1985 F-150 302-V8 Automatic with carb and EEC-IV. I am going to do the Duraspark swap, and was wondering what years distributors I can use and what years were the blue grommett Duraspark II ignition modules used?

 

I Know that a 1976 thru 1979 Ford Truck F-series, with a 302 cid will work.
Any earlier mustang, maverick, should work too that had electronic ignition.

Will need the electical harness from the distributor to the ignition module, some harness on these 1976 thru 1979 Ford Truck F-serier run directly from the distributor to the ignition module, while other do not.
Will also need the get two wire harness that plugs into the red wire and white wire harness of ignition module

Will need the ignition module. The blue grommet is located where the electrical wires go in to the ignition module. Some other color are black, and brown. It something to do on the way they were built internally and a hotter spark.

I perfer buying a rebuilt distributor, any from the above mentioned vehicle will fit. A used one is most likely worn (bushing, and other mechanical parts).

I perfer using the older style cylindrical style coils. The MSD blaster coils are good too. I'm sure your current style will work fine too.

Here the duraspark ignition wiring illustration, courtesy of Uncle Mil1ion

 

R& R distributor.
Install ignition module, insure the ignition module is properly grounded.
Strip electrical tape from harness, and use the electrical harness from distributor / coil to ignition module. Remove unwanted wires from this harnes that go to the oil/water sender units.
The green / yellow stripe wire go to negative side of coil. Retape the harness.

Using and wiring the cut wiring harness (two electrical wires) that connect to the two wires coming out of the ignition module.
Run a positive feed wire from ignition switch, for when key is in the ON position, to the ignition module (red wire coming out of ignition module).
Run a positive feed wire from ignition switch, for when key is in the start position, to the ignition module (white wire coming out of ignition module).

The positive side of coil need a direct positive wire, when the key is in the ON position.

 

Here is more usefull Duraspark schematic information.
https://www.ford-trucks.com/user_gal...1&albumid=1232

 

Here a schematic of what was mentioned on post #2 & #3

 

How do you find out what Ignition system is in your truck? The first pic looks exactly like whats in my truck.

 

Remember you need a 1.1 Ohm resistor in the wire from the RUN switch terminal to the coil. Chrysler uses ceramic/porcelain resistors that can be used. You may need two for the proper resistance. The resistors need special high temp crimp-on connectors available from appliance repair stores for high temp applications. Standard crimp terminals will fail. Sometimes in these changeover years the primary resistor wire is still present in the vehicle wiring harness with a bypass wire. You just may need to dig it out.

Mount the MOTORCRAFT ignition module with 1/4" standoffs on the fender to let cooling air under the module. If you go to the Junkyard for parts you may find a Motorcraft module. Just get it tested. The ignition module is grounded inside the distributor. Some cheapo ignition modules also grounded thru the case which caused all kinds of problems.

Use the junkyard distributor as a core for a rebuilt unit unless the junkyard wants more than the core price for it.

The distributor and wiring can be found in cars also.

The TFI ignition systems have a module on the side of the distributor, not one of Ford's better ideas.

The ignition module pictured below has a GREEN grommet:

 

except my grommet is blue

 

Your ignition system is Duraspark ignition.

 

Torque1st, you make mention of the 1.1ohm resistor....is this the ballast resistor that is shown in the many drawings on the internet?? Also, do you possibly have an example of what resistors to use?
Thanks
Ryan

 

Try Napa Part number Echlin ICR22, the resistor should give the coil positive power of about 8.5 volts.
http://www.dmauto.com/web/dmauto/Catalog/NAPA_ECAT/search/-/icr22/
click on "view other vehicles this part fits" for the application chart.

I'm sure Torque1st will have other options.

 

If you decide to get a new distributor, consider our custom curved Duraspark Distributor built with our new Full Length Oil Impregnated Bronze Bushing. The full length bushing improves timing stability and spark scatter. If stock appearance is not an issue, take a look at our one piece D.U.I. Distributor. Whether you choose the Duraspark or the D.U.I., we curve each on a distributor machine based on your engine combination. Please see them at:

http://www.performancedistributors.c...stributors.htm

 

Why not simply go with a MSD 6 box and blaster coil. You can run the duraspark distributer straight off the MSD box to the using two of the three wires coming out of the distributor. Don't use the black wire. Power the MSD straight off the battery, hook the existing MSD connector to the blaster coil and you have one hot ignition without going through all the OEM wiring harness mess. I run my truck this way. Call MSD tech. They will walk you through the install. The oil filled Blaster coil needs to be mounted vertical. You can easily adapt the OEM coil bracket for this. Your factory tach may not work. They sell an adapter for this problem or you can simply add an aftermarket tach by connecting the wire that you would normally connect to the coil to the gray tach wire coming out of the MSD box. Simply my two cents worth.

 

All I can say is that this wiring diagram is spot on. Thanks so much for this post. I have a 78 f150 4x4 that I am bringing back from the dead. The previous owner had changed it to a points system and I just took it the other way and installed the original ignition system but I had to build my own wiring harness. My truck has now leveled out before it i had adjust the timing and points about ever 20 miles. The engine in this truck is newly rebuilt and is still breaking in.

 

I am not trying to hijack this forum. I have been having running issues with my 1985 F-350 Rollback Wrecker. It will run great a while sometimes hours and then all of a sudden it will start running like crap. Sometimes it won't run good 10 mins the whole day! I have about narrowed it down to the ignition module (duraspark ll) I got a junkyard replacement and it did not even start the truck I hooked mine back up run good for about 30 minutes. I know it will run without the box attached to a ground so one of my questions is "Does the box need to be grounded properly or are there another grounding point possibly in the distributor?
Also my key switch had been rigged to start with the key in the ON position,however I have to start it with a button. I was reading above about the resistor requirement for it to run right. If it has been crossed over to start on a button does it still have the resistor in the keyswitch?
Just to throw it out there this truck really run great the whole 6 months I've had it with no issues, this is the first real problem I have had with this truck and lemme tell ya it's been a HUGE problem! I've always said I'd rather take a beating than to deal with an electrical issue none the less for this occasion.

It has the Blue Grommet... And only the red wire is connected to another green wire. The white wire coming from the box is not hooked to anything.

BEFORE I FORGET. This truck was the 6.9 Diesel and it has been converted to a 390BB with duraspark ll type ignition!

Any help would be greatly GREATLY appreciated!