Coil burn out number eight?
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Member
Joined: Jul 2000
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From: Charlotte, NC, USA
Coil burn out number eight?
I hate to say this, but it's the eight coil I replaced within the year. And the lucky thing is I've got the Xray-scanner to show it was the 2 coils pack always, 302 and 306.
Number 2 and 6 cyclinders.
I took the advise from a Napa salesperson and pulled the chip out first.
And it been 2 months since I pulled the chip out and no burnt coil since. The thing is I only drive the truck once a week because I have a company car, mavbe I'm not driving the truck enough. Does anyone else have this problem?
Number 2 and 6 cyclinders.
I took the advise from a Napa salesperson and pulled the chip out first.
And it been 2 months since I pulled the chip out and no burnt coil since. The thing is I only drive the truck once a week because I have a company car, mavbe I'm not driving the truck enough. Does anyone else have this problem?
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Joined: Mar 1998
Posts: 13,385
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From: Virginia
Hi Green,
The chip has absolutely *nothing* to do with you burning out coils/coil packs. It doesn't communicate with the coil, and cannot affect it.
Coil packs are notorious in these trucks, even in the new Lightnings, we've seen many instances of failures here. Whatever the problem is, it doesn't have anything to do with any chip.
Best of luck, and if you ever do get to the bottom of it, we'd love to hear back from you.
------------------
Mike Troyer
Performance Products, Inc.
National Distributor of Superchips
(540) 862-9515
Email: mtroyer@compuserve.com
Performance Products F150Online Superchip ordering system: F150Online Superchip Ordering System
First National F-150 Online Rally Event Organizer
[This message has been edited by Superchips_Distributor (edited 10-18-2000).]
The chip has absolutely *nothing* to do with you burning out coils/coil packs. It doesn't communicate with the coil, and cannot affect it.
Coil packs are notorious in these trucks, even in the new Lightnings, we've seen many instances of failures here. Whatever the problem is, it doesn't have anything to do with any chip.
Best of luck, and if you ever do get to the bottom of it, we'd love to hear back from you.
------------------
Mike Troyer
Performance Products, Inc.
National Distributor of Superchips
(540) 862-9515
Email: mtroyer@compuserve.com
Performance Products F150Online Superchip ordering system: F150Online Superchip Ordering System
First National F-150 Online Rally Event Organizer
[This message has been edited by Superchips_Distributor (edited 10-18-2000).]
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Joined: Jul 2000
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From: Charlotte, NC, USA
Mike, didn't mean to say anything bad about your chip, but since you widely state it's has nothing to do with the coils at all. I might considering putting the chip back in. Really misses that "wakeup perk". The last coil packs I put in was the new Accel (120.00 a set) instead of the Wells and Standard Ign. I put in before.
Thanks.
Thanks.
Former Sponsor
Joined: Mar 1998
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From: Virginia
Hi Green,
I simply wanted to be adamant about this, that's all, I didn't take it to be an "attack", sorry if I came on a big strong.
You've been thru a tremendous number of coil packs it sounds like, we don't know the model year, # of miles, etc. They are, as I said earlier, rather notorious for failures, but I don't think I've seen anyone else suffer 7-8 failures like you have, that's a shame, I hate to hear you're going thru this.
You mention several different brands as well, as that gives some cause for concern, as I think that might tend to make anyone think that with different brands, OEM & aftermarket, that something "outside" is somehow shortening the life of these components. I don't know any of the details, such as model year, motor, etc., so I don't know if you are under warranty or not, or if you've had a dealer check this out thoroughly for you, or just what the situation is, but it's obvious that *something* isn't right! It sure seems with that many failures that some other factor certainly could be at work here, it's hard to accept all these failures with the different brands you've reported using, but I suppose anything is possible.
You mention that the vehicle sits a fair amount of the time, I wonder if possibly condensation is taking place and causing arcing internally perhaps. Or, are these two coils that keep failing being exposed to something that the others are not, such as A/C drip, etc. There certainly has to be a reason why it's only those 2 coils that are failing and not the others. If the Superchip were affecting this, you would of course see that effect on all coils, not just consistently these 2 only.
The biggest "clue" here is that it's just those 2 that are failing, so it seems reasonable that it must be related somehow.
------------------
Mike Troyer
Performance Products, Inc.
National Distributor of Superchips
(540) 862-9515
Email: mtroyer@compuserve.com
Performance Products F150Online Superchip ordering system: F150Online Superchip Ordering System
First National F-150 Online Rally Event Organizer
[This message has been edited by Superchips_Distributor (edited 10-18-2000).]
I simply wanted to be adamant about this, that's all, I didn't take it to be an "attack", sorry if I came on a big strong.
You've been thru a tremendous number of coil packs it sounds like, we don't know the model year, # of miles, etc. They are, as I said earlier, rather notorious for failures, but I don't think I've seen anyone else suffer 7-8 failures like you have, that's a shame, I hate to hear you're going thru this.
You mention several different brands as well, as that gives some cause for concern, as I think that might tend to make anyone think that with different brands, OEM & aftermarket, that something "outside" is somehow shortening the life of these components. I don't know any of the details, such as model year, motor, etc., so I don't know if you are under warranty or not, or if you've had a dealer check this out thoroughly for you, or just what the situation is, but it's obvious that *something* isn't right!
It sure seems with that many failures that some other factor certainly could be at work here, it's hard to accept all these failures with the different brands you've reported using, but I suppose anything is possible.You mention that the vehicle sits a fair amount of the time, I wonder if possibly condensation is taking place and causing arcing internally perhaps. Or, are these two coils that keep failing being exposed to something that the others are not, such as A/C drip, etc. There certainly has to be a reason why it's only those 2 coils that are failing and not the others. If the Superchip were affecting this, you would of course see that effect on all coils, not just consistently these 2 only.
The biggest "clue" here is that it's just those 2 that are failing, so it seems reasonable that it must be related somehow.
------------------
Mike Troyer
Performance Products, Inc.
National Distributor of Superchips
(540) 862-9515
Email: mtroyer@compuserve.com
Performance Products F150Online Superchip ordering system: F150Online Superchip Ordering System
First National F-150 Online Rally Event Organizer
[This message has been edited by Superchips_Distributor (edited 10-18-2000).]
Thread Starter
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Joined: Jul 2000
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From: Charlotte, NC, USA
Mike, thanks again for the infos, I was once a real mod nut when I had this 97 F-150 w/ the 4.6 engine automatic. I had put out almost close to $10,000 mod on this truck.
Whatever came out for this truck I got it.
But 2 months ago, I just stopped completely and been driving the company mustang and my wife Mark 8 since then, and the urge to drive the truck kind of "dimmed out".
I was also lucky to have the Xray system instead of going to the dealer every time.
The truck is garaged day and night and pretty dry. The truck is completely in brand new shape, I hope this will be my last time in changing the coils for a while and thanks again for the advise.
Whatever came out for this truck I got it.
But 2 months ago, I just stopped completely and been driving the company mustang and my wife Mark 8 since then, and the urge to drive the truck kind of "dimmed out".
I was also lucky to have the Xray system instead of going to the dealer every time.
The truck is garaged day and night and pretty dry. The truck is completely in brand new shape, I hope this will be my last time in changing the coils for a while and thanks again for the advise.
Former Sponsor
Joined: Mar 1998
Posts: 13,385
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From: Virginia
Hi Green,
Wow, $10K for mods is a *LOT* of money, that must be one heck of a truck!!
So you have a Mark 8 in the family too, eh? What year? I love 'em myself, on my third one. I'm hoping to find the time to get a blower & a set of heads put on this last one, and make a real sleeper out of it.
OK, so your F-150 is a 1997 model, garage kept. It could still be a matter of moisture accumulation, depending on the relative humidity, even if it's not directly exposed to "the elements". Have you ever talked to your dealership about these failures? They are known on the 97's especially, and you shouldn't have to keep going thru that. Even if you're out of warranty, you might want to talk to the service manager next time this happens, if it does. I just hate to see you having to go thru that, so if it does happen again, you might want to have the dealership give it a looking over, and perhaps get their factory Zone Rep. involved as well, so you don't have to keep bearing the expense of multiple failures, hopefully.
At any rate, best of luck with it, and if you ever do determine the cause if it's something "outside" affecting the coil packs, we'd like to hear about it.
------------------
Mike Troyer
Performance Products, Inc.
National Distributor of Superchips
(540) 862-9515
Email: mtroyer@compuserve.com
Performance Products F150Online Superchip ordering system: F150Online Superchip Ordering System
First National F-150 Online Rally Event Organizer
Wow, $10K for mods is a *LOT* of money, that must be one heck of a truck!!
So you have a Mark 8 in the family too, eh? What year? I love 'em myself, on my third one. I'm hoping to find the time to get a blower & a set of heads put on this last one, and make a real sleeper out of it.
OK, so your F-150 is a 1997 model, garage kept. It could still be a matter of moisture accumulation, depending on the relative humidity, even if it's not directly exposed to "the elements". Have you ever talked to your dealership about these failures? They are known on the 97's especially, and you shouldn't have to keep going thru that. Even if you're out of warranty, you might want to talk to the service manager next time this happens, if it does. I just hate to see you having to go thru that, so if it does happen again, you might want to have the dealership give it a looking over, and perhaps get their factory Zone Rep. involved as well, so you don't have to keep bearing the expense of multiple failures, hopefully.
At any rate, best of luck with it, and if you ever do determine the cause if it's something "outside" affecting the coil packs, we'd like to hear about it.
------------------
Mike Troyer
Performance Products, Inc.
National Distributor of Superchips
(540) 862-9515
Email: mtroyer@compuserve.com
Performance Products F150Online Superchip ordering system: F150Online Superchip Ordering System
First National F-150 Online Rally Event Organizer
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Joined: Oct 2000
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From: Austin, Texas
Hello everybody, 1st time on the message board, thanks for all the great info! Sorry to say I'm having the same problem. I just installed the superchip and just got my truck out the shop for a burnt coil. I have 60k miles on my truck and never had a single problem. But 3 days after installing the chip I burnt number 4 coil. I know Mike says it doesn't have any effect but it seems a little odd. I re-installed the chip and my check engine light is back on, so we'll see.
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Former Sponsor
Joined: Mar 1998
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From: Virginia
As I responded to you in the other thread where you posted this, and I will say it again, the Superchip cannot possibly have anything to do with your coil failure at 60,000 miles.
There are in fact a couple of TSB's about burned out coil packs, from things like older-style coolant hoses dripping on the coil packs, etc. I would suggest that you check those out, both Ford and aftermarket TSB's like Alldata, and you will quickly see that there have been numerous coil pack failures due to a couple of different causes in these vehicles. It's even happening on brand new Lightnings, as a matter of fact.
As can be plainly seen in this thread where this other gentleman is reporting 8 coil failures, that should tell you something, that these coil units have problems, especially in 1997 & early 1998 F-150's, as has been posted many times over the past 2 years in various sections of these message boards. And it's not limited to those 2 model years by any stretch of the imagination, it happens to brand new trucks as well, as you will discover if you investigate.
If the Superchip had *anything* to do with this, these message boards would have been flooded with posts about this long ago, from all the many people using the Superchip, but of course that hasn't happened, as the Superchip has nothing to do with the coil!
If you're getting a check engine light when you install your Superchip, you should contact us so we can work thru this with you, to see just what's going on, instead of trying to blame the Superchip for a coil failing at 60,000 miles. Don't make teh assumption that because you got a CE light for some reason, that the Superchip burned out your coil pack, that simply cannot possibly happen as a result of the Superchip.
Please understand that I do not mean to give you a hard time, and we want whatever you problem is solved of course, I just can't stand to see the Superchip wrongly blamed for things it cannot possibly affect, like your coil packs, especially in a situation where there are in fact existing TSB's on these vehicles for this very same issue!
Again, if you're getting a CE light when you install the Superchip, give us a shout and let's see what the problem is, we'll be happy to go over that with you, just give us a call at our number below, we're here M-F 10 am to 7 pm, Eastern time.
------------------
Mike Troyer
Performance Products, Inc.
National Distributor of Superchips
(540) 862-9515
Email: mtroyer@compuserve.com
Performance Products F150Online Superchip ordering system: F150Online Superchip Ordering System
First National F-150 Online Rally Event Organizer
[This message has been edited by Superchips_Distributor (edited 10-20-2000).]
There are in fact a couple of TSB's about burned out coil packs, from things like older-style coolant hoses dripping on the coil packs, etc. I would suggest that you check those out, both Ford and aftermarket TSB's like Alldata, and you will quickly see that there have been numerous coil pack failures due to a couple of different causes in these vehicles. It's even happening on brand new Lightnings, as a matter of fact.
As can be plainly seen in this thread where this other gentleman is reporting 8 coil failures, that should tell you something, that these coil units have problems, especially in 1997 & early 1998 F-150's, as has been posted many times over the past 2 years in various sections of these message boards. And it's not limited to those 2 model years by any stretch of the imagination, it happens to brand new trucks as well, as you will discover if you investigate.
If the Superchip had *anything* to do with this, these message boards would have been flooded with posts about this long ago, from all the many people using the Superchip, but of course that hasn't happened, as the Superchip has nothing to do with the coil!
If you're getting a check engine light when you install your Superchip, you should contact us so we can work thru this with you, to see just what's going on, instead of trying to blame the Superchip for a coil failing at 60,000 miles. Don't make teh assumption that because you got a CE light for some reason, that the Superchip burned out your coil pack, that simply cannot possibly happen as a result of the Superchip.
Please understand that I do not mean to give you a hard time, and we want whatever you problem is solved of course, I just can't stand to see the Superchip wrongly blamed for things it cannot possibly affect, like your coil packs, especially in a situation where there are in fact existing TSB's on these vehicles for this very same issue!
Again, if you're getting a CE light when you install the Superchip, give us a shout and let's see what the problem is, we'll be happy to go over that with you, just give us a call at our number below, we're here M-F 10 am to 7 pm, Eastern time.
------------------
Mike Troyer
Performance Products, Inc.
National Distributor of Superchips
(540) 862-9515
Email: mtroyer@compuserve.com
Performance Products F150Online Superchip ordering system: F150Online Superchip Ordering System
First National F-150 Online Rally Event Organizer
[This message has been edited by Superchips_Distributor (edited 10-20-2000).]
Former Sponsor
Joined: Mar 1998
Posts: 13,385
Likes: 4
From: Virginia
Hi Green,
Thre was an interesting post made in the Lightning section of these message boards just today (the title of the thread is "LOOSING BOOST"), and in that thread it also talks about Lightnings & other F-150's suffering coil pack failures, due to fluid leaks from older style coolant hoses and other causes as well.
There are TSB's about this, so I would suggest that you check your with your dealer on this. There is a even section here on F-150 Online in the message boards where you can look up Ford TSB's etc. You should also check for aftermarket TSB's, which you can find at Alldata.com
These coil & coil pack failures are well documented on these vehicles, and will continue to occur until the actual cause is fixed, of course, whether it's getting the newer style hoses, A/C condensate drip re-routed, etc., so I would take some time and check all of that out.
Good luck!
------------------
Mike Troyer
Performance Products, Inc.
National Distributor of Superchips
(540) 862-9515
Email: mtroyer@compuserve.com
Performance Products F150Online Superchip ordering system: F150Online Superchip Ordering System
First National F-150 Online Rally Event Organizer
Thre was an interesting post made in the Lightning section of these message boards just today (the title of the thread is "LOOSING BOOST"), and in that thread it also talks about Lightnings & other F-150's suffering coil pack failures, due to fluid leaks from older style coolant hoses and other causes as well.
There are TSB's about this, so I would suggest that you check your with your dealer on this. There is a even section here on F-150 Online in the message boards where you can look up Ford TSB's etc. You should also check for aftermarket TSB's, which you can find at Alldata.com
These coil & coil pack failures are well documented on these vehicles, and will continue to occur until the actual cause is fixed, of course, whether it's getting the newer style hoses, A/C condensate drip re-routed, etc., so I would take some time and check all of that out.
Good luck!
------------------
Mike Troyer
Performance Products, Inc.
National Distributor of Superchips
(540) 862-9515
Email: mtroyer@compuserve.com
Performance Products F150Online Superchip ordering system: F150Online Superchip Ordering System
First National F-150 Online Rally Event Organizer
Thread Starter
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Joined: Jul 2000
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From: Charlotte, NC, USA
Gee Mike, I kind of started a mini debate, didn't mean to. By the way my Mark is a 96, I sold a 96 two years ago and I missed it so much I had to get another one, same color as before GREEN. And those baby kick butt without any mod. at all. You should know.
I been double checking drips or something maybe leaking into those coil, nothing at all and the hoses were completely out of the way except the spark plugs wires.
Thanks again.
I been double checking drips or something maybe leaking into those coil, nothing at all and the hoses were completely out of the way except the spark plugs wires.
Thanks again.
Former Sponsor
Joined: Mar 1998
Posts: 13,385
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From: Virginia
Hi Green,
No problem, these things happen!
So your Mark 8 is green as well, eh? Mine too. My first 2, a new 93 and then a 94 that I ordered, were both black, and the only black vehicles I've ever owned. I felt that black was the "classiest" color for the Mark 8, but when this green one came available with 29K miles onit, I jumped on it.
You're right about them running very strong even stock. They have a 130 mph top speed limiter from the factory, and if you did nothing more than remove that limiter, the vehicle already has enough power to run 150-155 mph easy. I saw 161 mph on a radar-verified run in my 94 Mark 8 that had a few mods.
So both of yours have been 1996 models? Very nice year, I'm sure you're enjoying it. I had a few COrvettes in between my 94 & my 95 Mark 8, and like you, I missed the Mark 8's comfort and easy high-speed cruising, and just had to get back into another one.
Glad to hear you're checking for leaks, etc. Don't forget to check out the TSB's about those coil packs as well, as you may just be covered should this happen again!
Good luck!
------------------
Mike Troyer
Performance Products, Inc.
National Distributor of Superchips
(540) 862-9515
Email: mtroyer@compuserve.com
Performance Products F150Online Superchip ordering system: F150Online Superchip Ordering System
First National F-150 Online Rally Event Organizer
No problem, these things happen!
So your Mark 8 is green as well, eh? Mine too. My first 2, a new 93 and then a 94 that I ordered, were both black, and the only black vehicles I've ever owned. I felt that black was the "classiest" color for the Mark 8, but when this green one came available with 29K miles onit, I jumped on it.
You're right about them running very strong even stock. They have a 130 mph top speed limiter from the factory, and if you did nothing more than remove that limiter, the vehicle already has enough power to run 150-155 mph easy. I saw 161 mph on a radar-verified run in my 94 Mark 8 that had a few mods.
So both of yours have been 1996 models? Very nice year, I'm sure you're enjoying it. I had a few COrvettes in between my 94 & my 95 Mark 8, and like you, I missed the Mark 8's comfort and easy high-speed cruising, and just had to get back into another one.
Glad to hear you're checking for leaks, etc. Don't forget to check out the TSB's about those coil packs as well, as you may just be covered should this happen again!
Good luck!
------------------
Mike Troyer
Performance Products, Inc.
National Distributor of Superchips
(540) 862-9515
Email: mtroyer@compuserve.com
Performance Products F150Online Superchip ordering system: F150Online Superchip Ordering System
First National F-150 Online Rally Event Organizer