Trouble starting, distributor got wet

JONBUERGEL

MEMBER
1972 FORD RANGER
115,300 MILES

Saturday I accidentally got the distributor wet when I washed the engine and the truck wouldnt start after that. I got it started sunday morning but it had trouble cranking over. Sounds like a misfire every time I turn the key. It had one backfire but no more after that. I wd40'd, cleaned and dried the distributor cap and contacts, the spark plugs and replaced the wires, cleaned and dried the spark plug ports. Triple checked the placement of the wires. It starts up ut till Sounds bad, and has trouble idling.
Im a novice at this and I need help.

3 Replies

KHLOW2008

MECHANIC
41,814 POSTS

Symptom indicates the firing order could be wrong. Which engine do you have and do you have the firing order?

Remove the distributor cap and recheck it for presence of water. Moisture can hide and show up to cause trouble when engine heats up.

The best way to go about is to remove the caps and wire to dry out afer the engine has been running for a short while. The heat from the engine and its components would help to dry out everything.

On the other note, if misfiring can be due to a faulty ignition coil. Weak coils can go back when misfirings occur. Hav it checked as well.

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Sunday, April 21st, 2013 AT 12:24 AM

JONBUERGEL

MEMBER
2 POSTS

I have the v8 360. I dont have a repair manual but all the information ive found online says the firing order is 1-5-4-2-6-3-7-8 counterclockwise. I will recheck for moisture and make sure I have the firing order correct. If it is The ignition coil, where is is it located and how would I be able to tell if it is faulty?

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Sunday, April 21st, 2013 AT 9:21 AM

KHLOW2008

MECHANIC
41,814 POSTS

The firing order is correct.
If you have a plug wire coming out of center of distributor cap, that would lead to the ignition coil. If no wires are present, the ignition coild would be inside the distributor.

Usually the ignition coils are tested by measuring the resistance of the primary and secondary coil.

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