Morning all! Im working on my sons F250 5.8L. This truck was bought in rough condition (My Bad). non the less its up to me to fix! Ive got it running in Ok condition. I had 2 bad injectors and ended up replacing them all! Started the motor and have been fighting the motor stalling out after it get to temp. I noticed that the distributer is hot, Alternator is hot and the Neg. cable on the battery is hot! I put a new Alt. on and a new ICM on the distributer. I also put a few Neg. cables on it from the frame to the motor, motor to body and each head to the body thinking that its a grounding issue at this point. Well it does the same thing. When you go to put the truck into gear it will stall out or if you shut it off after it get to temp. It wont start till it cools down and again all three are excessively Hot! Where do I go from here? thanks

 

Running engines get hot. What is your definition of hot?

Do you have an IR temperature gun? When it stalls, is there spark? Fuel? I would not get stuck on this hot path you are on. Although it might be related, it's possible it is not. Focusing on something that is not anything related to the problem gets you nowhere. Trust me, we all have been there.

 

Yes I have a IR gun! Temp at the distributor is 150+, Alternator is up above 140, Im telling ya there is something that is kicking the distributor out and loosing spark, Ive replaced the ICM, Coil, New Alt., new thermostat, the only thing I haven't replaced is the Distributor!

 

heres a few of test to do when it doesnt start.
How To Test The Ford Ignition Control Module (Distributor Mounted)
Part 1 -Ignition Coil Test -No Spark No Start Tests (Ford 4.9L, 5.0L, 5.8L)
How To Test The Ford Ignition Control Module (scroll down to #7 PIP test)

 

Assuming the engine operating temperature is around 180F, those numbers are nothing I would be concerned with.

Testing is where it is at. Cheaper than grabbing the shotgun.

 

Ty torq'ta for the Tests that I can perform. I did put a new Coil on it yesterday and ended up with the same resalts! What is throwing me for a loop is when the motor is cool it starts up just fine. Its only when the motor heats up that I have the No Start Issue. In my past experience as a mechanic the only reason something wont start is one of two reasons, either not getting gas or not getting spark. Now having said that, if the PIP is bad and needs to be replaced why will the truck start up and run for 15 to 20 min and get warm than all of a sudden die and wont start. One would thing it wouldn't start at all.

 

What test would you do?

 

I would confirm what is missing. Fuel or spark. Until I knew that, I would not even think about the next step. I believe you got an ignition issue. How I quickly determine if that is an issue is putting a test light at the coil. Attach one side of the test light to the coil and the end to the other terminal of the coil. When the engine is cranking, the test light should flicker. If it does not, you got a signal problem. If it does [and you have no spark] then the coil is bad. It's a very simple test that eliminates all kinds of questions.

Fixing cars is not that difficult. Intermittent issues can be troublesome, but yours is not intermittent. It seems to stall only when hot. Have your tools ready. Most people make problems difficult because they think too much. Stop thinking parts are bad and start knowing when they are. Testing is the way to know if the part is good or bad.

All too often why is asked. It really does not matter why. It's dying because it's dying. It's up to the mechanic to figure out the why. I truly believe you have a real easy fix but because you have grabbed the shotgun, you are just wasting your time/money.

One of the toughest issues that seem to come up is when people are throwing parts at it and one of those new parts is equally as bad. New does not mean good. With having a good solid foundation of tests, you can easily determine if the old part was bad and if the new part is any good.

I know it may sound like I'm picking on you but we all do it. You are in a large group of clowns that think parts are bad without any real reason. It's ok, we all do it. Even people that have fixed cars for 40+ years.

 

I agree with you. I to do think there's a Ign issue. What hard for me to understand is when it starts up it runs really good! Like I said previous the only thing that isnt brand new is the distributor. I also agree that its got to be something simple based on how it runs before it cuts out! However im a logical thinker in that if the distributor was bad it wouldn't want to run or miss fire or something along that line. I certainly will run some of these tests and get back to us all.

 

Only problem, is china quality, isnt America quality, and we want both...really cheap, thats why buying new doesnt mean you bought good, my PIP started dying, couldnt find a motorcraft, in a timely manner, bit the bullet, distributor lasted 1 month, after 3 installs finally got good one, they would make 2 - 3 weeks. ICM's same way slowly die, from heat, let cool all is good, again, do the ICM, and then PIP test, after what 1Butcher, said do.

 

It definitely sounds like you have a heat related issue with something electronic. So as Butcher said, have your tools ready for the next time it happens.

The easiest thing to check is ignition; pull off a spark plug or boot and see if there is spark when you crank.

A few years ago, I move the TFI module from the base of the distributor to an inner fender to head off the overheating problem that so many folks have described:

https://photos.google.com/share/AF1Q...F5VW82R0FnSGF3

Other possible ignition problem could be the magnetic pickup failing when temperature rises. Either failure will result in no spark, bad spark, or mis-timed spark.


If this isn't the problem, then it's the fuel system, which is more difficult to test, since you need to see if the injectors are spraying fuel. Beyond checking for pressure at the fuel rail (press that little pin head on the Schrader valve to see if fuel squirts out), I don't know of easy ways to check fuel delivery. Or you can put a pressure gauge on it. The rail should get 40 psig when fully pressurized by the pump, like the 2-second run with key-on, and hold for several minutes when the pump stops.

Sorry for repeating if you've already done these tests.

 

If I had an engine with the TFI mounted to the distributor, that would be one of the first things I would do. It just sounds like a good idea.

 

the op's looking at ignition, dumb question on my part, when it dies what is the fuel pressure? old truck,efi, restarts when cold, fuel pump?
just throwing it out there as that problem has bit me in my six a few times on older cars and trucks,

 

So your saying that I can get a distributor that doesnt have the ICM on it and get one that I can mount to the side of the fender wall? Your calling It a TFI and and it has a ICM.

 

The Thick Film Ignition(TFI) is a type of Ignition Control Module(ICM).

ICM is the general name, TFI is the specific name.

Yes, correct.