness and go over it good and clean up connections. The first thing I noticed is that there is a black ground (to the fender) {87 F150 custom 2wd, w/AC, and 4.9L 300I6} hat had a bare (frayed wire) connected to it. Since bare wire is seldom good (this is the reason I pulled the harness) I started bck tracking to see where t came from and if there was any damage. Basically it just runs with three other wires to the distributor. It is not connected to anything, it is just wrapped (coiled) loosely around the three main distrbutor wires. Is this normal, or is this someones invention? It is connected to a ground, and I know that coiling around an electic current can cause a Magnetic field...But it is literally just a bare wire wrapped arounf the three distibutor wires, Yello Lt. Green, Drk Blue & I believe Blue Orange. I know the dark blue is the IGn Ground. My issue with the EEC elay was I had constant power on what I thought was supposed to be the Ground.... I am thinking this may be part of the problem. Any ideas?
 
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Old Nov 8, 2015 | 10:11 PM
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The TFI wiring needs EMI shielding.
Maybe this is someones attempt
 
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Old Nov 8, 2015 | 10:17 PM
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Does it run if so leave it

I don't know if it's duraspark or fuel injected I recall the duraspark distributors were grounded and the black wire ran to the module to ground it being as it was already grounded on most(?) applications it was less than useful and I believe that's what you're talking about
 
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Old Nov 8, 2015 | 10:40 PM
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The ONLY ground in a DSII system is that black wire inside the distributor.

Being this is EEC-IV the distributor wiring needs needs grounded shielding.
Twisted pair with braided or foil shield grounded at *one end* is best practices.
 
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Old Nov 17, 2015 | 07:25 PM
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Thanks all! I redid the wiring with new shielding to keep it as original as possible. It ran fine that way when I took it apart. I just cleaned up the wire...it was nearly shredded. I will let you know how it goes.
 
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Old Nov 18, 2015 | 08:50 AM
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The bare ground wire for the shield is normal. It is only to be grounded on one end only. If you ground both ends you will have a problem. The Ignition ground point is inside the distributor.
 
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