Originally Posted by rebocardo
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If you have the gray rect. mod. that sits on the side of the distributor (TFI) with the four or five wires then yes, they can operate on or off, or not at all. I know that from personal experience from working on many Fords with EEC systems. Though usually when they operate on and off, they throw a slew of random codes.

Sorry. My mistake. It's not this one. Not a TFI. It has only four wires connecting to the pickup in side--all one piece.

 

Ok, new question: I'm replacing the ignition pickup. Does this require removing the dist. gear and pulling the shaft out of the housing to replace the the pickup?

Thanks.

 

Instead of replacing the ignition pickup, I replaced the distributor. It needed it anyway. The shaft would barely spin by hand. Anyway, as of right now, the coil, distributor, cap and rotor have all been replaced. Problem NOT solved. I figure the only REAL money I'm out so far is for the distributor...and it needed replacing.

Still need to go get a code scanner. Maybe that'll reveal something.

I'm starting to get in a bit of a pinch. I'm scheduled to be moving out of the state on Oct. 31 and with this thing not getting resolved, I sure as heck don't want to end up dead on the road between CO. and CA.

What's the deal with silver colored module mounted inside the engine com[partment on the drivers side? Could this be a cause of the problem? Would a code scanner help determine if it needs to replaced?

Thanks

 

What year of van? If it's EFI it IS the TFI system, in 1992 they changed the location of the TFI module,. It's on the drivers side fender, back behind the diagnostic connector.

 

Hey.

It's a 94 and yeah, It's EFI. I think your right, its up under there on the drivers side. I had a buddy w/ an 86 F250 that CONSTANTLY blew those things. Every few months or so, he'd have to replace it. Only thing was, when it died, it died! None of this spitter-sputter business like I'm experiencing.

Would it be worth it to just yank it and replace it? I ask that because I figure it ain't a WHOLE lot of money to replace these kinds of related things that probably ought to be replaced anyhow, especially at almost 123K, and then move on to wiring connectors etc....or.... is that the caveman way of going about it? lol

Thanks

 

Replace it. It just goes bad up there, it's not subjected to the heat like the old ones were. It sounds like a bad TFI module. Sometimes they just go "poof" other times they work, but only at times.

 

I'm late in responding here but silly question...where's the computer at???

Thanks

 

Update:

Well, even after replacing the module (mounted on the inner fender well) still having the problem.

 

E250GUY,

Good move on the distributor, not unusual to need replacment on any vehicle after 100,000 miles of spinning, especially if the truck was used for working. Almost impossible to replace the pickup without damaging something and if you remove the gear and replace it and the push pin works its way out into the engine you would be very unhappy.

I suggest you posting in the 4.9/inline 6 engine forum now, with all the results and things done now so far.

Reason being this is starting to sound like a timing chain/gear problem and the collection of experts there would probably better serve you on a specific engine repair problem.

Myself, I would do a search through the 4.9 forum first.

It is probably time consuming to check the chains and gears inside the confines of a van engine compartment and since the chain and gears are pretty cheap (usually less then $50 for a good brand name set) I would just plan on doing them when doing the check unless you can access the chain and gears within a few hours without removing major components.

In some V-8s it is as easy as removing the fuel pump or a cover.

I know many Fords they came with a metal chain and plastic coated cam gears! The sporatic timing misses many times means broken gear teeth and the chain is basically slipping. I would go with all metal gears and chain and suffer with the slightly elevated noise.

 

Cor,

Seeking that you are in the Netherlands and how much they want to charge you for a simple check, here is what I suggest. Save up your pennies/spare money and buy a real scan code reader for less then $190 from www.northerntools.com. NTs ships around the world.

I have the Auto Xray EZ-2000 ($190) and it does pretty good. The support for pre 1995 non-USA cars and Jeeps is not good at all. The Ford and CHevy stuff has been pretty good.

If I were you, I would plan on upgrading the software or buying the slightly more expensive version to get real time monitoring of your engine since monitoring O2 sensors and such (if you know what to look for) often point you in the direction of failing components well before the computer eventhrows a code.

Plus, once you have the scan equipment, do like people in the USA do and charge $15-$25 a read and undercut the dealers and pay for the equipment in states where emission testing is mandatory.

 

E250guy, i had more or less the same problem, after a lot of time and work, the problem was found, it was the coil.

I had checked the coil at first hand and the resistor value's were ok.
Point was, i had it checked when it was on roomtemperature, but on low winter and high enginecompartment temperatures the coil wasn't ok.
After replacement the problem was history.

So check out the coil very well.
Rudi

 

Thanks for the suggestions. I'm not surprised at this point that it might be something timing gear or similar related. I JUST replaced the water pump the other day and thought to myself to pull the timing cover and inspect things. I shinned it. Shouldn't have I guess. I'll poke around over on the 4.9 forum as you recommended.

 

Yeah, replaced it. No dice. I thought maybe it had something to do with the cold also. I'm living in So. Calif. now and it's the same although doesn't seem AS bad as it did up in Colorado. It is making a detonating sound NOW also which might indicate a timing gear/chain problem. Thanks.

 

Thanks for the recommendation, Rebocardo!
But in the meantime I am the happy owner of the OBD I codereader from Innova/Equus #3145, which make/model has been recommended several times on this forum.
During November last year friends of mine were on vacation in the South-West and picked one up for me; they did have to shop around a bit however, but found one.
I ran the test twice, but will submit a new topic on this as to not to let this topic drift any further.
Thanks for your imput, it is appreciated.
Cor

 

Determined ECU/PCM (or computer or whatever you want to call it) needs to be replaced. I've been dealing with this thing for about a year now with no resolution until recently. After taking it to a handful of mechanics, asking questions over the internet and in person and finding nothing visibly repairable, the prognosis is the computer should be replaced. Apparently, this is a very rare thing. PCM's just don't "go out" or screw up often.

So now I'm hunting down a (used) replacement. Anyone know of somewhere reputable online or otherwise to purchase one? I'm in Buena Park, So. Cal.
I've called around most ALL the wreck yards and there ain't nothin. Even called down towards San Diego. I'm sure there's one out there somewhere, but finding it ain't gonna be easy. I've even contacted ebayers that sell only PCM/ECU's and can't come up with anything there either. The
Ford dealer wants $418 for a new one. Trying to avoid that if possible.

94 Ford E250 4.9L w/E4OD
The part # is : F3TF-12A650-ACB
It's EEC IV (if that matters)

Thanks for all the previous posts also.