Waste spark?
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Joined: Jun 2006
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Waste spark?
Hey all, glad to be in here. My wife and I have a question about the ignition system in our truck. We have a 1996 Ford F-250 XLT with a 460 engine. Here is my question for you all. What kind of ignition system do we have? From all my research, it looks like we have an SDI system with a waste spark. Is this really true for our truck? We live in California where we also purchased the truck. How can we find out if there is a waste spark? For that matter, how does an ignition system with a waste spark function?
Thanks for any answers you folks can give us.
R & G
Thanks for any answers you folks can give us.
R & G
Post Fiend
Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 6,473
Likes: 4
From: Lafayette, IN
To see it for yourself, you could pull all your plugs and take the cap off the distributor. Then turn the engine by hand one full revolution. How far does the rotor turn? If it makes a full revolution also, then you have a waste spark. (4-cycle engine only needs one spark per cylinder every other revolution of the crank). If the rotor only makes 180 degrees of a trip around, then there is no waste spark. SD is Speed Density, which is just a name for the system of how the computer determines how much fuel the engine needs. It's a good, stable system, it just doesn't handle upgrades well.
That's how I'd check, but I've never heard one way or another, nor have I cared enough (more accurately: had enough time) to look it up or check myself.
Jason
That's how I'd check, but I've never heard one way or another, nor have I cared enough (more accurately: had enough time) to look it up or check myself.
Jason
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Post Fiend
Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 6,214
Likes: 13
From: New Jersey
If your 460 has a distributor, you do not have a waste spark system. The rotor inside the dizzy points at the plug to be fired, and it fires. Very simple technology from the late 1800's (around 1880 I think).
Anyway, a waste spark system generally doesn't have a distributor, instead you have coils for each pair of cylinders, which fire both at the same time (one during the intake cycle, one doing the exhaust cycle).
I'm a huge fan of DIS (Distributorless Ignition System) as I've hated distributors as long as I've know what one is
Anyway, a waste spark system generally doesn't have a distributor, instead you have coils for each pair of cylinders, which fire both at the same time (one during the intake cycle, one doing the exhaust cycle).
I'm a huge fan of DIS (Distributorless Ignition System) as I've hated distributors as long as I've know what one is
