Some 1991 V6 3.0 ignition coil questions

[misterW]

Spark tester attached to the coil isn't showing a spark.

There are two wires leading to the coil: a pink and green one, and a yellow and brown one. the pink and green one shows 12V with the ignition on and the yellow and brown one shows nothing. Is this right?

Also, attached to the bottom of the bracket supporting the coil is a small gray cylinder with a black wire leading to it. What is that gray cylinder and what should an electrical test of the black wire show?

Thanks in advance!

 

[adsm08]

The pk/gr wire should be powered, the yl/br should be an intermittent ground that comes and goes as the engine is cranked. Best test of it is to hook a test light between that wire and battery + and crank the engine to see if the light flashes.

The small cylinder you reference is the RFI capacitor, it won't keep things from running, but catches the flyback voltage from the coil and keeps it off the computer and out of the radio reception. The proper test of that component is to check the resistance between the wire and ground, but I don't remember what the proper reading should be.

If you wish to replace it on the cheap all RFI capacitors going forward are backward compatible and will work. I yanked mine off an F-150 with a 5.4 3V because the 4.6 and 5.4 have them in a spot that is very easy to access and they have two.

 

[misterW]

Thanks for the great information ^^. Now, as far as testing the ignition coil itself, is there a test I can do with a multimeter?