Why 8 plugs and Wires??


Young_unn

Young_unn

15+ Year Member

Joined
Dec 9, 2007
Messages
84
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3,101
Age
37
City
Cleveland Ohio
Vehicle Year
98,2000
Transmission
Manual
Im having a few issues with my engine, as in the recent post about a guys truck having a miss when cold or idling, and major loss of power.

Im trying to figure out about this engine, its quite a funky one

why 8 plugs and wires?
 
um, it would first help if we knew what motor and vehicle you have. Year make and model.
 
on the 2.3's one of fords better ideas was putting two spark plugs in each cylinder.
 
michowski said:
um, it would first help if we knew what motor and vehicle you have. Year make and model.
Click to expand...

Not trying to be a dick here, but how many pre 2000 4 cylinder engines are there?

But its a 94 ranger regular cab stepside ,4 cylinder 5 spd.



Ford decided just to put to plugs in each cylinder, does it perform better like that? or was it just a lost cause that made tune ups more expensive?

thanks guys
 
Last edited:
FYI,

During start-up, only the right bank coil pack fires. The left bank does not, due to the Dual Plug Inhibit (DPI) circuit which prevents the left bank from firing.

During normal running, both plugs fire simultaneously, increasing power, and lowering emissions due to a "cleaner" burn. I believe lowering emissions is the primary motivation behind it more than anything else.

Each coil winding controls 2 plugs. One plug fires during the compression stroke of one cylinder, and other plug fires at the same time on the exhaust stroke of another cylinder. This firing of the plug on the exhaust stroke has no effect on emissions or power and is known as Waste Spark.

T.
 
This is not a Ford innovation. It has been used for many years on many different types of engines. It is currently used in several. If you get a new Dodge Hemi, it has two plugs per cylinder. shady
 
Young_unn said:
Not trying to be a dick here, but how many pre 2000 4 cylinder engines are there?

But its a 94 ranger regular cab stepside ,4 cylinder 5 spd.



Ford decided just to put to plugs in each cylinder, does it perform better like that? or was it just a lost cause that made tune ups more expensive?

thanks guys
Click to expand...

3, not including the diesels, all of which are related to each other, but not all of which had the same 8 plug heads. The later 2.3 and the 2.5 have that head, while the older 2.3's and the 2.0's had a single plug head with the distrubutor below the intake manifold. all 2.0's and some 2.3's also had a carb instead of FI. I was messing with a 2.0 for a little while, really easy motor to work on. I changed plugs, wires, and cap/rotor in less than 1/2 hr....try doing THAT on a 8 plug head...:dntknw:

cheers.:icon_cheers:
 
HAPPY_RANGER_GUY said:
FYI,

During start-up, only the right bank coil pack fires. The left bank does not, due to the Dual Plug Inhibit (DPI) circuit which prevents the left bank from firing.

During normal running, both plugs fire simultaneously, increasing power, and lowering emissions due to a "cleaner" burn. I believe lowering emissions is the primary motivation behind it more than anything else.

Each coil winding controls 2 plugs. One plug fires during the compression stroke of one cylinder, and other plug fires at the same time on the exhaust stroke of another cylinder. This firing of the plug on the exhaust stroke has no effect on emissions or power and is known as Waste Spark.

T.
Click to expand...

Could the DPI circut be whats causing me to run rough? if it is it doesent explain why it will run good at first , then after 1 minute start to run rough for a minute or 3.

Also could it maybe be i just needs plugs n wire?maybe just not getting a good spark?

Ill feel quite an idiot if thats the problem. this would be the first car i have owned where i havent changed the plugs n wires right off.
 
It's a 94 model so if those are the original wires, I'd go ahead and get them replaced, can't hurt that's for darn sure. Good idea to get the plugs too, sometimes people change the easy ones and leave the tougher ones. Sometimes people put plugs in that don't work very well too! Stick with Motorcraft or Autolites (one and the same I've heard). I like the double platinum myself.

T.
 
I replaced the wires and plugs, I just noticed last night blows a little cloud of smoke when started, and the exhaust is perfectly clean after 2 seconds
 
I just replaced the plugs and wires a couple weeks ago (2000, 2.5L), and five were easy to replace. Three were a royal pain!

But man, she idles & runs significantly better than she did.
 
CMLJESSE said:
I just replaced the plugs and wires a couple weeks ago (2000, 2.5L), and five were easy to replace. Three were a royal pain!

But man, she idles & runs significantly better than she did.
Click to expand...


yea the 3 behind the intake are a pain, just need to make sure not to knock any wires or sensors
 
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