Ford Ignition Coil vs. OEM

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Frank Zabski

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I'm looking to get some knowledge on the difference between the Ford IC vs. OEM (on ebay, internet, etc.)



Starting to get some signs one of the coils is going and I just turned 100k on a 03/06 build, V8. Plugs were changed roughly 50/60k and one coil about a year and a half ago.



Stuttering around 40 MPH, engine light flickers on and off. I noticed it big time today going up a big hill and the truck just lost power about half way up and the engine light was flashing. As soon as I got to the top the power resumed and the lights did not come on.



With this mileage and the fact that I want to keep the truck I'm leaning towards replacing them all. Ford direct is roughly $500 parts. vs. $100-$150 OEM. I like buying factory stuff but the differential is too much to not look into.



Thank you in advance.
 
I used a set of the cheaper ones on my 5.4L F150 a few years ago and had no problems with them. They often come with a lifetime warranty, just be sure to buy from a seller with good feedback and who has been around a while. Maybe search the F150 forums for some recommendations on who to buy from, I can't remember the company I used anymore, but I think they were in Miami, FL.
 
If it were me, I'd investigate the cause of the stutter and then proceed. You may find that the cause is something not related to the ICs.



WRT Ford v. OEM (Motorcraft?) - go with what works. If are satisfied with the OEM, stick with it. I suspect that there is no significant functional difference between the two (certainly not a $350.00 difference).



Definitely do as Dan suggests and check BLOGs, etc. for info.
 
My issue definitely needs more investigation for sure but from my research to date, I found a thread with the exact symptom I described and he went through a bunch of things including a coil, etc. and it ended up being the IC's. My buddy has a scanner and I read other places how to troubleshoot this problem even without a scanner. I'm kinda of a back yard mechanic for sure. My thoughts where either way it's not going to hurt to replace them at 100k with the understanding I'm keeping it long term and I drive 200-300 miles at a clip on fishing trips, etc. so I much rather replace then be stuck on the side of the road.



 
ALot of times it's not the ignition coil that is going but instead the boot that goes between it and the spark plug has a burned spot in it. People replace the whole coil assembly, which comes with a new boot, so they think that the coil was the issue all along.
 
Thanks l1. I assume it can't hurt replacing them all given my above thread? U know of the differences between the $65 ea. ones and the $100-$200 sets?

 
BTW, I assume you can just buy the boot as opposed to replacing the coil which is your point? Either way you have to cycle through to find the one that might be burnt correct?

 
I think i have my OEM ones i took off at 5K miles.....



If you want to pay shipping i will send them to you to use for testing..



Todd Z
 
Todd, thank you very much for the offer and I will take you up on it. In my research on this forum I saw that you were involved and possibly sell aftermarket coils. Any insight on those? Let me know how you want me to send you the money. I'm in CT. 06460 is the zip. Thank you.
 
IMO, the oem coils are as good as you need. Just use some good low resistance spiral core wires. For coil on plug or coil packs. You onlyneed an upgrade if you raise the compresion ratio. Or if you SC or TC...
 
Had a similar issue with my GEN 2 V8. The engine would stumble, almost felt like a transmission problem, but only in a high gear and on light acceleration. Wold notice mostly on the highway using cruise control when it would accelerate some to maintain speed. Usually between 1500-2000 RPM. It never threw a code or could even be live logged via my OBD reader. I swapped the coils around seeign if that would fix it and still got the stumble. Did some reading on the interwebs and found that a lot of Crown Vic's and F150's even had the same issue.



I ordered a set off ebay (didn't want to mess with chasing the bad coil) and put them on. Truck would barely stay running idling in the garage. Took them all back off, sent them back and ordered a set of Accel brad coil packs off Amazon. They were here the next day (perks of living close to the distribution center) and put them all on, fired it up and it ran smooth. Haven't looked back and haven't had the issue come back up. The only con to them is that they're Accel Yellow. I think they were around $220 shipped when I ordered them.



Good luck!
 
A1, your description is point blank what my issues are...As noted earlier, it could be the boots and plugs as well but I'm probably going to go with low hanging fruit first. A1, I took a look this AM and the job seems pretty straight forward. I think I'll need a 7mm or 9mm socket, joint socket and 9" extension to unscrew the bolt that secures the coil to the engine and they pop right off. Please advise.
 
I replaced coils and spark plugs on my 08 STA at 33K with Accel coils and Motorcraft SP-509 plugs and have been pleased with them. My Trac (and yours) does not have the dreaded two piece plugs, so changing them is easy. Buying the Ford-specific spark plug socket was well worth it (Amazon, ~$14).[Broken External Image]:
 
Frank,



I had similar problems which turned out to be the spark plugs. I first tried a set of Champion one-piece plugs but those only lasted a few thousand miles. They started failing during a long trip while towing a utility trailer loaded with an ATV. I replaced those with a new set of the idiotic OEM Motorcraft two-piece plugs which seem to have solved the plug issues, at least until they have to be changed again.



Since my truck was fast approaching 90k miles I decided to replace the coils as well. I also went with the Accel coils which come with new boots. Truck runs great now and the fuel mileage is much improved. BTW, the Motorcraft coils sell for around $46 each while the Accel coils (140033-8) are $210 for all eight at Amazon, Summit Racing, etc. Make sure you use dielectric grease on both ends of the boot.



Oh, and Eddie, just so you know, the 4.6L does not have "plug wires". Instead they have an individual coil for each spark plug with a rubber boot between the coil and spark plug and the boot has a coil spring inside. The boot and spring serve the same purpose as a plug wire, sort of. Here's a photo of one of the OEM boots and coil spring and another of the installed Accel coils and boots. Disregard all the filth, winter in Ohio sucks! :grin:



[Broken External Image]:



[Broken External Image]:
 
Frank, your problem is exactly what was happening with my F150 as well, and is a very common problem. l1tech is correct that often it's the boots that have gone bad, but if you can get a complete set of coils for $100-150 with lifetime warranties I'd go ahead and replace it all at once while you're in there and not take any chances. If Ford coils were the only option then I'd be more prone to hunting down the bad part...
 
Thanks guys, appreciate all the feedback. I had the plugs replaced at 66k, I have 101k currently. I did not do the job but know the garage well. I think I did have the three piece as they said they had a hard time with four of them when they took them out. I just looked at the receipt and the description says "AUTHT1"...not sure what brand/model these are, I might be able to find out. I also have had #7 & #8 coils replace as well.
 
I just looked at the receipt and the description says "AUTHT1"...not sure what brand/model these are
Click to expand...

AUTolite HT1
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Oh, and Eddie, just so you know, the 4.6L does not have "plug wires". Instead they have an individual coil for each spark plug with a rubber boot between the coil and spark plug and the boot has a coil spring inside. The boot and spring serve the same purpose as a plug wire, sort of. Here's a photo of one of the OEM boots and coil spring and another of the installed Accel coils and boots.
Click to expand...



Roger,



My post wasnt clear, I was trying to relate to cop and dis with plug wires.



I still say that accell is not what fixed the problem. Motorcraft cop would work as good.

My moms' 4.6L grand marquis was going the same. I relaced all of her cops' with motorcraft. It runs great. Have about 30K miles on the new cops'.



I personaly never used hi-po coils unless the motor was built radical. I bought one of the SD coils for my '04 Trac. No change in performance over stock motorcraft. 6 months latter it craped out.#3 not firing, no warranty, it was a used purchase (wasted $50). My trac runs as good with stock coil and low resistance spiral core wires.



As scott said, most cop problems are the boots. My moms' merc had 100K miles. So I went with the complete motorcraft cop.



With modern ignitions. I only uprade the coil with extreme motor builds. If if the motor is stock and no huffer. I use spiral core plug wires. On DIS or Mechanical distributors.

Most all spiral core wires measure 300ohms' per foot. Most oem filiment plug wires measure 4000ohms' per foot.
 
Eddie, no argument there. However, I think the logic most use when installing the Accel cops instead of Motorcraft is that the Accel parts are significantly lower in price (Motorcraft ~$368 for 8 vs ~$210 Accel) while also offering a boost in spark energy. My fuel mileage is better now than it was at 40k when the truck still had the original plugs and cops. That could very well be entirely due to the fresher plugs but the Accel coils certainly have not hurt fuel mileage or performance. I would agree with your logic if the Accel coils were more expensive than OEM.
 
Can anyone give me a sense of the difficultly level of this job? 1 being easy, 5 be very hard? Any pitfalls to look for? It seems very easy but like anything else, once you run into a problem it stops getting easy.
 

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