This is topic no spark, coil getting hot? in forum Tech Talk at Northern California Ford Owners  .


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Posted by Blind (Member # 3052) on :
 
My 89 started right up this morning, I drove down the street, turned slight right to get out of my neighborhood, and it died. I tried pop starting it while still rolling, nothing, I cranked it over until it rolled to a stop on the curb, nothing, not even a sputter.

I popped the hood and pulled a plug wire and stuck it slightly over one of the bolts on my c/c plates, and there's no spark while cranking.

I left the key to run so I could turn the wheel, and pushed the car back to my house, halfway there the coil started making a crackling sound and a puff of smoke came out from under that side of the hood, I figured...ok cool the coil just died, easy fix, right?

Well I just replaced the coil with the one from my friends car that is known good, and still no spark, and the coil got noticably warm after a very short while of cranking, and when I unplugged the wiring for the coil I saw a spark from the connector.


any ideas on shit to check?
 
Posted by Stangs R Us *red GT black rallyes* (Member # 4495) on :
 
Man I was having the same problem and probably still am I gave up on the car since I have other projects to worry about , but did u put that coil back on your buddys car and it worked or it didn't work? Cuz mine blew out 4 coil and it blew one right when I hooked it up , its some kinda bad ground or something I got tired of buying coils.
 
Posted by warhorse58gt (Member # 7702) on :
 
i had my car blow a jacobs coil. samething as yours i heard a crackle then a ploom of smoke. i hooked up a stock ignition & coil. and the car ran home. i took off the jacobs ignition & blown coil and never had a problem. i just figured i had a bad box. cause i never blew another coil.

[ April 23, 2008, 01:41 AM: Message edited by: warhorse58gt ]
 
Posted by Blind (Member # 3052) on :
 
I used to have an MSD 6al box on the car but it did the same thing as this (no spark, not the blown coil) about 6 months ago so I took it off then and haven't used it since, both the coil it blew up and my buddies were stock.

I'm going to try my buddies coil in my `91 convertible right now as she just got home from class, my buddies car is down at the moment so I can't throw it in his car to try.

[ April 23, 2008, 01:43 AM: Message edited by: Blind ]
 
Posted by Stangs R Us *red GT black rallyes* (Member # 4495) on :
 
Ya I bet the coil is blown , my car also had a 6al and blew that first also , only difference is I had a msd coil but same symptoms , I hope ur not having the same problem that I am but if u are I will let u know if I fix the problem and would appreciate it if you could do the same.
 
Posted by Blind (Member # 3052) on :
 
my buddies stock coil just worked in my girlfriends `91 vert, so it didn't kill the coil by hooking it up.


I'm wondering if this is connected to my autometer pro-comp 5" memory tach failing a month ago? I have a new tach installed now and it worked perfectly fine on sunday when I was driving the piss out of the car at an autocross all day.

that's the only thing hooked into the coils wires right now (the tach signal wire). I wonder if that is possible shorting to ground at the firewall where I have it coming in to the dash?
 
Posted by Stangs R Us *red GT black rallyes* (Member # 4495) on :
 
Dam that's another thing that could be wrong with mine I forgot it used to have a tach also and could have a bad wire somewhere , wiring problems are the worst. Good luck.
 
Posted by Blind (Member # 3052) on :
 
just swapped the distributor from my girlfriends car into it, and still no spark.


I used a test light to the - lead on the coil, and not getting any blinks while cranking either.

the rotor is turning, the fuel pump is priming, why the hell is there no spark?
 
Posted by Stangs R Us *red GT black rallyes* (Member # 4495) on :
 
Ecu ?
 
Posted by Blind (Member # 3052) on :
 
if the ecu wasn't turning on the fuel pump wouldn't be turning on...

but I am going to try it just in case
 
Posted by Stangs R Us *red GT black rallyes* (Member # 4495) on :
 
Ya I'm jus tryin to think what's related with spark ,
 
Posted by Stangs R Us *red GT black rallyes* (Member # 4495) on :
 
Or a fuseable link
 
Posted by Stimpys 5.0 (Member # 5829) on :
 
you said you changed the distributer. do you know if the module on the dist. was working.
i had that problem w/no spark it turned out to be my module.
 
Posted by Blind (Member # 3052) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Stimpys 5.0:
you said you changed the distributer. do you know if the module on the dist. was working.
i had that problem w/no spark it turned out to be my module.
works fine, I put it back into my convertible and it started right up.
 
Posted by Blind (Member # 3052) on :
 
just got it fired.


the tach signal wire (coil negative) came out of the loom running past my m/c, and it was grounded on the last primary tube for my header.


had a sweet ass backfire through the intake when I first started getting spark, apparently had some fuel up in there from cranking with no spark [Eek!]

neighbors probably thought I was crazy when I was excited to make a shotgun blast out of the intake, cuz I got spark again bitch [dance]

started it again and it ran like shit, timing is way off since I pulled the distributor, but that's easy, time for [burnout] soon

[ May 02, 2008, 07:28 PM: Message edited by: Blind ]
 
Posted by vpr_klr (Member # 3353) on :
 
TFI distributors are notorious for having bad hall effect switches and blowing fusible links in the ignition system in the mess of wiring below the coil.

also the dist. have a tendancy to have loose wires coming out of the harness causing a short and a intermittent no start.

how are you guys wiring in these MSD boxes and Tachs?
 
Posted by Blind (Member # 3052) on :
 
my MSD box and tach was wired in with -

Deans ultra plugs (r/c car stuff) on the coil + and - wires, so I could bypass the box if (when) it went bad and run off the factory ignition.

I had it mounted on rubber isolaters where the battery is normally mounted.

Tach was hooked in through the tach output on the MSD, with it getting +/-/headlight signals from inside the cabin.


Now with the MSD bypassed, I have the tach signal wire spliced onto the coil - wire.

this tach signal wire is what came loose from the split loom that runs along the m/c and across the firewall, and it was laying on the last tube of my equal length headers and had grounded = boom coils blew up, and no spark.
 




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