Wisdom of the List Sought- Ignition Modules

[Dyn Blin]

Ok, then the question goes back to distributor, is your distributor a normal DS-II one, three wire pigtail with a weatherproof PITA to unplug connector? If it is, is it connected to anything or just dangling on the engine?

Other question, is there a computer under the driver's side of the seat?

Last item, could you scan your 1982 EVTM or send it to Gary so he can scan it to his OCR files and then add it to the site's information files? That would be appreciated by all.

First, thanks to all for the effort for this little yellow unicorn hunt.

Bill, yes, my distributor has the counter-intuitive "push/pull" 3-prong connector from/to the ICM. It may also be on the Weatherpack conversion list, although those are only slightly less cumbersome to disconnect.

I see Gary has already bird-dogged an '82 EVTM, but I'm happy to post images if anyone needs it before it's memorialized on the site. Don't hesitate to let me know what's needed.

To the computer (Ford calls it the ECA/Electronic Control Assembly in the EVTM) location, I haven't pulled the seat and carpet up to check, but I can't locate any wire trails from the firewall to either passenger or driver location. The EVTM seems to indicate for the CA-only 5.0 and 5.8l EEC versions, the ECA should be under the passenger side, but I only recall seen them under the driver (or rarely on the firewall) in the yards, although was never on my radar even during the Great Gary Harness Hunt. Would an older DSII have a ECA as part of the system, or was the ECA a post-1981 model year item?

What we presume is the barometric sensor does have a tiny Ford sticker still attached, but no other numbers under the patina. I'm having trouble finding a matching image, and the part number I thought matched the description in Gary's paste seems to reflect the dual atmospheric/manifold sensor. I haven't been able to spend a good amount of time looking, yet, however. (Edit- Gary- no attachment or lead for anything but the 2 prong connector to the ICM. It has 2 potted wires into the little cylinder with a single small hole at the ridge on the same side)

Everything points to a replacement with a non-manufactured year implementation, which serves me just fine as it runs very well. (hopefully the CARB board isn't reading this).

This is all good work to help me find replacement parts when needed, and hopefully helps others that may come late with this seemingly less common ICM.

 

[85lebaront2]

First, thanks to all for the effort for this little yellow unicorn hunt.

Bill, yes, my distributor has the counter-intuitive "push/pull" 3-prong connector from/to the ICM. It may also be on the Weatherpack conversion list, although those are only slightly less cumbersome to disconnect.

I see Gary has already bird-dogged an '82 EVTM, but I'm happy to post images if anyone needs it before it's memorialized on the site. Don't hesitate to let me know what's needed.

To the computer (Ford calls it the ECA/Electronic Control Assembly in the EVTM) location, I haven't pulled the seat and carpet up to check, but I can't locate any wire trails from the firewall to either passenger or driver location. The EVTM seems to indicate for the CA-only 5.0 and 5.8l EEC versions, the ECA should be under the passenger side, but I only recall seen them under the driver (or rarely on the firewall) in the yards, although was never on my radar even during the Great Gary Harness Hunt. Would an older DSII have a ECA as part of the system, or was the ECA a post-1981 model year item?

What we presume is the barometric sensor does have a tiny Ford sticker still attached, but no other numbers under the patina. I'm having trouble finding a matching image, and the part number I thought matched the description in Gary's paste seems to reflect the dual atmospheric/manifold sensor. I haven't been able to spend a good amount of time looking, yet, however. (Edit- Gary- no attachment or lead for anything but the 2 prong connector to the ICM. It has 2 potted wires into the little cylinder with a single small hole at the ridge on the same side)

Everything points to a replacement with a non-manufactured year implementation, which serves me just fine as it runs very well. (hopefully the CARB board isn't reading this).

This is all good work to help me find replacement parts when needed, and hopefully helps others that may come late with this seemingly less common ICM.

Mark, on the connectors, I have a pretty comprehensive assortment of the later weatherproof connectors in 2, 3, 4, 8, 16, 42, and even the monster 76 pin the 1992-96/7 trucks used along with some of the round bulkhead connectors used 1987-1991. Let me know if you need any, on the 8 pin, I have several colors.

[Gary Lewis]

First, thanks to all for the effort for this little yellow unicorn hunt.

Bill, yes, my distributor has the counter-intuitive "push/pull" 3-prong connector from/to the ICM. It may also be on the Weatherpack conversion list, although those are only slightly less cumbersome to disconnect.

I see Gary has already bird-dogged an '82 EVTM, but I'm happy to post images if anyone needs it before it's memorialized on the site. Don't hesitate to let me know what's needed.

To the computer (Ford calls it the ECA/Electronic Control Assembly in the EVTM) location, I haven't pulled the seat and carpet up to check, but I can't locate any wire trails from the firewall to either passenger or driver location. The EVTM seems to indicate for the CA-only 5.0 and 5.8l EEC versions, the ECA should be under the passenger side, but I only recall seen them under the driver (or rarely on the firewall) in the yards, although was never on my radar even during the Great Gary Harness Hunt. Would an older DSII have a ECA as part of the system, or was the ECA a post-1981 model year item?

What we presume is the barometric sensor does have a tiny Ford sticker still attached, but no other numbers under the patina. I'm having trouble finding a matching image, and the part number I thought matched the description in Gary's paste seems to reflect the dual atmospheric/manifold sensor. I haven't been able to spend a good amount of time looking, yet, however. (Edit- Gary- no attachment or lead for anything but the 2 prong connector to the ICM. It has 2 potted wires into the little cylinder with a single small hole at the ridge on the same side)

Everything points to a replacement with a non-manufactured year implementation, which serves me just fine as it runs very well. (hopefully the CARB board isn't reading this).

This is all good work to help me find replacement parts when needed, and hopefully helps others that may come late with this seemingly less common ICM.

On the ‘82 I had the wires to the computer run down the engine, then under the cab, and into the cab directly under the driver’s seat. Later years had the computer under the dash.

DS-II systems, meaning those with a blue grommet, don’t have computers. And the use of DS-II vs EEC varied by year, engine, and whether CA or 49-state spec.

 

[Dyn Blin]

Mark, on the connectors, I have a pretty comprehensive assortment of the later weatherproof connectors in 2, 3, 4, 8, 16, 42, and even the monster 76 pin the 1992-96/7 trucks used along with some of the round bulkhead connectors used 1987-1991. Let me know if you need any, on the 8 pin, I have several colors.

Great to know Bill, thank you for the offer. I may well take you up on that. For now, I've got the liquid tape applied as a triage. I've been meaning to take an inventory of what needs replacement, & the time spent cleaning the 8 connectors so far of accumulated crud and seeing the condition of some of the wire insulation makes it a priority for the rest of the harness.

Gary, that makes sense, less friction from contact than it would see under the carpet. I'll get under this evening to take a look. If not, I'll pull the carpet this weekend. I need to start prepping for the fall project of insulating the cab and new carpet anyway, and it'll start with a layer of MasterSeries Silver. This would as good as reason as any to get started.

David, thanks for the links. I try to shop local, but sometimes eBay is the solution when the Napa guys scratch their heads; it's appreciated (and ordered).

[Dyn Blin]

Another loop closing post:

In close proximity there's a shop with a specialty in 70's and 80's emissions vehicles with an additional benefit of maintaining the current strictest agent tier for state emissions testing. They were a wealth of information in getting my truck back into compliance after the PO stripped it of compliance equipment.

They immediately recognized the 3rd plug and barometric sensor connected to the DS II module, and related any similar year for other models will swap and function. Ideally the "new" module will have a 2 prong connector. However, he mentioned that other connectors exist on later years, but that as long as the sensor has 2 wires, they can be modified for a compatible connector and swapped without issue. He mentioned that for model years after '82 (>E2 prefix parts) the module's resistance outputs have additional signals within the same overall altitude range, but the DS II module will interpret & function similarly.

With the above information, I ordered a similar sensor for an '82 Thunderbird, and have been running it for a few weeks as a test, and seen/heard/felt no issues, including a 2 runs over Tahoe passes from my almost sea-level driveway.

Given the small sample of 80's CA Bullnose trucks that that use this Duraspark II Yellow grommet/brushing 3-connector module variant, no one else on the board may need the info, but maybe recording the swap flexibility will help some future searcher.

The 82' Thunderbird part (looks the same as the 2 wire sensor attached to the "3rd" DS II plug in the pics above):

 

[Gary Lewis]

Another loop closing post:

In close proximity there's a shop with a specialty in 70's and 80's emissions vehicles with an additional benefit of maintaining the current strictest agent tier for state emissions testing. They were a wealth of information in getting my truck back into compliance after the PO stripped it of compliance equipment.

They immediately recognized the 3rd plug and barometric sensor connected to the DS II module, and related any similar year for other models will swap and function. Ideally the "new" module will have a 2 prong connector. However, he mentioned that other connectors exist on later years, but that as long as the sensor has 2 wires, they can be modified for a compatible connector and swapped without issue. He mentioned that for model years after '82 (>E2 prefix parts) the module's resistance outputs have additional signals within the same overall altitude range, but the DS II module will interpret & function similarly.

With the above information, I ordered a similar sensor for an '82 Thunderbird, and have been running it for a few weeks as a test, and seen/heard/felt no issues, including a 2 runs over Tahoe passes from my almost sea-level driveway.

Given the small sample of 80's CA Bullnose trucks that that use this Duraspark II Yellow grommet/brushing 3-connector module variant, no one else on the board may need the info, but maybe recording the swap flexibility will help some future searcher.

The 82' Thunderbird part (looks the same as the 2 wire sensor attached to the "3rd" DS II plug in the pics above):

Mark/Dyn - Thanks for closing the loop. And, glad it is working. However, I'd like to get just a bit more info for documentation purposes.

Did we ever figure out what your calibration code is?

[Dyn Blin]

Mark/Dyn - Thanks for closing the loop. And, glad it is working. However, I'd like to get just a bit more info for documentation purposes.

Did we ever figure out what your calibration code is?

No, Gary, I did not. It's been a source of consternation.

Based on the build date, it likely should have had a calibration decal affixed with a bar code. Even if it didn't make the threshold of the sticker-style change, there's also no "early" '82 code label to cross reference with the Emission Decal (which is still there, but not quite accurate per the next note)

The truck came with a 302 from the factory (and the Emissions and Door Labels are consistent for a 302), but it had a 351W when I acquired it. I used the emissions label to put the emissions equipment back on and it passed the engine visual and tailpipe sniffer. The tech ignored the fact the engine was a 351 (although I'd bet a ham sandwich he noticed based on some later commentary).

Unrelated to the engine match, we both had a copy of the '82 Ford Car & Truck Engine/Emissions Facts Book Summary, and could not find an exact match to the emissions label. We did find a very close match to the book's representation of the 302 "high altitude" 49-state engine/manual transmission/no A/C variant, and it differed by only the max dashpot clearance and a vacuum restrictor in the diagram.

I'll post back when I pull the carpet and let you know what I find under the seat, but I'd welcome any more input on possible outcome in the meantime. Let me know if you want other information.

edit- one more anecdotal data-point: He and another emissions-tech mentioned a number of the Milpitas line trucks went to sell in Reno/Tahoe/Carson City areas. This might make sense given the emissions label doesn't reference a CA restriction, and my '82 EVTM with the EEC page notes on "CA-only" 302's don't match my wiring (I have no infernal-inferred mileage sensor).

[Gary Lewis]

No, Gary, I did not. It's been a source of consternation.

Based on the build date, it likely should have had a calibration decal affixed with a bar code. Even if it didn't make the threshold of the sticker-style change, there's also no "early" '82 code label to cross reference with the Emission Decal (which is still there, but not quite accurate per the next note)

The truck came with a 302 from the factory (and the Emissions and Door Labels are consistent for a 302), but it had a 351W when I acquired it. I used the emissions label to put the emissions equipment back on and it passed the engine visual and tailpipe sniffer. The tech ignored the fact the engine was a 351 (although I'd bet a ham sandwich he noticed based on some later commentary).

Unrelated to the engine match, we both had a copy of the '82 Ford Car & Truck Engine/Emissions Facts Book Summary, and could not find an exact match to the emissions label. We did find a very close match to the book's representation of the 302 "high altitude" 49-state engine/manual transmission/no A/C variant, and it differed by only the max dashpot clearance and a vacuum restrictor in the diagram.

I'll post back when I pull the carpet and let you know what I find under the seat, but I'd welcome any more input on possible outcome in the meantime. Let me know if you want other information.

edit- one more anecdotal data-point: He and another emissions-tech mentioned a number of the Milpitas line trucks went to sell in Reno/Tahoe/Carson City areas. This might make sense given the emissions label doesn't reference a CA restriction, and my '82 EVTM with the EEC page notes on "CA-only" 302's don't match my wiring (I have no infernal-inferred mileage sensor).

What is the DSO code on the certification label? That will tell us where it was sold.

And tomorrow I'll see if I can figure something more out.

[Dyn Blin]

What is the DSO code on the certification label? That will tell us where it was sold.

And tomorrow I'll see if I can figure something more out.

72/San Jose.

I've seen Mustang and Bronco Marti histories that went to dealerships 300 miles away for the original sale. Maybe it's time for me to pony up for one.

(see what I did there?)

[Gary Lewis]

72/San Jose.

I've seen Mustang and Bronco Marti histories that went to dealerships 300 miles away for the original sale. Maybe it's time for me to pony up for one.

(see what I did there?)

Yes, I twigged. (Today I sent an email to our preacher and in it I used "no joy" and "adverts" in it. He, also, used to live in England. I like to use what few Briticisms I know where and when I can.)

Ok, it was sold in San Jose, so probably had the full CA-spec emissions system on it. I'll see what I can find.