coachk64

Hello folks,

New member here. I have a 96 F150 with 302 with about 170K miles. Had it about 10 years with very little problems at all, but yesterday it died in the middle of a busy intersection and had to have it towed home.

It cranks just fine, but I checked a plug an got no spark. I checked the coil and got no spark. So naturally I replaced the coil with a brand new one, still no spark.

I'd appreciate any suggestions on where to check next.

Cory hook

Let me know what you find out man my grandpas 95 5.0 will turn over like a charm but won't fire sometimes and then you come back 15 mins later and it'll fire right up

jtp1984

Check distributor. Not the cap but the gear itself. I know my 89 had this issue at one point. Ended up just replacing the whole distributor with a new model unit. The bronze gear wore out on the stock unit

coachk64

Would a faulty distributor cause the coil to put out no spark?

jtp1984

Missed the part about the coil not getting spark. Try another coil. 2 years ago I got a new coil for my wife's 94 sportster (trying to be preventative ) and the brand new coil crapped out after 1 mile, needless to say the original coil is still in it

coachk64

Thanks for the info JTP. Does anyone out there know an easy way to check the coil? If you just check through it with an ohm meter you get different readings. What kind of reading are you looking for through the coil?

Chris_1

iTrader: (1)

The most likely problem is the PIP (pickup module inside the distributor, does what points used to do, for old school guys like me). The other possibility is the ICM, which is mounted on the fender below the driver's hood hinge.
First you want to get a test light and make sure you actually have power to the coil when the key is on.
There are ways to test each individual part (check easyautodiagnostics.com) but you are most likely looking at a PIP or ICM.

coachk64

Chris, thanks for the good info. I went to easyautodiagnostics.com and they had very clear instructions on checking for a no-spark condition. I followed them completely and they led me straight to the ICM. So I replaced it and still have the same condition. I went back through all the tests, even checking my spark checker on another vehicle to make sure it was working. I even checked for the coil control signal right at the ICM to make sure I didn't just have a bad connection in the wiring harness somewhere.

I spoke to my auto parts shop and they have another ICM ordered, will be here in a couple of days. If I can't come up with anything else they'll replace the ICM I bought, but I would also like to make sure I'm not missing something.

Anybody have any ideas on anything I might be missing?

PerryB

1) Is the distributor turning? No turn = no spark due to no signal from the pick-up coil.
2) If not turning, pull it out and look at the gear. Is it stripped or heavily worn?
3) If the gear is good, look down the hole at the cam and have an assistant turn the engine over. Is the cam turning ? If not, you have a timing chain/gear issue. A trained ear can detect this, it'll have an arythmic sound to it when cranking. It'll turn over too easy and not have the sound of individual cylinders going over the compression stroke.

PerryB

Yes, the coil is triggered by the distributor.