Welcome Visitor! Please take a few seconds and 
85_Ranger4x4
Forum Staff Member
TRS Event Staff
TRS Forum Moderator
Article Contributor
V8 Engine Swap
OTOTM Winner
TRS 20th Anniversary
VAGABOND
TRS Event Participant
- Joined
- Aug 7, 2007
- Messages
- 32,316
- Reaction score
- 17,772
- Points
- 113
- Location
- SW Iowa
- Vehicle Year
- 1985
- Make / Model
- Ford
- Engine Type
- V8
- Engine Size
- 5.0
- Transmission
- Manual
Way back around 2007-2008 I durasparked my 2.8. Used a JY Ford Duraspark box and kept the factory E coil. When I swapped in the 302 in early 2011 it was plug and play with a reman '85 Mustang dizzy and worked great. Late 2011 I got a new radio and with the dash all apart I hadn't noticed the tach (usually mounted to steering column cover) had fallen down off the signal and wiper sticks and was hanging on the wires. Apparently the steel dash support cut the insulation on one so when I went to test the radio it caused a bunch of smoke (and lots of terror 
) until I jerked the battery cable off. Killed both module and coil in the process... both parts were old but it was totally my fault IMO.
So I got new "premium" junk from Carquest I think to replace. Two years later in 2013 in the middle of a snow drift on top of a hill the coil died. I got new premium this time from O'Reilly's. I was so disgusted by it I got a pair of cheapies (both module and coil) to keep behind the seat in a little toolbox with the appropriate tools to swap "just in case" so I didn't get stranded somewhere... and receipts. I also remade the harness going from the module to the dizzy at this time, out in the blowing snow I got disgusted trying to get it to make connections with the 30 yo harness.
Two months ago the coil gave up again. It had been acting funny, hard to start at random times and lower on power. I was at the gas station next to Carquest so I limped it over on my spare and changed it at home.
Going down the main drag this morning the truck died like I shut the key off, wouldn't say a word. Pulled it to work (there is no way my new coil could be bad already right?) and it took both the module and coil yet again to run.
What is the deal? Do I need to go OEM? Is something in the wiring hard on them (connections?) I see MSD makes a drop in coil, nothing on a module though. Rockauto has a Motorcraft but it looks identical to the one I just took out.
) until I jerked the battery cable off. Killed both module and coil in the process... both parts were old but it was totally my fault IMO. So I got new "premium" junk from Carquest I think to replace. Two years later in 2013 in the middle of a snow drift on top of a hill the coil died. I got new premium this time from O'Reilly's. I was so disgusted by it I got a pair of cheapies (both module and coil) to keep behind the seat in a little toolbox with the appropriate tools to swap "just in case" so I didn't get stranded somewhere... and receipts. I also remade the harness going from the module to the dizzy at this time, out in the blowing snow I got disgusted trying to get it to make connections with the 30 yo harness.
Two months ago the coil gave up again. It had been acting funny, hard to start at random times and lower on power. I was at the gas station next to Carquest so I limped it over on my spare and changed it at home.
Going down the main drag this morning the truck died like I shut the key off, wouldn't say a word. Pulled it to work (there is no way my new coil could be bad already right?) and it took both the module and coil yet again to run.
What is the deal? Do I need to go OEM? Is something in the wiring hard on them (connections?) I see MSD makes a drop in coil, nothing on a module though. Rockauto has a Motorcraft but it looks identical to the one I just took out.
Last edited:
