First off...A happy new years to all!
Now....If anyone remembers my post on the cold weather starts...Today I went to start the truck and again it didn't start. So I plugged it in but keeping in mind the advice I got before.....I took a heat gun and first hit the coil/cap wire at both ends and then warmed up cap and coil and she started fine...took about 5 minutes...so it that problem is most likely moisture as suspected(though I still don't understand how plugging in the block helped).
Ok..so that's one problem all but solved. I figured I would start with rotor/cap and progress as money allowed.
Alas, the honey and I were going to her parents and the truck died going up after topping a small hill just a minute from her parents today ...it started to cut in and out going up the hill. Can not decide whether it was losing spark or fuel...but likely one or the other.It would turn over fine and seemed like it was catching to the point I would let go of key but it would not run and I tried holding key but that made no difference. It would seem to want to catch but not. After trying intermittently for maybe 10 minutes it started up(a little rough) and got us to her folks place. I let it run for a few minutes ...tried giving it gas and all seemed fine. Started and stopped with no problems. I had just switched tanks this morning but it ran 1/8 of a tank with no problems(relevant?).
On the way home it started to cut in and out again early in the trip(5 minutes into 35 minute trip) but did not die and decided to run fine the rest of the trip. I did however switch back to the front tank after it acted funny coming home. Was fine rest of the way home.
I will also mention that though it was not cold today, it was snowing and the roads very wet and slushy.
Now I have a fuel filter already and tomorrow I will change it for starters(Is there one filter for the 2 tanks?...or is there two?)
So...here are my questions..
Would most be inclined to believe that it is electrical and would the problem be with cap/rotor or coil ......or does it sound like a fuel issue.
I remember the 95 i looked at before I bought my 94 had a 302(mine's the 6) and he told me that it would stall out if it went through big puddle...think he said it was coil on his. Could all the slush have wet the electrical on mine and would it be the coil? or again the cap/rotor. or ....could it simply be wire from coil to cap? Does anyone know which I should change first? Would fuel pump cut in and out???
I know it's impossible to say for sure but I'm hoping some people's past experiences will point me in the right direction.
I will in time change all but I need to finish a contract so that I can get paid and then I can change everything but I need the truck to finish the contract.

Any ideas would be very much appreciated.
& Thanks for taking the time to read my lengthy post.
Dave

 

Happy 2008 to you Ottawaguy!
Sounds electrical, spark, a failing ignition module could give you intermittent failure of this sort.

Ignition Module, (TFI Unit attached to distributor)
Fortunately it is not that hard to remove and have tested. Any decent Auto Parts Store should have an ignition module tester/ You will need a special tool to remove the module without removing the distributor. That would save a lot of time. However, you might have to loosen the distributor adjustment bolt to turn it enough to remove the module but this is not always necessary. The special tool is cheap and a good Auto Parts should also have it. It looks like a very small stubby nut driver. Make sure you also purchase the special heat sink grease to smear on the metal part of the ignition module if it tests OK. If it doesn't, the new replacement module should have a little capsule with the grease.

 

Appreciate that dtek....
I will have a look in the morning...I am going to change a couple things tomorrow likely....
If it is an intermittent problem with that module, would it have to be acting up when tested to fail or would the test show that it is done regardless?
Thanks and keep it coming,
Dave

 

Yes, generally it would have to be acting up when tested. The truck in question is a 1994 right? Ford quit putting the ignition module on the side of the distributor in 1992, 1991 was the last year, if I'm not mistaken. It does sound like it could be an ignition component acting up though.

 

Do you happen to know where the module is on the '94...
thanks,
dave

 

I beleive it's on top of the driver's side fenderwell, just to the side of the engine. If it is in fact an ignition component acting up, it could also be the coil or the PIP(profile ignition pickup). The PIP goes by several names, but it is located inside the distributor. Good luck figuring out the problem.

 

Thanks for info....
I will keep the thread updated as things occur/parts replaced

 

Several places will check the ignition modules free. I had one that was suspect and the local Advance Auto put it on the tester for about a half hour of repeated cycles. This lets it heat up a little and runs continious checks.

Also a quick and easy check is your plug wires, as they are often affected by moisture. I had a primary lead get fried by my ignition box, and it only showed up when it was damp and the truck was first fired up. When I checked it finally I had huge resistance.

 

Thanks, for all the help and advice.... Plugs were changed about a month ago. They didn't look fouled, but were old and got changed. I will be changing the fuel filter along with wires and cap/rotor in the next day or two...depending on the temperature. it was about minus 30 celcius today with wind chill, so I decided against doing the work today. I will do the work and leave it unplugged to see if that did anything at all. I will keep you all informed.
Thanks again for the great advice...
Dave

 

These type of problems are difficult to solve. I had a similar problem and it was a defective pickup coil (pip) in the distributor. The pickup coil was opening up intermittently, the pickup coil eventually opened up solid, there was no spark, I was able to use an ohm meter to find the open pickup coil.