is anyone else having to replace coil packs on the Trition engine regularly?? an if you have fixed the problem from happening what did you do???

 

Use Motorcraft parts, worked for me on my engine.

 

jpkoke02,

I assume you mean COPs. (C)oil (O)ver (P)lugs. Which COP(s) are you replacing regularly? It is most likely water "dripping" onto the COP(s). Depending on your engine/model/ year, it could be caused by a coolant hose or an A/C condensation problem or a leak from your windsheild/hood gasket.

 

Does anyone know how to test the coil on plugs with a multimeter? I would like to test mine before replacing random coils.

 

wmcnally - I may stand corrected but I believe that some years had two banks of coils with 4 coils in each, with wires going to the individual spark plugs. Therefore, I would consider that a coil pack.

 

Steve02,

You are correct. Through '98 the 4.6L used "coil packs". They are as you describe them. I assumed jpkoke02 was talking about COPs even though he didn't mention engine size or year. I have read many posts concerning replacing COPs repeatedly. I don't recall any in which people complained of repeatedly replacing "coil packs".

 

tvvbsn,

Primary resistance should be .55 ohms.
Secondary resistance should be 5500 ohms.

 

Is primary resistance the resistance between the two leads that connect to the wire harness? and secondary is between the leads and the part that connects to the top of the plug itself?

If not could you explain a little furthur?
Thanks for your help
Tim

 

A multimeter usually won't tell you much about a COP, other than if it's totally dead. The primary runs around a half ohm. For testing the secondary, you have to place the meter in diode-test mode to get a reading, and then you can compare the reading for consistency with other coils. A defective coil will usually read the same as good coils. The reading you get by applying a couple volts to the coil, has little to do with what's happening when 40,000 volts is applied to the same coil under normal operating condtions.

A weak coil will normally be evidenced under normal operating conditions when the engine is under load. The computer counts records the misfires for each cylinder; and the only way you can retrieve this info, is with a scanner.

 

I have a '97 5.4L that lately has been a pain in the **** when it comes to COPs. I have 81,000 miles and #4 has been replaced twice, and 6 & 7 once each. All came between 55,000 and 75,000. #4 is the one notorious for failing, I'm told, because of the location of a heater hose above it, that may leak and cause problems.

 

So what would be a good scanner to get without breaking the bank?

 

Does anyone know the firing sequence for the 4.6? I need to replace the # 3 COP.

 

Cylinders are numbered by physical location; not firing order.

Starting at the front, on the right side: 1 to 4.

 

I recently bit the bullet, and bought an Autoxray EZ-scan 6000. They run around $500.

After my V10 developed a severe misfire under load, all I got from my code reader was a P0300 multiple cylinder misfire DTC. And with a V10, that can be rather time-consuming, doing the swap thing. So . . I took the rig to my local mechanic to have him scan it on his Snap-on MT2500 to pinpoint the problem cylinder(s). After 1-1/2 hours of futzing around, I was no further ahead than when I started. The MT2500 didn't provide any useful information. He admitted that his scanner hadn't been updated for a while; and suggested that I take it to a Ford Dealer for a scan. :-(

That's when I decided that the time had come for me to get my own scanner. The EZ-scan provides a whole lot of data not available on the aged MT2500. For one thing, it provided me with the enhanced mode $06 Ford data, which records the misfire rate for each cylinder even though no code has been set. The counter immediately revealed #5 was the culprit, recording a high misfire rate. A simple swap of the #5 COP fixed the problem.

This scanner includes most of the essential goodies, like real time monitoring of about 70 different engine operating parameters, freeze frame data, capture mode, which records 29 snap shots of engine parameters at user selected intervals. Rather than merely providing code numbers, it gives a textual description of each code and parameter. You can also upload the data to your computer for easier examination of of the data, including a graphing function.

In addition to OBDII and enhanced OBDII maufacturer; it will also work with the old OBDI stuff from 1982 on, for the Big Three manufacturers; and all the cables are included for the oldies. For the very latest vehicles, it can also handle the new CAN protocol.

IMO, the EZ-scan 6000 represents the best value amongst currently available scanners; and at about 1/3 the cost of equivalent scanners from other manufacturers.

 

Yes, the primary resistance is measured between the two leads that attach to the wiring harness; and the secondary resistance is measured from one of the primary leads to the part that connects to the plug.

The previous post that indicated that the secondary resistance should be 5500 ohms isn't necessarily correct. The secondary resistance varies from one coil type to another. Mine run around 1925 ohms. So unless you have the actual specs for your particular vehicle, you will be best served by merely looking for a coil that measures somewhat differently than the other coils.

But as previously stated, such measurements rarely provide any useful information when attempting to locate a weak coil. A weak malfunctioning coil, using a 1.5 volt resistance test, on my rig measured the same as all of the other coils.