I know very little about trucks, but I have a 1995 Ford F-150 that I love. Up until now I have been taking it to a shop to get it worked on, but now I would like to start doing everthing...within reason..myself. I had a bunch of work done to it a couple of weeks ago and it was running great. I let it sit for a couple of weeks and now it won't start. I have a new battery, starter, solenoid...almost everything is new. It will turn over but will not fire. I was told it may be the Electronic Ignition Module, but I am not really sure if it even has one. Forgive my ignorance...any suggestions.

 

Welcome to FTE. It sounds like the electronic gremlin I chased away found your house. Sorry. I tried to kill the little bugger but he got away. Do you have spark at the plugs?

 

Your ignition system consists of three main parts, The pickup coil inside the distributor, the ignotion module on the side of the distributor, and the coil on top of the engine.

Here is the simplest troubleshooting procedure:

grab a simple 12V Test light...

Turn on the key until the dash lights up.

Make sure all connectors for ignition system are securely plugged in.

Connect one side of the test light to the (-) side of the battery and touch the other side to the terminals on the coil. the test light should light when you touch either Terminal on the Coil.

If it lights up on neither terminal, you have no power to the coil. (check fuses/wiring)
If it lights up on only one side, you have an open coil. (replace coil)

Now unplug the test light from the (-) terminal of the battery and plug it into the (+) side of the battery.

Have someone crank the engine while you touch the test light on the two terminals of the coil.

One of the terminals should make the Test light Flash rapidly.

If the light flashes, but you still have no spark, then you have a bad coil.
If the light does not flash, You have a bad ignition Module.


The pickup coil inside the distrubutor is a little bit harder to get at for testing, but generaly, if you hear the fuel pump run when you crank the engine (May require someone to listen under the truck while you crank), then the pickup is probably working correctly. the pickup RAREly fails.

Most often it is the ignition module, or the coil.

I spent 2 hours on the side of the road under the rain becasue the auto parts store plugged my ignition module into some computer tester and swore it was fine.

I used the test above and determined it was bad.

Had them change it, and the truck started right up.

They also tend to fry if the ignition is left on for a long time with the engine not running. (that is what happened to mine).

 

Just so you're not looking around for the module on the side of the distributor, the '95 should have the ignition module mounted in a heat sink on the drivers fender, just below the hood spring mount.

 

Thanks for all of your help guys... I replaced the EIM, coil, solenoid, rotor. Still I had no luck. I was at a loss. I had the mechanic come over and do some diagnostic and the relay that they had replaced was bad. He replaced it and it once again runs like a top. If you guys have any tips on how to keep my 1995 F-150 with 101,000 miles running like new...let me know I am open to suggestions. It runs and looks better than the day I bought it.

Thanks again