89 bronco II wont start

awagner · Mar 25, 2010

Hello...Banging my head. I have a 89 bronco II 2.9 l v6 that wont start. i have fuel at the fuel bar, have spark on all 6 plugs and it cranks fine but wont fire. any help would be greatly appriciated. ran fine yesterday.
note... spark is not blue. from the coil even it is orangeish

BroncoDan · Mar 25, 2010

What the hell is a fuel bar? Is that one of those flux capacitor things that sits in the trunk???? :icon_rofl:

Had to do it...

adsm08 · Mar 25, 2010

Fuel bar = Fuel Rail.

Ok, so you have spark, but weak spark. Go get a TFI module and a coil. I recommend springing for the OEM parts. They cost a little bit more, but will last you years longer than after-market parts.

Important note: An old coil can kill a new TFI. I've seen it before. A lot of guys try to get away with only replacing the TFI. Roughly half the time those TFI modules only live half as long as they sould.

lil_Blue_Ford · Mar 26, 2010

adsm08 said:
Fuel bar = Fuel Rail.

Ok, so you have spark, but weak spark. Go get a TFI module and a coil. I recommend springing for the OEM parts. They cost a little bit more, but will last you years longer than after-market parts.

Important note: An old coil can kill a new TFI. I've seen it before. A lot of guys try to get away with only replacing the TFI. Roughly half the time those TFI modules only live half as long as they sould.

+1

I'd also check your battery condition. If it's weak, it will make a weak spark. An orangish spark is a weak spark. It should be bluish with a sharp snap to it. Just make sure your fingers are not too close to a good hot spark... that frickin hurts!!!!

Also, if you do replace the TFI, put some thought into doing a TFI relocation. Ford had a repair kit out at one time for 'em that relocated them to the inner fender, but those kits were mostly used on fullsize trucks. And whatever you do, remember that you HAVE to put that grease stuff on the back of the TFI.

awagner · Mar 26, 2010

Where is the tfi located when on distributor? Do you have to pull the distributor to get to it? I saw a post to test it.....if it tests good whats next?

lil_Blue_Ford · Mar 26, 2010

awagner said:
Where is the tfi located when on distributor? Do you have to pull the distributor to get to it? I saw a post to test it.....if it tests good whats next?

The TFI module is typically a grey colored item on the back of the distributor that has an electrical plug on it. I've never had to remove the distributor to work on one, but it does typically require a special tool to remove (thin wall socket or sometimes a small torx bit). There's a bit of grease/paste between the back of the TFI module and the distributor, it's a sort of heat transfer paste IIRC. In a pinch you might be able to use dielectric grease. A new TFI module should come with a small tube of the proper stuff.

If that's good, I'd look at the battery condition an the coil. I'd also check ground wires, the one on my choptop gave me fits for awhile, it looked like it was ok but when I flexed it partway down I could hear it crunching - which means it corroded inside the casing. At the time I had the truck at a junkyard where I was friends with the owner (he let me use their shop and lifts), so I just went junkyard diving for a newer cable. When I found what would work, I just replaced my cable, cleaned the ends, used liquid electrical tape, heat shrink tubing and dielectric grease for making the terminations. But I'm anal about doing electrical work correctly, lol.

awagner · Mar 26, 2010

i just ran the eec test with a volt meter and get code 4-5 would this indicate i should pursue the tfi ave?

BroncoDan · Mar 26, 2010

awagner said:
i just ran the eec test with a volt meter and get code 4-5 would this indicate i should pursue the tfi ave?

It means you should burn that thing to the ground... :headbang:

*side note*

For those of you who don't know... I know this guy, as in we have drank a beer or two together... The BII he is having problems with use to be mine... I've been helping him with this problem... Didn't want people thinking I was harrassing him for no good reason... :icon_cheers:

Code 45 indicates a problem with the TAD Thermactor Air Diverter. Anybody have a picture of a TAD? :icon_confused:

BroncoDan · Mar 26, 2010

After using my friend's volt meter I'm not sure I trust that thing... probably has a weak battery and don't know that I trust the codes he is getting.

Here is what we do know.

We have fuel at the FUEL BAR aka fuel rails. We have spark at all plugs. All vacuum lines seem to be in good condition. But with all this we get no sign of life. The engine will crank all day long but never tries to actually start. The only two things left that I would think would cause a complete no start are compression and computer. Is there any way of testing the computer?

awagner · Mar 26, 2010

use you other b2 computer and see how she acts bronco daniela

lil_Blue_Ford · Mar 26, 2010

I will say one thing....

I went through a problem with my choptop when I replaced the motor with a junkyard one. I spent a couple weeks bashing my head against the wall trying to get it to start. I had good compression, I had strong spark, I had air and I had fuel. By rights it should have started like that, but no. I replaced the distributor, replaced the plug wires, coil, battery cables, spark plugs, plug wires, re-set the distributor several times, swapped the intake and fuel rails from my old 2.9, checked fuses, checked relays, checked fuseable links, replaced the TFI, and did a ton of other things.

I was totally frustrated and despite several experienced people trying to help me, it was still a no-go. So when I ran the battery down for the umpteenth time, instead of pulling it and sticking it on the charger and going for a beer or three, I pulled my Ranger next to it, left it idle, and hooked up the jumper cables. Let it sit a min and tried the BII. Lo an behold.... it fired right up. Never had another problem since.

Don't ask me to explain what happened. About all I can think of is maybe the extra shot of juice from a running motor with a good battery and alt was enough to do something. I'm not sure that hooking a stock BII up would do the same sort of thing though, my Ranger has a 130 amp alt (or somewhere thereabouts) and the stock BII alt is only something like 85 amps.

BroncoDan · Mar 26, 2010

awagner said:
use you other b2 computer and see how she acts bronco daniela

Well let me just run down the street and pick that up... :icon_twisted:

Don't think they are wired the same...

BroncoDan · Mar 26, 2010

Hey Wagner... wanna kill a beer or 6 while the F150 tries to boost her?

BroncoDan · Mar 26, 2010

I think that is called "The Frankenstein Effect"

That's the boat we are in right now without all the swapping. Everything seems to be working just fine... and yet no joy.

lil_Blue_Ford said:
I will say one thing....

I went through a problem with my choptop when I replaced the motor with a junkyard one. I spent a couple weeks bashing my head against the wall trying to get it to start. I had good compression, I had strong spark, I had air and I had fuel. By rights it should have started like that, but no. I replaced the distributor, replaced the plug wires, coil, battery cables, spark plugs, plug wires, re-set the distributor several times, swapped the intake and fuel rails from my old 2.9, checked fuses, checked relays, checked fuseable links, replaced the TFI, and did a ton of other things.

I was totally frustrated and despite several experienced people trying to help me, it was still a no-go. So when I ran the battery down for the umpteenth time, instead of pulling it and sticking it on the charger and going for a beer or three, I pulled my Ranger next to it, left it idle, and hooked up the jumper cables. Let it sit a min and tried the BII. Lo an behold.... it fired right up. Never had another problem since.

Don't ask me to explain what happened. About all I can think of is maybe the extra shot of juice from a running motor with a good battery and alt was enough to do something. I'm not sure that hooking a stock BII up would do the same sort of thing though, my Ranger has a 130 amp alt (or somewhere thereabouts) and the stock BII alt is only something like 85 amps.

adsm08 · Mar 26, 2010

My money is still on coil/TFI.

I've seen them give off yellow/orange spark and have a no start. The problem is that when it's cold that weak spark isn't enough to get the fuel to light off.

Roughly 90% of the no-starts I've seen on the TFI systems were TFI module related. The others were mostly fuel related, bad pump, bad relay, etc. I've only seen 1 bad ECM, and I cooked it myself by mistake. They can go bad if you get a water leak in that area though.

89 bronco II wont start

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