1996 E-150 5.8 Liter. New plugs, wires, distributor x 2, ICM x 2, new Ignition Coil.
Vehicle stalls or fails to spark downstream from Coil. Runs temporarily after each repair. Checked ICM. Wire #1 PIP (remember new Distributor) blinks with LED Test on cranking. Wire #2 SPOUT (OMIT FOR NOW). Wire #3 12-V on START NO 12-V on START W/Pk wire PIN #48 from PCM (ECC/Comp). Wire #4 IDM (powers coil, ICM and PIP) good test 12-V. Wire #5 Ignition Coil Switching (to Coil) NOTHING. Wire #6 GND GOOD. Continuity on all ICM wires back is GOOD. EXCEPT Wire #3 12-V on START. Two W/Pk wires (in this vehicle's case) . One from PCM PIN # 48 (no 12-V), and another traced through ignition harness to C139 Park Neutral Position Switch astride the automatic transmisision housing. Easy access. The opposite end of this W/Pk wire goes into dash?? Possibly the FORD Anti-Theft but cannot verify continuity there. Unable to produce spark downstream from new Coil without active ICM Wire #5 Coil Switching signal.
Absent 12-V at Wire # 3 at START is also problem. Battery is GOOD. ANY IDEAS? Local FORD DEALER declined to diagnose/help. BAD PCM or is it a sensor?
Rickyde
PS Living in the van in South Texas WalMart lot.

 

How do we know the dist has been installed correctly? You can get it to go in and down , but still not be in the correct location for correct timing.

 

Thanks Hanky. Good thought. An improperly placed distributor would not interfere with the Ignition Control Module producing any coil switching signal at Wire #5. or the 12-V on START (W/Pk) at Wire #3. Also remember the PIP signal (distributor) tested out well using the LED test light. So the Ignition Module is receiving the PIP signal, just not signaling the Ignition Coil to fire. Thanks

 

You have 2 wires plugged onto the ign coil (primary side). One should be a constant 12 volts from the ign switch and the other gets the ground signal to fire the coil. If you unplugged the plug and provided 12 vols to that ign terminal of the coil and "momentarily touched" a grounded jumper to the other primary terminal , it should produce a spark from the secondary lead. If it does, coil appears OK, if not coil is N/G.
Sometimes measuring resistance readings from primary winding reads ok and coil is still n/g.
If all is good , we go from there.