[awbazar]

On a 1993 Taurus GL, 3.8L car, the instructions for checking the spark timing indicate disconnection of the "spout" connector when observing the expected 10 degrees BTC with the engine warm and the transmission in neutral.

The only connector at the spark coil which appears to be this "spout" (spark output) connector goes to a capacitor which is mounted on the firewall side of the coil. This lead goes from the capacitor to a single wire connector (maybe the spout connector) and then to the connector which plugs into the coil assembly which has 2 terminals. There are two leads on the coil assembly which are probably the prinary coil. The obvious 3rd terminal is the high voltage output to the center distributor cap.

Am I correct to speculate that the "spout" wire is the one connecting the capacitor to the coil?

[poncho62]

I dont know the Ford system at all, but if it has a distributor, I would thing this connector would be coming out of the distributor to disable the advance when setting timing....just a guess

[matt167]

Yep.. IIRC the wire is brown but I havn't touched a TFI in a few years... This is where a Haynes/ chilton would actually be useful.. I have a '84-'94 Haynes tempo/topaz book, but I havn't a clue where I put it. havn't had that POS car since 2008

[awbazar]

Thank you for passing on the comments. In the interim I realize that the connector on the capacitor was not the correct connector. The capacitor is the radio noise suppression capacitor for the coil. In order to see the "spout" jumper on this car, there is a black plastic cover over the top of the firewall which covers such things as the windshield wiper motor, etc and is retained by 3 screws. After removal of this cover it is possible to see a cable which enters the firewall through a connector which leads to the ignition control module. The cable bundle which leads to this module has a pair of wires coming out of it with a plastic connector and a shorting bar plugged into it. Removal of that shorting bar which has a plastic handle on it puts the car ready to do the 10 degrees BTC check. I only discovered it by removal of the black cover in order to get better clearance to remove the hose to the throttle body to do some cleaning there.