Duraspark II troubles
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Posting Guru
Joined: May 2004
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From: Billings Montana
Duraspark II troubles
Hey there! My 86 F-250 with a Duraspark II ignition and a 460 died on me last night. I replaced the ignition module with a Motorcraft unit this morning because I wasn't getting any spark. She started right up, it ran a little rough, but it eventually smoothed out. As I was driving home, the damn thing died on me like someone turned off a switch and I couldn't get it to fire up again. I had no spark from the coil. I got it towed home and just out of curiosity, I tried to start it and it fired right up! Again, it ran a little rough, but it smoothed out after 5 minutes. It has a new distributor in it, all wires are in good shape and the motor was rebuilt back in October. Could it be the stator in the distributor?
What is going on?
What is going on?
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Joined: Jan 2001
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From: Virginia
Check the voltage at the + terminal of the coil with the engine running. If it is 12 volts, then someone has done a re-wire, and the resistor is no longer in the circuit. This can make the coil and the module overheat.
Posting Guru
Joined: Aug 2000
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1Ford1, the voltage should be about 7-8v after going through a resistor wire (located under the dash). The easiest thing to fix it would be to mount an external resistor on the firewall, wired in series to the coil.
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Joined: Jan 2001
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From: Virginia
Originally Posted by big hoss 29
Just to let y'all know, I got the problem fixed. It turned out to be the pickup assembly in the distributor. I changed it and she purrs like an angry kitten.
Posting Legend
Joined: Sep 2001
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Before anyone replaces parts, -most parts stores have testing equipment for the ignition system components. The testers work VERY well, so use them. It is easier than running thru the whole manual diagnostic tests listed in the manuals. Unfortunately if the modules test good on the store testers the diagnostic routines must be followed.
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Joined: Jan 2001
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From: Virginia
Also the part failure is sometimes heat related, so it may not show up on their tester. If it's a hot day, I put the module to be tested on the dash in the hot sun while I am taking it to be tested.
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