Check engine light came on in my 1997 f150 5.4 engine. Went to autozone and he hooked the computer up which said misfire cylinder 1 and 3. I don't know the last time it was tuned up, because I bought it 1 1/2 years ago. Anyway the gentleman at Autozone said the screw that tightens the coil down put a wire at the bottom of that screw and re-tighten it to the valve cover I think he said and run the wire to the negative battery cable and that will save you money since the coils are expensive. He said I can do this for both of them and anymore that may give that problem. He said they usually go out often and instead of people replacing them they just run the wire and that's it. Is this true what he said or is there more to it then that? I don't want to try that and mess something up. I can't afford all the coils and plugs til early next year. Can anyone give me any feedback as to if this will work and if so how long it would hold, especially if a few more would go out til I can get them all replaced?

 

First thing to do is buy plugs and wires for it. It is a good investment. Running a wire from the coil mounting bolt will do nothing for your misfire.

 

That's a new one !!
The anchor for the bolt that holds the coil in place is serrated and pressed into the intake manifold which is non conductive. I would have to check , but I'm pretty sure there is no connection from the eye on the coil mounting that would make any difference if it was grounded. If you have the opportunity ask why and how this is supposed to work, it would be very interesting to hear his explanation. If there were stray voltages in the area,,,,maybe?

 

Never had a vehicle with coils. Was always spark plug wires so this is all new to me. All the guy said is it would ground the coil if the coil was the problem and it would save me money for now. He said this is a normal problem with certain year ford trucks that the coil goes out quicker then normal. It could be the plugs, but won't be sure til I mess with them in a few days, but I was hoping there was a temporary fix if it was the coils until I can get the money to replace them all. 45-55 bucks a coil is expensive at the parts store and I was told to definitely use motorcraft coils and either motorcraft or autolite platinums for plugs. Is there no way around a bad coil temporarily if it is that except to replace them?

 

The brass insert in the coil where the "Hold-Down" bolt goes is just for mounting purposes only so you gon't snap the hold-down. There is no electrical contact of any type thru it. You can get ULTRA-POWER coils thru ROCKAUTO.COM for about $13 each. I put a set of the ULTRA-POWER coils on my 2001 Taurus about 4 years ago and have had no issues with them for the past 75K+ miles.