F250-82 400 DS II.

Started the truck and backed out of the garage and left it idle for a minute or two, then needed to move it a little and gave some throttle- it hesitated and died and the truck is from that moment stone dead and no spark
Have performed some tests according to Haynes Ford PU 80-94 Chapter 5 Engine electrical system Duraspark II.
Some observations is:
faulty ballas resistor ?-get no readings at ohm-test
bad distibuter?-get no readings when measuring the resistance of stator and wiring harness acc Haynes chap 5 pict 5.51 and 5.55 and using the distributer base as connecting point. When checking the stator itself it seems ok-590 ohm. When measuring between the dist connector and the dist base-no readings. After the truck died there is no ignition light coming on on the instrument cluster.
I feel I need some help to solve this problem.

 

Is this the black ground wire? If so, it should be connected to the base inside the dist, I would check it.

Do you have voltage on the coil + when you put the key in run?

 

9 out of 10 times no spark is a bad module. You can remove it and have it tested at most auto parts stores.

 

does the starter turn over?

If not check the fusible links attached to the solenoid on the fender wall by the battery.

 

Thank you all for answering!

The starter moves ok.
The black wire in the dist-connector is ok in to the fastening screw inside the dist.
If I ohm test either of the two other to the dist base (according to Haynes manual) I get no reading.
The wiring between the ignition module and the dist connector is OK.
There is full voltage at the coil both in run and start mode.
I will check with a Ford Truck Service company for a test of the module, if they still can perform it.

 

Is it possible to move this post over to Performance, Engines & Troubleshooting > 335 Series- 5.8/351M, 6.6/400, 351 Cleveland ?

 

They can test the module at most auto part stores. Autozone, Kragen, O'Riley's etc...

This means one of two things. If the distributor base is corroded or painted you will need to scratch this off enough to get a reading. If the distributor is corroded really bad it will lose it's ground through the distributor base to the engine block. The wire could also be broke etc...

Depending on how you tested it, this sounds fine. you should test the resistor this way. You unplug the ignition switch, DS-II module connector, and the coil, and do a continuity OHM tests between the two wire ends on the red/green stripe wire. There should be between 0.8 to 1.6 ohms on this circut.

You need to check the Red wire, and the White wire at the module connector on the main harness for power as well. In Run and In start mode.

 

It sounds to me like you are checking for continuity from the pickup coil wire to ground, You should get no reading or infinity on your meter indicating the pickup is not shorted to ground.

 

It sounded to me like he was checking the distributor ground wire.

But now that I read it again, I believe this is what he means. He checked the purple, then Orange wire to ground. I changed a little in my previous answer to reflect this.


You should only get continuity on the black wire to ground.

The other two wires Orange and Purple you should not get continuity to ground IE: "0". If the resistance is less than 70,000 Ohms then you need to replace the stator. If it's more that's fine. Not getting a reading or a reading that's more than 70,000 ohms is fine.

Next you should get a reading between the two, Orange and Purple wires. The resistance here should be between 400 - 1300 Ohms. If it's more or less than specs then replace it.

How is the pickup wheel? Is it really badly rusted? If so replace etc...

 

It's looking good.

Thank you very much for supporting me!

 

My result: Red wire; Run=12.5 V Start=12.3 V, White wire; Run=0 V Start=12.4 V

 

Not broken but perhaps bypassed. Again you need to hook the ohm meter to the trucks wires in such a way as it goes through the resistor. Why you should check the resistor between the ignition switch connector, and the coil connector. Red/Green stripe wire. Then from the DS-II connector to the ignition switch connector. This can be a severe pain in the butt, and is why the haynes manual states to do it the other way, but it can lead to erronious data. Power has to flow through the resistor for it to change. If you hook up a voltmeter to check for volts at the coil connector only, you will not see a drop in voltage, because the current flow is not enough to make it drop with it not running. If you check for ohms with a multimeter, with the probes on both sides of the resistor, IE at the ignition switch and coil connector, then you will see an increase in ohms or resistance. This is because the current of the battery of the ohm meter is flowing through the resistor and back to the meter.


This is exact opposite of what it should be. Check the wires at the Trucks Harness side and report back again. Make sure it is the truck side, and not the module side you check.

Red/Light Blue Stripe: 12V in start. No power in run.

White/Light Blue hash: 12V in run, no power in start.

Be aware that aftermarket and replacement DS-II modules reversed the Red and white wire colors at the module harness connector. So essentially the colors swap in the connector. Red for white, white for red. It is wired correctly though, so do not swap the colors around to where they match. Original motorcraft modules from the factory are color coded correctly. There are aftermarket wiring and diagrams that get these two colors swapped as well, so be aware of this quirk.

Here is a picture of how it swaps colors in the harness.



Above all have the module tested at the parts store.

 

Thanks for directing me in the testing process. I will redo my testing and come back later. I just ckecked the colors of the wires, red and white, at the module(Motorcraft) and they do swap in the connector.

 

Check the Red and White wires at the truck side of the harness to avoid confusion.

 

Test result after repeatedly measuring, truck side to coil-red wire.

Red/light blue wire: 0.2V in Start(hesitating continuity-ohm meter), 12V in Run

White/light blue wire: 0V in start(continuity-ohm meter), 0V in Run(continuity-ohm meter)

Will get test result of ignition module tomorrow.