90lariat50

I just recently bought a 1990 Ford f150 xlt Lariat. the truck is a single cab, 6' bed, dual tanks, 1/2 ton, 2wd. It has an EFI 5.0, automatic trans, speed density tuned not mass air and OBD1 of course. when i bought the truck it ran really rough and lean and after a complete tune up and gasket swap, and fixing a few vacuum leaks and sensors it has been running great other than the power steering pump whining. but today after leaving a gas station i pulled out onto the road (truck was running just fine) and after about 3 seconds of driving it just died. It was almost as if someone had turned the key off, there was no sputter or surge it just fell on its face and the red engine light came on. i coasted into a parking lot and it turns over and over but WILL NOT start. i checked the cap, rotor, coil(has spark), has spark to the plugs, fuel pump primes and i get good pressure, checked all vacuum lines and electrical connectors, pulled the codes and it only has the same power steering circuit code, i replaced the fuel pump relay and EEC power relay, i unplugged the computer, pulled it out and it turns out it has been replaced before but it seems to be working because all fuel systems are working and i can still pull codes so i cleaned the connectors and plugged it back in. i checked all over for shorts and found none, no blown fuses, alternator is plugged in tight and no blown fusible links. the only other thing i could think of is the Ignition Control Module on the dizzy, other than that i am stumped. has anyone had this problem? i would truly appreciate any help!

kevin b

Ignition Control Module that sound like my old F-150 I was in a drive thru and it just die right ther I had to push it out of the line my seft we got it home and found out that the Module had die I had the same 5.0 but 5 speed swb 90. Ther is a Ignition Control Module tool to get it off get it wen you get the new Module

silverslug96

well....it sounds identical to a problem my truck had (96' f150 with the 351W). It would die (just like you discribed)a few times every week and I would coast to the shoulder and after I came to a complete stop I was able to start my truck up and continue my day. It was very random and inconsistant...I couldn't figure out what was causing this.

One day, on my way to work, it died and after coasting to the shoulder it wouldn't start....engine would turn, but no fire. I had it towed to the local Ford dealer and they replace two items....the ignition module and a pick up that's located inside the distrubutor....not sure of the actual name of the pick up component in the dist.

Trucks been running good and hasn't died on my in three weeks. I guess it worked. Can't say if both components were bad or they were just replacing things one at a time and checking to see if that fixed it....either way it worked.

hope this helps
Damon

90lariat50

Well, quick update. bought a completely new dist and ignition module. truck started when i rotated the distributor until it caught. now my problem is the the truck is running really lean and bucks when there is any load on the engine. it also idles extremely rough and will sometimes stall. i knew this had to be a timing issue and have been trying for 5 hours to figure it out and im still stumped. i didnt have this problem before i unplugged the SPOUT connector to have it tested with the module. i've tried rotating the rotor 180* to be sure i wasnt 180 out and im definetely not. with the spout out i can get it to idle somewhat smoothly (still rather rough and misses) at about 16-18* on the balancer. but as soon as i reconnect the SPOUT plug the truck barely idles and bucks/stumbles under load. I've read that the harmonic balancer on these engines slip fairly often and that might be my problem? should i just TDC on #1 cyl and put rotor on #1 as well and see if the balancer reads 0 to match? i appreciate the quick responses btw thanks guys.

sniffmyexhaust

I just replaced the entire dist. yesterday on my 95' 5.0 When I dropped it in I was one tooth off. It barely ran! So I lifted it out and turned it one tooth counterclockwise and it runs great now. I also removed the battery cable for a few minutes (to let the computer reset) and it seemed to run even smoother. Now my problem is it runs good for awhile and all the sudden the engine stops (like the key got turned off) Then it wont start for a few minutes. Then it'll start and run fine. I replaced the whole dist. because the Dist. cap "spacer" (located under the top dist. cap) bolts came out: this caused the cap to move and the rotor crashed into the cap causing the rotor to break apart and the pieces went down into the pick-up sensor ("pip" I think it's called or hall effect stator?) and destroyed the sensor.

Good Luck! I hope this helps you...

fordman41291

I'm thinking something with the ignition coil, or maybe the coil wioer to the distributor..

qdeezie

Pull your distributor out and set it again. I have found that when replacing distributors outright, marking the rotor location based on where the old one was means pretty much nothing and you have to do the #1 spark plug method as you described. Marking only works when re-installing the old distributor. At least that's been my experience.

For the power steering whine, do a few drain/flush cycles with a fresh name brand Type F fluid. I found a good sale on Valvoline Type F to use on my truck. My truck is actually very quiet since doing that. I tried a flush with cheap type F and my truck whined like crazy because it didn't like el cheapo type F in the least bit.

90lariat50

Well here we go again. This problem has gone so long with no sign of being figured out that i actually bought another truck to drive and now im just trying to get this figured out so i can sell this piece of ! im in need of some serious help, I took back the brand new dizzy and replaced it with ANOTHER, still does the same thing..new plugs, same thing.. replaced ECM, no change.. i found when i pulled the plug wires off the cap, the was a thick lime-green corrosion on the #1 cap terminal. i replaced the cap with an MSD unit and a new plug wire, then TDC'd #1 redropped the dizzy, and when it started it ran GREAT and on 10 degrees BTDC!....well as it warmed up it got worse and worse until it was still doing the same things as before, will only stay running if advanced into the 20's, when i stick the SPOUT back in it still runs even worse. if i get it to idle (although still rough) and i give it any gas, it dies immediately. WTF? im so confused and need to find the fix to this as soon as possible. also, i just did a compression test and all cylinders are within a few pounds of 135psi. highest being 138 and lowest 131. im so lost and have talked to 3 mechanics that have struck out as well. if anyone has ANY ideas please help, im stumped

Dick Lester

I had this problem with my90 f150. I replaced the computer .

David Young

The Thread Starter hasn't been back on the Forum for 10 years . He must have sold his truck and moved on