Was just thinking too, that maybe the electronics are OK but a mechanical issue may exist. I don't know if you have a CA or Fed emission car. If CA, the EDIS gets a signal from the camshaft position sensor. I read up on this and it loks like alignment/calibration is a real bi***. The sensor itself seems pretty robust but if it is not aligned correctly, it's sending a #1 cylinder signal at the wrong time.

If you have a Fed car, there is no camshaft position sensor and the EDIS gets the signal from the crankshaft position sensor. This uses a little hub with 35 pins or slots on it. The sensor ID's cylinder #1 when the missing, 36th, slot is noticed. If this hub were damaged and tooth knocked off, it would really throw the EDIS for a loop. Not sure if only timing would be affected. It might try to reinitiate cyl # 1 multiple times - or in you case, cyl 3/4 - which could overheat that coil... I don't know. Wait until you get your codes.

 

I am for sure learning alot of new things about my truck because of talking to you guys and as I have said many times thank you for all of your help.. Well the new Coil Is working but now I am back to trying to find out what fried the Coil In the first place.. I just found out yesterday that the well known shop that I took It to lied to me and never once hooked It up to a computer to find out what Is wrong. All they did was charge me $100 to look at my coil and lie to me about what Is wrong.. As I said earlier I have now checked the exhaust system and the only leak Is were the exhaust pipe goes Into the manifold on the right side and I don't see how that fried my coil.. The only thing I can think Is what ever Is causing It to miss bad to the point that It does not want to stay running Is the same thing that Is burning up my coils.. Since I have put the new coil In we have not beable to get It to stay running and to run right..

 

So I think you know have all the components of the ignition system.

Key on, engine cranking, Camshaft or crankshaft position sensor (CPS), EDIS, PCM PIP and SPOUT when actually running and finally the coil. There are only so many things to check. If it's not running and you can't get any codes because you just cleared them, it might take a physical inspoection of all the wires from end to end, electrical inspection of all wires for ground or open circuits and finally a 0-5 V inspection of key circuits of the control system. Items such as the CPS run on 5 v. I can't believe your mechanic friend dosen't have a PCM breakout board where you can test all pins of the PCM with it hooked up. This board allows engine on or off testing of the circuits.

So what happened when you went back to the shop that gave $920 estimate? How did you appoach them and then what did they say? Did you get your $100 back? I can't believe the scum that can exist in the automotive repair business.

 

I have not went back to the shop that lied to me and did no work on my truck. I was told there was nothing I could do about It. Well he got It hooked up to a computer last night and It ran fine for a minute and then It started missing and from what he got from the computer Is that there Is a short somewhere In the main wiring harness. I don't know were and he did not tell me what codes he got. He just told me that he has to pull everything apart again and find the short and maybe replace the whole wire harness. He replaced the wire harness when he put the new engine In so It seems he made a mistake and he now knows that and Is trying to fix It.
Thank you all again for all of your help and I will get back as soon as I know more...

 

Well that's what I've been saying all along. Why change the wiring harness with an engine rebuild? And which harness? So I'm not sure if you knew he changed the harness before, but if you did know, and we've been telling you that there's a problem with the wiring that needs to be traced out, that should have been your first clue as where to look.

As far as the other shop, there are a lot of things you can do to get your $100 back. First of all, go in there all pissed off and demand it. Have your mechanic call them and tell them what the issue was and that there where no exhaust bolt problems that led to the coil going bad. With all the jerking around your mechanic has given you, this is the least he can do. Call the bureau of automotive repair and get the shop in trouble. They will call the shop and hound them - do all the dirty work - and they will not stop until you are satisfied. I've used them myself against a Ford Dealer. And of course you can threaten to take them to court. Consumers have rights in this country. That's part of what makes America great!

 

Oh yeah. Since your mechanic is now admitting fault with your coil problem, make him pay for all of the ones you had to buy.

 

James - I think you're well on your way to getting resolution. Don't forget to tell your mechanic that your CEL doesn't light - he may have affected that with the harness change. I and other following this would like to see what the wiring problem was when you get it worked out. But let me leave you with a little story and I'll get off my soapbox.

Last night driving home from work, I got a CEL sitting at a traffic light in about 103 degree heat. Everything looked OK and it was idleing fine so I certainly didn't want to pull over and check it out in that heat, especially with my 2 little kids in the car. The light stayed on the entire 3 more miles home. I never had a CEL stay on for more than a minute or two, so I was a bit concerned.

Well it didn't get any attention until about 9:30 last night after the kids were feed, in bed and the wife and i gat some dinner. But luckily I have a code meter. Ran the KOEO test and got a system pass 111 but a stored 322 (if I remember right) meaning the EGR valve was not opening fully. Well that figures as I've never touched any of the EGR components in 168K miles.

I thought I'd troubleshoot it this weekend, check the pressure sensor values and the EGR position sensor values, maybe the free play of the valve itself...but just for kicks I took a look at the EGR system and low and behold, one of the DPFE (pressure sensor) vacuum lines poped off the exhaust tube. Well that's an easy fix and why not add on a tie wrap to each of the two tubes to make sure they don't pop off again.

Drove to day care and work this morning and no CEL! It makes sense now why the line might have popped off. First, the lines are old and not real tight on the tubes. But secondly, a mile before the traffic light when the light came on last night, I had to merge into traffic fast - floored it in 1st and 2nd gear - and probably just forced it off with the high exhaust flow and resultant pressure generated.

And I owe the 5 minute diagnosis and repair to my little Autoxray code reader. If you plan on keeping your Explorer, you need to get yourself a code reader.

 

Well Its been a couple of days now and he has not touched It. Can you give me some Idea of how hard It would be to trace the short myself and the best way to go about that or would It be better to just go get another wire harness and replace It my self. Is there any way of getting a diagram of the engine connections so I would know were to hook up each wire? And Jharger you asked earlier why he changed the wire harness. First Off the junk engine was pulled and a good used engine was put In and he could not get the wire harness to match up and the new engine came from a 94 Explorer but It just would not match up so he got the wire harness that was In the truck that the new engine came from and changed It out..

 

F'n A James evertime you write you tell me another piece of the puzzel. This whole string started out as an overheating problem and now we are talking about wiring harnesses. I can't ascertain your problem with so damn many variables you're throwing out.

I think you have a 1994 Explorer. It's a federal car right, not California?

There are differences between a federal and California wiring harness - Fed is multiport fiel injection and CA is sequential fuel injection. The pin outs in the PCM are different.

As far as a motor is concern - this has absolutley nothing to do with a wiring harness. A motor is mechanical not electrical. Now that said, a motor has elecrical sensors and actuators that hook up the a wiring harness. For the life of me, I can't understand what could be so different from one car to another of the same year that would require a new harness. Only if one is CA and other is Fed.

You need to start thinking abou legal action and I've already told you what options there are.

If you want to tackle it yourself, get the original wiring harness back and install it. At least then you are starting out with something known - assuming it did work before removal.

Here is a web site that lists free data off a 4.0 ranger. It should be basically the same for your truck at least on the motor stuff - rest you have to use your judgment.

http://www.alldatadiy.com/alldata/AF...%7EC8000%7EN/0

 

Interesting what I just found. Look at this thread.

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/s...d.php?t=388746

 

I am sorry for all the variables I have been throwing at you..It's a federal car as far as I know.. Here Is the whole story.. I got the Truck from a Auction. Found out after I got It that there was a crack In the block. My friends sent me to this guy that Is working on It now. He Got a hold of a good used engine and said he would switch them out for me. So he did It. He said he had to switch out the wire harness because they did not match up.took him 2 months. When I got the truck back the overheating problem was the first thing to show up. I told him about It and begged him to fix It he did not so I tried to figure It out myself. As I kept driving It I started having more problems until It finally burnt out the coil.. Now the computer Is telling him there Is a short somewhere In the wire harness. I know I got screwed by this guy when he fixed my truck and I have used all the money I had to get him to fix It and I have been having problems since and now I am broke and can't afford to take It to a real shop to get It fixed right thats why I sent It back to him. This guy works out of his garage and I just don't know what to do to force him to do what I paid him to do In the first place..

 

Don't know if you've done this yet, but you may want to get in touch with your friends who recommended this guy and have them talk to him. They may have some pull.

Also sounds as if the wiring harnesses have been mixed up.

 

Backin72 I have already tried that and my friends seem to be of no help with this problem.

 

Backin how are you....lol good to see you!!!!!!! GO BRUINS

 

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