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Granada ignition timing problems

Hi folks ,

I'm posting this message on behalf of my brother as he doesn't have net access at the mo....

He recently bought a 1994 2.9i automatic Granada which ran reasonably OK given its intergalactic mileage. He happened to have a replacement short block but it came from a 1989 car (though, again, it was a 2.9i auto). He put the older block into the car but is finding that during acceleration the EEC IV module does not appear to be advancing the ignition timing when under load, hence the performance is practically non-existent.

So before he spends another two hours re-checking all the electrical connections, we wondered if there was some change made to the EEC unit in the early 1990s which would make it incompatible with earlier blocks. Or are there any obvious places to check for dodgy sensor connections?

Any help/advice would be very much appreciated! :-)

Reply to
Dave Matthews
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Hiya Dave,

Think I'd check for leaks on the intake side (doesn't the ecu have a vacuum sensor?) and maybe a compression test as well.

m
Reply to
pottsy

Is their a spout connector near the ignition module, and is it plugged in?

Reply to
sleepdog

Thanks for your suggestion, sleepdog. Is the ignition module the one that's mounted on the distributor? (We have a Haynes manual but, as usual, it's hopeless!). If so, then there is no "spout" connector.

Reply to
Dave Matthews

If you have a TFI, or thin film ignition module, it is mounted to the distributor. I think most Fords of this vintage had them.

The spout connector is an elusive item for the uninitiated, took me a while to figure out where/what it was messing with my car sometime ago, when I moved from carburated vehicles to more modern, fuel-injected, computer-controlled vehicles.

On one end of the TFI you'll see a connector with a few (five or six maybe) wires coming out of it. Two of those wires lead to the same connector a few inches away. The two wires go into one end, none come out. The other end of the connector has a plug on it that you remove to set the base ignition timing. It's probably wrapped in black electrical tape or whatever they used at the factory.

In layman's terms, the plug basically acts as a short between the two wires to allow the computer to control the ignition timing. Pulling the plug out "opens" the connection between the two wires to eliminate any computer signal when setting the base ignition timing.

While you're at it, your brother might want to check the ignition timing if not already, given that he installed a new block and probably messed with the distributor. I don't think you can't time the engine properly with the spout connector on.

Hope this helps, Matt

Reply to
sleepdog

Many thanks for that, Matt. Will give this a try. :-)

Reply to
Dave Matthews

Well, no joy with this theory, unfortunately. In the end - and in a fit of exasperation! - little bro ripped off just about every electrical cable and connector, refitted them and - voila! - no more timing problems! All we can think is that a connector somewhere hadn't been making proper contact or the EEC simply needed a reset, despite the fact that the battery had been disconnected anyway during the original operation.

Reply to
Dave Matthews

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