85_Ranger4x4
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- 1985
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- Ford
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I have been having a nagging issue of burning up the factory e-coils and DS modules in my '85 and have been doing some digging around on possible causes. One thing I noticed in my '85 service manual for the 2.0L (which ran Duraspark) is it had a "ballast resister" feeding the coil. This is the same drawing that is in my '85 shop manual.
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In the shop manual it says it is actually a resister wire and not to cut or splice it. For the 2.8 it shows no such "ballast resister" feeding the coil, just straight 12V. My '85 EVTM collaborates this and adds that it is a length of 1 ohm resistance wire for the little four banger.
Mine is getting the full 12V now and I wonder if it is causing some kind of feedback issue between the coil and module thru the tach wire.
Anywho I was digging thru the BWD Ignition and Electrical catalog at work and found they show a BWD RU13 single pin one wire resistor wire that fits Fords 60-68 and 70-96. 61" long pink in color and 1.35 ohms for a price of $31 (O'Reilly's website). Poking around online and other 80's Fords with Duraspark had a pink resistor wire feeding the coil. My catalog also shows a ceramic version BWD part number RU6 that is also 1.35 ohms and runs under $10 for a cheaper and easier to install option.
I have been getting a little over a year out of the coil and modules so it is hard to say right away if it is a fix or not, but they were there on the factory Duraspark setups and are not there in the non-factory Duraspark setups.
I bring this up because neither of the Duraspark articles really mention much about the resister, they show it in the wiring diagram but that is it. My initial train of thought was if the coil didn't need it to start with it isn't seeing anything different and shouldn't need one with Duraspark... but I am thinking it needs to be there.
http://www.therangerstation.com/tech_library/DurasparkII.shtml
http://www.therangerstation.com/tech_library/2_8Duraspark.shtml
In the shop manual it says it is actually a resister wire and not to cut or splice it. For the 2.8 it shows no such "ballast resister" feeding the coil, just straight 12V. My '85 EVTM collaborates this and adds that it is a length of 1 ohm resistance wire for the little four banger.
Mine is getting the full 12V now and I wonder if it is causing some kind of feedback issue between the coil and module thru the tach wire.
Anywho I was digging thru the BWD Ignition and Electrical catalog at work and found they show a BWD RU13 single pin one wire resistor wire that fits Fords 60-68 and 70-96. 61" long pink in color and 1.35 ohms for a price of $31 (O'Reilly's website). Poking around online and other 80's Fords with Duraspark had a pink resistor wire feeding the coil. My catalog also shows a ceramic version BWD part number RU6 that is also 1.35 ohms and runs under $10 for a cheaper and easier to install option.
I have been getting a little over a year out of the coil and modules so it is hard to say right away if it is a fix or not, but they were there on the factory Duraspark setups and are not there in the non-factory Duraspark setups.
I bring this up because neither of the Duraspark articles really mention much about the resister, they show it in the wiring diagram but that is it. My initial train of thought was if the coil didn't need it to start with it isn't seeing anything different and shouldn't need one with Duraspark... but I am thinking it needs to be there.
http://www.therangerstation.com/tech_library/DurasparkII.shtml
http://www.therangerstation.com/tech_library/2_8Duraspark.shtml
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