YACT: 1985 Ford Ranger

[amdskip]

Truck has low mileage of 70,000 miles on it. Carburated 6 cylinder. Driving down the highway and heard a loud pop noise. Truck has no spark, coil has been tested good. Took a spark out and hooked it up to a wire and there is no spark there. Autozone said something about an ignition module but we can't find that under the hood. Distributor seems ok as the rotor is spinning. Helping a buddy out on this so all details are secondhand, any help appreciated.

 

[Evadman]

That is most likely the spark module. It is a TFI type on the EEC-IV (Which I think this ranger is), and can be loaced nearly anywhere, but is usually located on the distributor itself. It is usually below the cap. (not IN the cap, it is mounted on the outside, below the cap) It should have (IIRC) 5 wires going into it, 2 green, 2 red, and a yellow. The module itself is rather large and has cooling fins.

I seem to remember on some cars it was mounted on the radiator support, but i think it was only a few cars, and not trucks. Don't quote me anyway

 

[Evadman]

I just remembered something, and found an article that proves I am not making things up . The '85 ranger was recalled for this. Ford should fix it free since the truck is under the 100k limit.

linky

Your friend owes me a dollar.

Module called culprit
The problem stems from a small part called the "thick-film ignition module," which regulates electricity running to the spark plugs. Plaintiff's allege Ford positioned the module too close to the engine block. They say the heat radiating from the engine causes the devices to fail and stall the vehicles, sometimes on a busy highway or on railroad crossings.
Ballachey -- who said Ford was living in an "Alice in Wonderland" dreamland for denying ignition switches were defective -- found last year that Ford was warned by an engineer that high temperatures would cause the device to fail and stall the engine.
Internal Ford documents unearthed during the case show that the company confirmed the problem in internal studies. Moving the module to a cooler spot would have cost an an extra $4 per vehicle, the records show.
"Ford's got a lot of amends to make because of the cost-cutting measures it has taken historically," said Ralph Hoar, director of Safetyforum.com, which works for plaintiffs' attorneys suing the auto industry. "That's what is coming back to bite them on the butt."
The models affected include Ford's Taurus, LTD, Ranger, Bronco, Mustang and Escort, according to Ford. Cars from Ford's Lincoln and Mercury divisions that had the device include the Town Car, Sable and Grand Marquis.
The agreement supercedes Ballachey's recall of some 2 million vehicles on California's roads, the first such recall by a U.S. judge.
Ford has argued that the judge had overstepped his authority, saying only the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration could order a recall. The company had threatened to appeal his recall order.

 

[Evadman]

I have not yet recieved my dollar