mystery plug

[steamgas]

can someone tell me what this plug is for? it is on a 1994 ford ranger 4.0l 4x4 it had a green with a gray/brown plug 2 wire. i will try to post a picture of it.

 

[Curious Hound]

Might be the PCM shorting bar.

Connector # 173

Dark green wire
Gray/red wire

I have now idea what it does or why it's there. But I'm willing to bet you need it.

 

[Curious Hound]

yess it's the shorting bar, also called the "spout" connector.
SPark OUT
when removed the pcm reverts to base/test timing of I think 10 degrees.

Thank you. I didn't realize that was another name for SPOUT.

 

[Snoranger]

The SPOUT and the Octane Adjust shorting bar are 2 different identical things.
SPOUT locks out the ECM from adjusting the timing so you can set the base timing.
The octane adjust shorting bar will pull about 3 degrees of timing out when removed. It was originally installed on the 2.3 Turbo Mustangs to get them to pass California emissions. For some reason Ford kept using them for years and on different models. It’s great if you get some bad fuel and need to drop a few degrees of timing for a tank.

They are the exact same connector, just different color wiring.

 

[Uncle Gump]

1994 4.0L has EDIS... no SPOUT connector.

 

[Snoranger]

1994 4.0L has EDIS... no SPOUT connector.

EDIS6 most definitely does have a SPOUT connector.

 

[Jim Oaks]

Could it be Dark Green with a White stripe and Gray with a Black (not brown) Stripe? That could be for Speed Control.

 

[rumblecloud]

I have the same vehicle. The EVTM, page 26-3 shows the wire colors of the PCM Shorting Bar to be Gray with Red stripe and Dark Green. From your image it looks like a match. Here's mine. Hope this helps.

 

[Uncle Gump]

EDIS6 most definitely does have a SPOUT connector.

It's been a minute... but isn't a SPOUT shorting bar only used on engines with a distributor and requires base timing to be adjusted?

 

[rumblecloud]

From what I've found, yes you're right, but I "ain't got no" distributor. So maybe it's some sort of legacy issue and was easier to just let it be.
With the shorting bar in place, the PCM controls the timing and you can't adjust the base timing. With it removed you can adjust the base timing.
This is way above my pay grade.

EDIT
I'm starting to get used to this AI crap -- Lord help me:

"This system is used in vehicles with electronic fuel injection (EFI) that use the computer to manage the timing instead of a traditional mechanical distributor. You'll often find this in Ford vehicles, especially from the 1990s and earlier, which are known for using this type of ignition system. "

I refused to "dive deeper" in AI mode though...

 

[Snoranger]

It's been a minute... but isn't a SPOUT shorting bar only used on engines with a distributor and requires base timing to be adjusted?

Here’s an EDIS6 system with the SPOUT connector circled.

 

[Uncle Gump]

LMAO... Just say it @pjtoledo

it's slow... talk is good.

 

[pjtoledo]

It's been a minute... but isn't a SPOUT shorting bar only used on engines with a distributor and requires base timing to be adjusted?

Spark Out is a signal sent from the PCM to Ignition Control Modules. so it is only on ICM equipped systems.
it tells the ICM when to fire the coils.
if the ICM does not receive any info ( plug is removed ) it fires at base timing.

89-95 Taurus SHOs do have SPOUT bars, and definitely do not have distributors.

on systems where the PCM fires the coils directly (my 2000) there is no Spark Out.

EDIT, just pulled a 1995 manual out. the 3.8 have distributors and SPOUT/ICM

EDIT again: almost forgot, an ICM was also called Integrated Thick Film module.

 

[RobbieD]

For what it's worth, the 1994 Ranger EVTM, 4.0L, shows the "PCM Shorting Bar", with wire colors of Gray/Red and Dark Green.

On the PCM connector pin-out view, the Dark Green (circuit 242) is labeled as "Octane Adjust Signal", both versions.

What is interesting, is that the Federal diagram states "4.0L MFI", and the "California only" diagram states "4.0L SFI California Only"; and, the Dark Green (242) goes to different PCM pins between the two (pin 44 and pin 29, respectively). However they are both the 60-pin EEC-4 OBD1 PCM.

'94 was the last year for OBD1; there is some weirdness to be found during this period, of the change from OBD1 to OBD2 in '95. It can make swapping parts "interesting".

 

[rumblecloud]

Meanwhile...poor @steamgas only wanted to know what the plug was