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87 Bronco II not starting..need help plz !!

3K views 9 replies 6 participants last post by  BroncoDoug 
#1 ·
Hello everyone,

I have an 87 Bronco II. I know your thinking not another Bronco II question...cause alot of forums i have browsed had alot of questions about problems with them..well i can say that i have owned mine for 10 years and this is really the first time anything major has happend to it besides regular tune-up's, and those really arent that major. My question is this. One day i was leaveing my friends house and i made it roughly 3 houses before it just died, like i turned the key off. And then it would only turn over and not fire. I removed the TFI unit and had it checked and it turned out fine. Then i after haveing it brought home on a flat bed i checked the coil and it also turned out fine. I had read on some forums that the coil wire leading to the Distributor cap can also cause it to do something similar, so i checked that also..that ALSO turns out to be ok. I then check for power going to the coil and i have power there. So i pull out a spark plug and and turn over the truck to see if i am getting any spark..nothing. I forgot to mention that when i went to check the primary leads to the coil that the ground had broken so i fixed that and figured that was the cause of it just turning off which i believe was the start to the problem. Would that loss of ground cause the stator to fry ? Well back to speed, so i removed the cap and rotor and i dont see any brown or char marks anywhere like it was being grounded but then again i'm not sure if that would always be the tell tale sign of grounding. Now i have read that it would be a real PAIN to remove the stator since you have to pretty much take apart the entire distibutor to get it out <i think thats rather stupid if you ask me>. I was wondering if there is a way to check the stator to see if its bad..nothing i have read in the Haynes/chiltons manuels says anything about how to check it if its bad. Only how to remove and replace it. So am i pretty much up the creek on this ? What i am hopeing is that if i replace the cap and rotor that would have been it. But with my luck as of late i doubt that will be the case. Any help would be much appreciated. Should there be anything else i should look at ? Thanks in advance for the replies.
 
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#3 ·
Dizzy

Doc here , :pimp:

Not a Ford guy at all..up front..But,

Did you check the roll over switch? and do you get fuel?

Does that Dizzy have an ECM (Module?) If so remove it and test it at your local auto store..usually for free! If you need one , BE sure to have it tested too before you leave the store..several times under heat/load..cuz after you leave..it's your problem AND the OBF on those is about1 in 3 or 5...

To test the magnetic pickup if you have an ohm meter, it should read between 300 and 3000 ohms Or just pass a screw driver in front of it while ohming it out and should "jump" if it's working..

Yes it is some work to replace, but not as bad as you might think if you keep your wits about you.

Doc :pimp:
 
#4 ·
Yeah i had the ECM checked and it turned out ok, they ran the test on it like 40 times to make sure when it was fine when it was hot since they seem to fail under lots of heat. Not sure where the roll over switch is but i did check the purge on the fuel rail and it spits gas at me. But i will give the stator a test and see what happens.
 
#5 ·
Rollover switch = inertia switch = fuel pump shutoff switch (that's what my owner's manual calls it). This cuts off the fuel pump when the car gets a healthy bump. If you still have the owner's manual, see if it's listed in the "Starting & Operating Your Vehicle" section. It's probably under the interior trim somewhere toward the rear of the vehicle. It looks like a small black box about 2" or 3" square, with a wiring harness running out of it, and a white or yellow button on top. Push the button firmly to reset it. If it snaps and stays in, it was tripped.
 
#6 ·
The TFI pickup inside the distributor is likely the problem, its a curved piece of rubber that goes where a set of points would go.

When they are shot they are black, on their way out->brown, new-> white. If its not beige or white I would replace it. Since they are inductive I don't know of any way to test it without a computer hookup while cranking to check for a signal.

Supposedly when they fail the computer is supposed to go into limp home mode and lock the timing at 10 degrees (initial timing) but if they fail completely (usually) your walking home. I suggest you stick with the factory part, they are superior in many ways...same goes for the wires and cap and rotor. Might want to check the fuse box too, the computer needs power for the car to run and you did mention a bad ground.
 
#7 ·
You will have to forgive me but i am not real good when it comes to vehicles with all these electronics. But i would assume that if the rollover switch was tripped the fuel rail wouldnt have gas in it. When i checked the purge on the fuel rail it spit gas out...so i guess that the pump is running. Now as for the stator <which my haynes manuel states its called in the distributor ..shrug> it appears to be a brown color..but kind of looks like a small black strip is on the inside curve of it. So not sure if thats the case of it being bad but i sure dont look forward to haveing to change it since i have to take the whole distibutor apart just to change it. Just hope i can get the Distributor out without haveing to take the plenum <sp> out also. By the looks of it the distributor is pretty short from the photos they give in the Haynes guide. So i just hope thats the case, cause it looks like i would have to remove the fuel rail along with the plenum..which i would rather not have to do. But we will see i guess.
 
#8 ·
Hey bronco........If you figure out what happened to your ride......let me know. I am having the same problem and I'm at a standstill. I just pulled my distributor today...thinking it might be the stator(pickup coil). I then got on this sight and got alot of information from you all. Let me know what it was.
 
#10 ·
Well i did actually find out what my problem was..i feel kinda stupid really but it turned out to not be a no spark problem. I guess i didnt ground the sparkplug good enough to get a spark out of it. I replaced the cap and rotor and it still didnt start. So my dad said to spray some starter fluid and see what happens. Well thats how i found out it wasnt a spark problem and i didnt ground it good enough, cause it tried to start. Well it turns out to be the high pressure fuel pump is dead. Only the Low pressure pump in the tank was working which is why i had fuel in the rail when i would hit the purge. But from what the Haynes manuel states is that the fuel rail should have 30-35 pounds of pressure with just the key turned on and the gas would just dribble out of the rail when i would purge it. Hope this helps a bit if your problem was somewhat the same. So if you have fuel coming out of the rail but only dribbles out with the key on..then its a good chance your high pressure pump is dead. Which by the way is an easy fix compaired to the stator. Hope you get yours running.
 
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