Electrical Gurus- Need Help!-(UPDATE)

[stingus]

I wired in two power port outlets a few months back. They are wired to the back of my ignition switch, through a relay, and to my battery. I'm running in line fuses.
I'm having Ignition control module issues. Since my powere ports are wired to the back of the ignition switch(for accesories)could this be causing electrical problems with my coil and ignition module? Maybe a short in my wiring?


I've replaced my coil, ignition module, and voltage regulator within the past month and keep having issues.

Thnaks!

 

[DirtDonk]

What are your exact issues with the module stingus?
And yes, something you did could be effecting the other things, but it doesn't seem likely off-hand. Are the two power points still functioning properly? Can you disconnect them temporarily to test the other circuits?

Paul

 

[stingus]

What are your exact issues with the module stingus?
And yes, something you did could be effecting the other things, but it doesn't seem likely off-hand. Are the two power points still functioning properly? Can you disconnect them temporarily to test the other circuits?

Paul

This is the 2nd time i've had to replace my module. Recently my votage regulator started going bad and next thing i knew my coil had literally exploded cracking in 5 places, and frying out my module to a crispy brown. I replaced the regulator, coil, and module a month ago. My bronco was at the mechanics getting a new clutch put in and they said they are loosing spark when they try to accelerate. they said it will start but will loose spark and die upon trying to acclerate.

 

[DirtDonk]

Maybe in all the excitement, there is a loose wire somewhere? I mentioned it in your other thread, but this seems to lead to it.
Is it possible another wire got fried when the alternator surged with high-voltage? I'm assuming that's why the coil and module fried in the first place, but that's just an "assumption" until you confirm.

Maybe the stock resistor wire got fried at the same time?
So instead of a loose connection, you might be getting too much voltage to the coil and causing the module to have issues.

Paul

 

[stingus]

Which wire is the resistor wire? I'm gonna check all my connections as well.
Thanks man!

 

[DirtDonk]

It's the Red w/green wire to the positive side of the coil.
From the firewall to the coil, it's just regular wire. From the ignition switch to the firewall however, it's resistor wire. There under the dash it could be Gray, Pink, or even still Red w/green. Not to be confused with the Pink w/white wire to the brake warning switch of course.
It's usually easy to find though, due to it being heavily wrapped in an insulating material and is commonly (but not always) routed separate from the other wires, because it builds up some heat of it's own.

You should be able to test it's resistance between the end at the ignition switch and the end at the coil. Typical would be 1.38 to 1.40 ohms.
What year is your Bronco? Is this a stock Duraspark setup, or has it been added on to an earlier model? If it's a '70 or earlier, you can test the wire at the firewall plug up behind the engine. Depending on what year your truck is, there may or may not be an easy to access plug back there on the firewall. But there probably is.

To my way of thinking, when a resistor wire gets overloaded (if that's even possible short of it being shorted out?), I would expect it to (theoretically at least) develop more resistance, rather than less. Which would mean less voltage available to the coil and module, rather than more voltage, which would be what I would expect would be frying ignition modules.
But hey, anything is possible. My original wire messed up and started delivering full voltage to the components. So it can happen.

Another thing that can conceivably cause trouble for modules would be the wrong coil. Using one with too little internal resistance might cause some issues. What did you replace your old coil with? A standard Ford coil, or something else?

We'll have to ask Viperwolf about those theoretical happenstances though, since I'm just wingin' it here.

Paul

 

[DevilDog]

This is the 2nd time i've had to replace my module. Recently my votage regulator started going bad and next thing i knew my coil had literally exploded cracking in 5 places, and frying out my module to a crispy brown. I replaced the regulator, coil, and module a month ago. My bronco was at the mechanics getting a new clutch put in and they said they are loosing spark when they try to accelerate. they said it will start but will loose spark and die upon trying to acclerate.

I love the fact that the mechanics are telling your the problem rather than saying, "here was the problem, but we fixed it".

 

[Viperwolf1]

The only way the power ports could affect the ignition switch voltage is if the additional circuits were pulling massive current from the ign sw. We're talking somewhere in the neighborhood of 30 amps or more. It sounds like the ign sw is just used to trigger relays near the battery though so that shouldn't be a problem.

Coils and ign modules are pretty durable things. The only things that will hurt them is too much voltage or too much heat. Voltage regulators can cause too much voltage if the grounding or voltage sensing circuit is bad. I would start looking at the charging voltage. A good, charged battery should have 12.6-13.2 volts. When running the charging system should put out 1-2 volts more. A bad diode in the alternator will cause voltage spikes in the entire electrical system.

 

[stingus]

The only way the power ports could affect the ignition switch voltage is if the additional circuits were pulling massive current from the ign sw. We're talking somewhere in the neighborhood of 30 amps or more. It sounds like the ign sw is just used to trigger relays near the battery though so that shouldn't be a problem.

Coils and ign modules are pretty durable things. The only things that will hurt them is too much voltage or too much heat. Voltage regulators can cause too much voltage if the grounding or voltage sensing circuit is bad. I would start looking at the charging voltage. A good, charged battery should have 12.6-13.2 volts. When running the charging system should put out 1-2 volts more. A bad diode in the alternator will cause voltage spikes in the entire electrical system.

That makes a lot of sense. I mentioned to the mechanic to check the alternator but he acted like that wouldn't be the problem but I'm thinking it is as well.

 

[stingus]

Turns out my distributor is toast. I'm thinking when my voltage regulator went bad and my coil and ignition module fried, my distributor may have gotten fried as well. Put a new Billet Distributor in with upgraded electronic ignition and my mechanic said its running great.
I asked him to test the alternator as well and he said it was fine. I'm thinking I will replace it anyway and upgrade just in case.

So now I have a new coil, voltage regulator, Distributor and electronic ingnition.

I pick it up today! can't wait to get back behind the wheel!

Thanks for all the help guys!!

 

[bludorbronc]

make sure all your grounds are good. battery to motor, motor to frame, motor to body.

 

[stingus]

make sure all your grounds are good. battery to motor, motor to frame, motor to body.

I think I'm good on the grounds but will double check tonight.

Thanks!