• Welcome Visitor! Please take a few seconds and Register for our forum. Even if you don't want to post, you can still 'Like' and react to posts.

dual coil pack mod


Slo Ranger Trk

New Member
Joined
Aug 3, 2010
Messages
26
Reaction score
0
Points
1
Vehicle Year
2000
Make / Model
ford
Transmission
Manual
he all out there in ranger land ,

question for you guy that really have some know bout these trucks ...

i saw a thread about " changing the second coil wires "

said that it would help performance and mileage .. and not harm the electronics on your truck ...

any of you folks be able to give me some feedback about this change ? kinda concerns me about the second coil pack and the cpu ? and does the second coil fire on exhaust ?

thanks all for your time and help ... have a great day all !

mahalo,
 


adsm08

Senior Master Grease Monkey
Supporting Member
Article Contributor
Ford Technician
TRS 20th Anniversary
Joined
Sep 20, 2009
Messages
34,623
Reaction score
3,613
Points
113
Location
Dillsburg PA
Vehicle Year
1987
Make / Model
Ford
Engine Type
4.0 V6
Engine Size
4.0
Transmission
Manual
2WD / 4WD
4WD
Tire Size
31X10.50X15
All it does is change the firing order and timing of the second coil to help performance more than emissions and give a little extra kick to the power stroke. The computer will never know the difference.
 

Slo Ranger Trk

New Member
Joined
Aug 3, 2010
Messages
26
Reaction score
0
Points
1
Vehicle Year
2000
Make / Model
ford
Transmission
Manual
coil mod

hey , cause i live in cali -- the emission deal looms large for me .. would it effect the smog machine readout ?
thanks for your help ..
mahalo
 

EMB1230

New Member
Joined
Jan 1, 2011
Messages
423
Reaction score
0
Points
0
Location
Kenosha, Wi
Vehicle Year
1987
Make / Model
Ford
Engine Size
2.3L
Transmission
Manual
So far, nobody has been able to prove if it in fact does anything, or if it's all just a mental thing.
 

scotts90ranger

Well-Known Member
RBV's on Boost
Joined
Feb 28, 2001
Messages
7,930
Reaction score
4,227
Points
113
Location
Dayton Oregon
Vehicle Year
1990, 1997
Make / Model
Ford
Engine Type
2.3 (4 Cylinder)
Engine Size
2.3 Turbo
Transmission
Manual
2WD / 4WD
4WD
Total Lift
6
Tire Size
35"
there's only two coils in the coil pack not 4, and I believe that swapping the two that they mention is on the same output so shouldn't really do anything.
 

BRUTUS_T_HOG

New Member
Article Contributor
ASE Certified Tech
TRS Banner 2010-2011
Joined
Aug 26, 2008
Messages
2,222
Reaction score
36
Points
0
Location
Rainier, OR
Vehicle Year
89
Make / Model
Ford
Engine Size
2.3L
Transmission
Manual
he all out there in ranger land ,

question for you guy that really have some know bout these trucks ...

i saw a thread about " changing the second coil wires "

said that it would help performance and mileage .. and not harm the electronics on your truck ...

any of you folks be able to give me some feedback about this change ? kinda concerns me about the second coil pack and the cpu ? and does the second coil fire on exhaust ?

thanks all for your time and help ... have a great day all !

mahalo,
It doesn't do a thing. Imagine if there was NOT dual plugs and NOT dual coils.

You would have one coil pack which contains 2 coils, a coil for cylinders 1 & 4 and a coil for 2 & 3.

So when the computer needs cylinder 1 to fire it fires that coil, but since 1 & 4 share a coil they both fire at the same time. 4 does nothing because cylinder 4 is on its exhaust stroke and the spark is "wasted". Which is why this setup is called waste spark.

The mod calls for switching the plug wires on your drivers side coil, you would swap 1 & 4. The problem with this idea is that since both of the paired cylinders already fire at the same time there will be no change in operation.
 

PetesPonies

Active Member
Joined
Jan 1, 2008
Messages
1,166
Reaction score
25
Points
38
Location
east coast
Vehicle Year
1983
Make / Model
Ranger
Engine Size
2.3l
Transmission
Manual
And even more than Brutus said . . not only is the exhaust spark wasted, but it's not much voltage either. A spark from the coil happens when it can make the jump to ground. Since there is no compression in the cylinder, it is much easier for the spark to jump across the gap and go to the ground side of the plug. So less energy is wasted. Its still wasted, but not much of what the coil has created. The majority, by far, goes to the cylinder when is under compression.
 

ericthedean

New Member
Joined
Jan 31, 2013
Messages
8
Reaction score
0
Points
0
Vehicle Year
89
Make / Model
ford
Transmission
Manual
can you get both coils to spark at the same time and give the sed more spark with no waste spark?
 

zekew64

Member
Joined
Oct 4, 2011
Messages
207
Reaction score
2
Points
18
Location
Carbondale, IL
Vehicle Year
1992
Make / Model
Ford
Engine Size
2.3L I4, rebuilt from a '91
Transmission
Manual
can you get both coils to spark at the same time and give the second more spark with no waste spark?
No...you can't.

Think about it, breaking it down to basics:

An ignition coil gets its power from the ICM (Ignition Control Module), which sends 12 V through the module. The module pulses that voltage through the first (primary) coil to each cylinder. The voltage then gets "stepped up" through the second (secondary) coil. This secondary voltage is what jumps across the spark plug to create the spark that is used in the cylinder. In essence, the coil on your truck does the same thing, albeit the reverse direction, as the power wires for your house do when power goes through the wire, through the transformer for your house, and through the wires to your house (120K V from the overhead wires, stepped down to your house voltage of 220 or 110 V, depending).

I've heard that if you could change the exhaust-stroke spark to firing on the compression stroke (as the other coil already does), you gain additional power in the motor, because both plugs are firing at the same time in each cylinder.

However, I find those claims dubious at best, only because, as others have already said, the exhaust spark that fires is weak at best. There is, IMHO, no power gain to be had from forcing the coil to fire both plugs at the same time. However, if the exhaust spark had the same amount of power the compression plug does, you would see a power increase. The problem is, 1) you would, in stock form, find a lot of backfiring, due to firing on the exhaust stroke; and if you modified the coils to fire at the same time, with both having the same amount of power, there is a possibility you would increase detonation to the point of burning up your pistons, due to the increased heat from the combustion inside the combustion chamber.

Long story short, if you had the same voltage for both coils, and fired both coils at the same time, you'd burn holes through your pistons because of the significant increase in the combustion chamber temperature.
 
Last edited:

adsm08

Senior Master Grease Monkey
Supporting Member
Article Contributor
Ford Technician
TRS 20th Anniversary
Joined
Sep 20, 2009
Messages
34,623
Reaction score
3,613
Points
113
Location
Dillsburg PA
Vehicle Year
1987
Make / Model
Ford
Engine Type
4.0 V6
Engine Size
4.0
Transmission
Manual
2WD / 4WD
4WD
Tire Size
31X10.50X15
While your result is almost correct your method is wrong.

The coils are provided a constant 12V when the key is on. The icm breaks the ground circuit in response to a signal from the crank sensor. This creates and then collapses an electromagnetic field in the primary windings. As the collapsing field passes over the discharged secondary coil windings it creates a 40KV charge that will discharge across the spark plug and run to ground through the engine block. If it cant find a ground to discharge through the coil pack tends to explode.

Also, you won't burn a hole in a piston by putting a hotter spark in the cylinder.

Postin' from teh Galaxy
 
Last edited:

4b316

New Member
Joined
Aug 19, 2007
Messages
588
Reaction score
4
Points
0
Vehicle Year
1995
Make / Model
ford
Transmission
Manual
You guys are looking at it wrong.The secondary coil fires on the exhaust stroke to burn the unburned gases on exhaust stroke to help burn emissions.If you change it around to fire on the compression stroke,you are having a more complete burn then.One of the biggest improvements you can make on a harley is to get a set of double plug heads to help get a complete burn.There is no difference in the voltage from primary to secondary.There was a article in Grassroots racing a few years ago that when they put a double plug head on a vehicle(I can't remember if this was a Lima or not)but increase the torque and hp,not by much if I remember,maybe 2-3 of each but for such a simple switch,why not?It does not bring on a CEL so I would not think it affects emissions but not something I have checked first hand.We have raced the EFI ranger for 14 years and this is one of the first mods we do.We run our motors at 6200 every lap,this will be the 3rd year on this motor and probably will just rering and run.NOTE adsm08 posted before I got mine in and he hit it on the nose
 
Last edited:

PetesPonies

Active Member
Joined
Jan 1, 2008
Messages
1,166
Reaction score
25
Points
38
Location
east coast
Vehicle Year
1983
Make / Model
Ranger
Engine Size
2.3l
Transmission
Manual
4b316 . . you are so wrong. I have explained this. You are crazy in thinking this. This is not how it works, trust me!! I taught this for thirty years . . it's laughable . . . jeesh. Please . . read about wasted spark. Its been arouind for 50 years . . it has nothing to do with gases on the exhaust stroke . . wow !!!
 

snoranger

Professional money waster
TRS Event Staff
TRS Forum Moderator
Supporting Member
Article Contributor
RBV's on Boost
ASE Certified Tech
VAGABOND
TRS Event Participant
GMRS Radio License
Joined
Nov 25, 2007
Messages
13,055
Reaction score
13,527
Points
113
Location
Jackson, NJ
Vehicle Year
'79,'94,'02,'23
Make / Model
All Fords
Engine Type
2.3 EcoBoost
Transmission
Automatic
2WD / 4WD
4WD
My credo
I didn't ask for your life story, just answer the question!
THIS DOES NOTHING! Both plugs fire on BOTH the intake and exhaust stroke already.

Lets see why:
When cylinder #1 is at TDC and the plug fires, The wasted spark goes to cyl #4 (which is on exhaust stroke). Since #4 is on its exhaust stroke the "exhaust" plug is being fired, which the "wasted" spark is going to #1 exhaust plug. So in all reality....
Both plugs fire everytime the cylinder comes up. You can move the wires around all you want, but your just wasting your time.
 

PetesPonies

Active Member
Joined
Jan 1, 2008
Messages
1,166
Reaction score
25
Points
38
Location
east coast
Vehicle Year
1983
Make / Model
Ranger
Engine Size
2.3l
Transmission
Manual
and SNO, it's worse than that . . people think "wasted spark" is a bad term. Like something is being lost. That they are smarter than the engineers for the last 50 years that have designed these ignition systems. I have spent some lengthy posts here and other places explaining exactly how it works. MUCH less energy ever goes to the exhaust stroke plug . . you are loosing virtually nothing in energy. Come on people, learn. Then, since a Ranger engine has two plugs per cylinder, they want to combine that engineering with the wasted spark to make the worst assumptions . . not even related. They have nothing to do with each other. Learn people learn!! :buttkick:
 

94xlt4.0

Member
Article Contributor
ASE Certified Tech
Joined
Oct 1, 2008
Messages
338
Reaction score
1
Points
18
Location
san diego, ca
Vehicle Year
94,90,02
Make / Model
ford
Engine Size
4.0, 2.9, 4.0
Transmission
Automatic
2WD / 4WD
4WD
hey petesponies you may very well be right (i have no clue one way or the other) but why dont ya chill out a little and quit with the name callin and overall just rude responses. second, im tending to lean towards adsm a little more because he doesnt have the "ford technician" badge for no reason.
 

Sponsored Ad


Sponsored Ad

Staff online

Member & Vendor Upgrades

For a small yearly donation, you can support this forum and receive a 'Supporting Member' banner, or become a 'Supporting Vendor' and promote your products here. Click the banner to find out how.

Truck of The Month


Kirby N.
March Truck of The Month

Recently Featured

Want to see your truck here? Share your photos and details in the forum.

Follow TRS On Instagram

TRS Events

25th Anniversary Sponsors

Check Out The TRS Store


Sponsored Ad


Sponsored Ad

Sponsored Ad


Amazon Deals

Top