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  1. #1

    Default Firing order and wire order

    I have included pics of my cap and a pic of current wire order. I know firing order is 1-3-7-2-6-5-4-8 and mine is set up like that however from all the diagrams I looked at seems like my wires are in right order but on wrong spots on cap. Like everything would be off 180°. At first I was thinking it's whatever it's firing in right order but then I thought being distributor is driven off engine would I be right thinking it would fire plugs not at tdc?


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  2. #2

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    Don't mind the book picture that's what Haynes manual said but I knew that looked wrong.

  3. #3
    Moderator wraithracing's Avatar
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    The actual location of the wires on the cap really don't matter as long as the firing order is correct and the rotor is lined up with the Number One wire when you are at TDC on the Number One Cylinder.

    I will note that wiring up the cap as most of the manuals show will generally help with your spark plug wire lengths as they are generally design for that type of setup. Most likely whomever set the distributor the last time installed it 180 Degrees out as you stated and wired the cap to match up rather than reinstall the distributor. Either way, you should be fine as long as you have your timing set properly. Good Luck!
    ​Trey

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  5. #5
    FEP Senior Member BMW Rider's Avatar
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    Most likely someone has set the distributor in 180 degrees out of its normal orientation. It will work fine, but it's less confusing if they are oriented in a standard location.

  6. #6
    FEP Super Member erratic50's Avatar
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    180 out and no big deal as said above.

    are you troubleshooting a problem?

    9mm Ford Racing wires are not of great quality in my experience. I’ve been around 3 sets of them and all three were part of all of the reason for a misfire condition.

    biggest problem is the line to corrode at the cap connection.

  7. #7
    FEP Super Member
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    Never had problem with the ford wires , when using dielectric grease when installing .
    I believe the wires are the same as Taylor's which I have had on the same car for 20 years .
    clowns to the left of me , Jokers to the right

  8. #8

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    Yes i been working on finding a spark issue. I have replaced coil, cap, rotor. I tired module but seems like autoparts store ones are worse than what I have.

  9. #9
    FEP Super Member erratic50's Avatar
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    Make sure your module is getting as much air from the front of the car directly on its side as you can. I've always stabbed my dizzy and timed my car in a way that the module more or less pointed at the airbox on the passenger fender on my 86GT. Makes a huge difference on module temps vs installing them with the module pointed forward. Also use really good thermal paste. Generally the really good stuff lasts a very long time while the cheap stuff dries out and stops working as well. Basically if it was under $5 per tube, pick something else.

    Modules wise, IMO don't waste your time with anything other than a Motorcraft or a Wells. If you can find an old Motorcraft module still new in box, buy it!

    There are ignition module relocation kits available and I've heard that they do work outstanding.

    Many of the F series trucks had their module relocated from the factory -- good source for the heat sync Ford switched to. As far as wiring goes its critical to make certain each wire is properly shielded and low resistance and very high quality or you could have problems with moving it as well.

    One cheap way is to paint rubber cement on each wire then roll it in foil and trim it back then put electrical tape around the three wires before you route them between your module and distributor. Another way is to swap to the electronic connectors from an F series distributor and use their factory wiring pigtail.....

  10. #10

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    Thanks. Yeah think I going to order a better quality module and some new spark plug wires. Hopefully that gets things running smooth. Might just go with a msd box instead

  11. #11
    FEP Super Member erratic50's Avatar
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    Caps crack and can give misfire issues as a result, but most definitely do NOT overlook your rotor.

    There are huge differences in quality between them. El-cheapo rotors tend to have poor quality metal that doesn't hold its tension on the center of the cap's contact. Also they can be miss-shapen in a way that causes them to and start bouncing as the engine speeds increase.

    The side view of your rotor's contact should look a lot more like this

    p
    l
    u c
    g e
    w n
    i t
    r e
    e r
    /------
    ------


    and definitely (I'm exaggerating here) not like this
    /
    /
    ----/


    If you look closely at the rotor contact point there should be only one pronounced round spot where the connector makes contact with the cap. The contact in the cap should not be chewed up at all. The contact spot should not be oval or have odd marks on the sides, etc.

    Also look at the electrode end where it sends the spark to the plug wires. If it looks like it has dragged on the cap or is uneven or looks like its been chewed on, assume its a problem and replace it with a Motorcraft rotor.


    The aftermarket ignition stuff is all well and fine.... etc. Not trying to cause a debate on this. The "good stuff" does make more power at least for a little while.

    anyway -- for a street car IMO if you want daily driver reliability then go to the OE parts bin. And that's not to say you won't get performance when you are done -- you will.

    I have some low miles 1986 plug wires I sourced from a buddy's 1986GT and I'm running all Motorcraft cap and rotor and module parts on my 1986GT.

    I do have a Typhoon EFI intake on it along with a 70MM MAF and 65 MM TB A9L ECU and headers with full 2.5" exhaust, etc. It runs very lean up at high RPM so I added a little added fuel pressure.... runs like a top and has consistently for the the 26 years I've owned it. I'll eventually completely redo the setup, but for now its a laugh per minute to drive.

    I routinely spin that 1/2 million mile motor out to 6100 and powershift it trying to stay off the computer imposed 6250 rev-limiter or (some days more likely) bounce it off of the rev limiter. That old mill hasn't missed a beat.

    There's a lot unnatural about hearing an old E6 head 302 rev to the limiter willingly when it was nosing over around 5300 for most of its life. Laugh per minute to drive like that too.

  12. #12
    FEP Super Member gr79's Avatar
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    Default air, fuel, spark

    Haynes actually publishes firing orders that resemble a backwards clock?
    How much other info has not been proof read?

    Owning a car like yours is how i learned much from. Driven to the beach but not out into the water.
    Is said Ford used a marine version camshaft in the 82 5.0 HO...

    Hard to say whats going on with the aftermarket mix of parts on the car.
    Anyway, Motorcraft WR-3646C wire set is not expensive. I never use any other brand for wires, cap, rotor, coil.
    Their parts last a long time especially when store offers lifetime guarantees.

    Vac leaks, miss-routing, deletions, can cause havoc in the way a engine performs. Especially true using aftermarket parts.
    Intermittent faults, only under certain conditions, are the hardest to pin down.
    A piece of debris or dirt in the carb is one of those.
    On a moonless dark night, open hood, start engine, look for electrical arcing. Never know.
    Found arcing from ignition wire boot on coil pack once that way.
    Cleaned all boots in and out real good, coil pack terminals, and reapplied dielectric grease sparingly.

    Found another recently. Pinhole leak from tiny crack in old upper rad hose squirting bit of coolant on coil packs.
    Big ignition miss every now and then after warm up. Coolant would then evap and engine ran fine.
    Trace of coolant was found on coil packs. Source a mystery until real close inspection was done.

    A vac gauge is a good basic tool for tuning. Hand held and or in car. Especially for carb fine tuning.
    One of the first tools i ever bought, along with a dwellmeter/tach/remote starter, and a long SK spark plug socket.
    One of the first things i learned when tuning is change one thing at a time.
    Last edited by gr79; 06-25-2018 at 01:39 PM.

  13. #13

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    Yeah its definitely a learning curve. I already swapped coil, rotor, and cap. Left wires cause they were ford racing ones. Tried swapping modules but autoparts stores didnt work. I would have loved to order better quality parts but needed it to run so was stuck with what was available. Ill figure it out just needs to break and stay broke lol

  14. #14
    FEP Super Member gr79's Avatar
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    Dunno it i trust those wires after replacing everything else. Blue and red mix?
    Go all the way with known good parts.
    Can always put the race wires back on.

    Tough to figure out where to start maintaining a newly purchased used car.
    The list of priorities can be long.
    Unknown age of replacement parts.
    Unknown major issues that may have caused the sale of it.
    Condition of normal wear items give valuable clues how car was maintained and repaired.
    Replacement parts do too and also how used, like racing.
    The unseen, like worn timing chains, valve train, are harder to diagnose if ok or not.
    Last edited by gr79; 06-26-2018 at 08:37 PM.

  15. #15

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    Well it helps It has had 3 previous owners and I know last 2. One bought it in 1986 and had it until 2017, last owner actually races a fox and bought it as a daily. Thats only reason I trusted wires as last owner said they were good but not really sure red and blue mix. Old cap and rotor were red as well. I assumed it had oem style wires so he upgraded to ford racing ones that he had on shelf. However the ford racing wires seem to be really love hate. I just want to get it running decent as I have plans to pretty much go through everything step by step but plan on doing engine last so like it to run decent until I ready for that step.

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