bronco II
i have a 1985 bronco II w/2.8 engine.the former owner replaced stock carb with a holley carb.now my timing will not advance when i press the gas pedel. there are excess wires and connectors that went to the original carb that arent connected to any thing.i am on a very limited budget.thanks for any help with this problem.

 

Welcome to FTE!!!

I'm not familar with the 2.8s but I'm sure someone will be able to help.

 

does your bronco have the tfi module or does it have the vaccuum advance. i'm guessing that it is the tfi. maybe there could be a new chip burned or something

 

I wish I had the information in front of me, but I'm reasonably sure that the 2.8 uses the TFI-IV ignition system. My Haynes manual (I know, it's far from the "final word" on anything, but it's all I've got at the moment) indicates that all BII's except those (if any) equipped with a 2.3 or 2.0 L four banger have the TFI-IV ignition system.
Assuming that is the case, the timing advance is electronically controlled by the ECA. Disconnecting the SPOUT connector disables the ECA's ability to control spark advance. This is an important part of checking the base timing, but needs to be plugged back in in order for the ECA to control timing advance. My gut feel says that the SPOUT didn't get plugged back in. The SPOUT on my '87 is a yellow/green wire with a connector in the middle of it. The connector just receives a shorting bar to complete the SPOUT circuit. See if this shorting bar isn't missing on yours.
Good luck, and let us know how you make out.

 

all right mark heres the low down on your problem. mr shorty is correct about the spout needing to be hooked up to advance the timeing. on the tfi its all eltronic no vacume advance like the older ones. this is bad when changeing carbs. you can fix this though with a little time at the u pull it or the aftermarket. its your choice but if your on a budget u pull it is cheeper and will work just fine. find an earlier 2.8 from a pinto, bobcat, mustang II you know what im saying with vacume advance. like 82 or older. you will need the distributer, the coil, the wireing harness from the distributer to the duraspark control box, the duraspark control box. cut the wires on the firewall side of the duraspark box and retain the plug. also dont forget the cap and rotor. now remove the old stuf from your bronco II, distributer and wireing coil every thing for the computer just about all the wires and hoses under there, you will be doing away with the use of all that crap now. replace parts with what you got from the u pull it. its almost idiot proof. the holes for mounting the durasprak box are on the drivers side fender well mount the coil to the intake like it came off the other 2.8. now look real hard close to the fire wall where all the wires are and there are to plugs that look like the 2 wire power plug on the duraspark box. grab them both. 1 has 2 wires red/lt blue wire and a green wire. the other has four you are concerned with the red/lt blue and the dark blue. cut the green wire its not used and tape it.but leave a couple inches to splice back into. the dark blue wire can be cut and taped also its not used. the 2 red/lt blue wires need to be spliced together. now find the red/lt green wire you cut while removeing the computer harness. you need to use this on the 2 wire plug you removed the green wire from. this will power the duraspark box and the positive side of the coil. this should get you up and going with a better more reliable ingnition system and remove you computer whooooos. and if you want all the parts are readliy available from your local mom and pop autoparts stores if you dont want to use used

 

If you don't have any repair manuals, get yourself the Haynes #36070 Service Manual. It will tell you how to jumper your vehicle's ECC Test Connectors and retrieve the computer Error Codes. It will also tell you what the codes translate to. You can get it at most auto parts supply stores or Amazon.com online. Don't bother with the others (Chiltons and such) I've usually been frustrated with them.

I'm betting your aftermarket Holley either doesn't have the TPS (Throttle Position Sensor) or it is faulty. If the TPS doesn't read correctly during operation, the ECC is forced to revert to a "Default Mode" of operation, which fixes the timing advance at around 10 degrees BTDC.

The EEC uses the TPS to tell it how much 'pedal' is being applied, to respond with the appropriate amount of timing advance. In the old days, it was the vacuum module that performed that function, as it was getting its vacuum from a port that gradually opened to manifold vacuum as the throttle was being opened.

On the Bronco-IIs using the EEC-IV engine control computer (ECC), it's all calculated electronically by monitoring sensors such as the TPS and the EGO (exhaust gas oxygen) sensors, to name a few, to control how much timing advance and fuel pressure to feed to the distributor and carburetor respectively.

One thing I'm noticing that some folks still believe is that going to aftermarket performance parts will 'improve' their vehicle's performance. The reality is that since the Arab Oil Crisis in the 1970's, the public increasingly wanting more fuel-efficient vehicles, forcing ALL auto makers to put the research necessary into getting the maximum performance, and therefore fuel economy, possible from their vehicles' engines.

Emissions also became a critical factor about that time, as areas such as in and around Los Angeles, California were choking in auto-exhaust generated smog. Eventually, in the '80's ALL states were following suit and the Federal government mandated it nationwide. As computer electronics got smaller, more powerful and more reliable, soon they were employed in the regulation of vehicle engines to even further enhance their fuel efficiency and power output.

Now, it's practically impossible to outdo the original designer's without completely redesiging the engine from the block up! Even performance builders such as Calloway will vouch for that.

So, try to get the original Ford carburetor back on and properly connected with all the vacuum and electrical hook-ups and hopefully, the rest hasn't gone bad since it was swapped out, mainly the EGO sensor and the Catalytic Converter system.

And keep us posted on what you find!