i have a 90 f150 with straight 6 automatic
whats the porcedure for replacing the pickup coil insdie the destributor housing?

 

I think you have to remove the distributor, remove the dist. gear from the shaft and slide the shaft out. You also will have to remove the TFI module if it is located on the dist. and remove the armature. The gear is pinned to the shaft. Instructions say remove and discard pin. Instructions also say this requires an arbor press for the gear, but someone out there may know of a way to do this without one. This is not the exact order in which you do this. Just had the stator, Hall effect sensor, pick up coil, which ever you want to call it, disintegrate on a '95 Mustang and replaced the distributor for a little over $100. I think distributors run around $100 to $110. The pick up I think was about $20, but the reman. dist. was easier and less time consuming than pressing the gear on and off and all that.



guzzler96

 

ok i ve replaced the cap and rotor and coil

i still have no spark
what the hell else can it be im getting sick of this thing
ive got the pickup coil ut it looks like a lot of work to pull that distributor how tough is it?
i can get thedistributor from autozone advance for 60

 

i dont have an ohm meter but heres what ive done
i went out with mytest light and put the connector on the negative batter terminal and on the top of the coil on the output side
and the light lights
then when i put the wire back on the coil (the one that goes to the distributor) i put the test light on it and got nothing?
so maybe a bad wire
but then i figured id try a plug wire to the coil from the distributor just to get it to fire and still i cant get a reading on the test light with that wire
i checked the test light on the battery after the test to make sure the light was good and it was

im loosing patience with this truck big time
i am mechanical but i dont have a garage and i live in ohio its f ing cold out and ive replaced the cap rotor and coil now with no luck
to top it all off my actuator rod in my steering column broke yesterday so now i have to push the rod in to get it to start and my steering column is all apart
this truck is about to beocme a junkyard special

anyone want to buy it
its a 90 f150 with 120k 300 stragiht 6 auto w od pw pl ps pb cd player xlt lariat tires are kelly springfiled winter mark high voids with less than 200 miles on them truck is rusty but ran good last week until i lost spark

arrg

 

The distributor is not difficult to remove. Mark the position of the rotor on the dizzy body, remove one bolt, and out she comes. If you allow the engine to crank while the distributor is removed, you are screwed and will have to re-establish base ignition timing the hard way. So don't disturb the engine. When re-installing the dizzy, turn the rotor about 1/8th turn away from the mark, drop it down. If the rotor does not line up with the mark, pull it back up, turn the rotor slightly, and drop it down again.

You must remove the distributor and remove the gear from the bottom, then pull the shaft out of the distributor body in order to get at the pickup coil.

You can remove the distributor gear with a vise, soft-faced hammer, 1/8th pin punch, and a torch. It takes about an hour (if you've had some practice) and a careful touch. I don't recommend it -- buy the rebuilt distributor with the pick-up coil already installed instead.

Diagnosing a no-start, no spark condition should not be that hard. Get out your test light. Turn the key on. Probe both of the small primary terminals on the ignition coil. Both should have 12 volts.

If this test passes, put your test light on the negative primary terminal on the coil. It's the one that does not have the RFI suppression capacitor connected to it. Use a helper or a remote start switch to crank the engine. The test light should flash on and off as the engine turns. If this test passes, the primary ignition circuit is probably OK. If it fails, the most likely culprit is the TFI module, followed by the pickup coil.

If you can't tell the positive primary terminal from the negative primary terminal, try them both. The positive terminal should stay at a steady battery voltage as the engine cranks. The negative terminal should flash on and off. If neither one flashes, or both flash, or neither one is lit, there is a problem.

 

ok ill try the flashing tes thtats pretty straight forward

my dad things itas an ignition module

is the ignition module on my truck fender mounted or distributor mounted?

strange thing
when i put the test light on the output side of the coil i get a light
when i put it on the positive input side i get a light
but when i hook up the distributor wire to the coil and test the other end of the wire i get no light
so then i put a spark plug wire on there and tested the other end of it and got no light
is it possible that ther just isnt enough juice to get through the wire?
what would happen if the ign module went bad?
for a few months before this the truck would randomly not start and then if you left it alone for a whilte it would start and run fine

 

A 1990 truck would have a distributor mounted TFI. It's a rectangular looking thing, about 1.5 x 2.5 inches. About 1/2 inch thick. It bolts to the side of the distributor, just below the bowl. There is a 6 wire plug connecting it to the harness.

Try the following test:

Connect all the wires to the coil. Remove the 6 wire plug from the TFI module. Turn the key on. Probe the two primary (small) terminals on the coil with your test light. You should see 12 volts present on both. (And on the high voltage secondary tower, for that matter). If you don't see 12 volts on BOTH, there is a short circuit in the wiring or the coil is bad. The crank test is pointless.

Now plug the 6 wire connector back into the TFI module. Probe the coil again. You should STILL see 12 volts on at least one of the coil primary leads (the positive one).
If ALL the leads on the coil go to zero volts, there is something wrong with the feed from the ignition switch. The crank test is pointless.

If only ONE of the primary leads goes to zero volts, and only when the TFI connector is plugged in, we can suspect that the TFI module is fried. Now try the crank test just as a final confirmation. If the test light stays black, the TFI module is dead.

An intermittant no-start condition that cures itself (you come back a day later, having done nothing to the truck in the interim, and it starts) is often a sign of a failing TFI module or pickup coil.

 

I think I read that Autozone can test an ignition module. I have an Actron Ign. Mod/Sensor tester model # CP9087 and I imagine thats what they test with. Get the module tested before you buy one, yours may not be bad.



guzzler96

 

The ignition module is distributor mounted. You need a special tool to remove it. This tool is available at most automotive jobbers for around seven dollars. I would try replacing the ignition module before pulling the distributor. But from my experience with this vintage of Ford vehicles, my guess is it is the pickup coil inside the distributor. Usually when the ignition module goes bad it dies and does not revive, not so with the coil and pickup coil. On my 1988 F-150 with the same 6 cylinder engine, I had many many episodes of dying and restarting after it cooled down before my pickup up coil finally died for good. I would advise against the rebuilt distributor, as many of them are junk. Your local Ford garage should be able to test this before tearing the distributor apart, now that it has completely died. When it is dying and reviving it can't be effectively tested, because if is in a live state when tested it will likely test good. It cost me around one hundred dollars parts and labor to get the pickup coil installed in the distributor at Ford garage when I carried the distributor in there. Good luck.

 

i can get the rebuilt distributor for 60 bucks with lifetime warranty or a new one for 100 with lifetime warranty
im gonan go with the rebuilt simply because it has hte liftime warranty im also going to follow the test procedure for the ign module
is there anything else to replace after that or shoudl this fix it?
what is the ignition switch?
where is it and how do i test it?