90 Lincoln,Loses spark after drivin for a bit.

[XcELR8R]

Hello everyone,Sure hope I can get some help here,this problem is driving me nuts.I own a 90 Lincoln Continental Signiture Series,3.8 V6,240 K.Car works great when it starts,Cold start never a problem,after car has been warmed up a bit I lose spark,car wont start.I have changed the Stator Assembly inside the distibutor,the Ignition Module,the Ignition Coil,Cap,Router,Plugs and Wires.Car still has same problem,I am at a total loss.Called the dealer,and we all know how that goes,bring the car in they say,yeah right,and how many bank loans do I need before I bring the car to you,lol.I really dont want to spend a ton of cash trying to nail this one issue.Any suggestions at all would be helpful and greatly appreciated.Thanx Much.

 

[Sixlitre]

Get a rock solid estimate from the dealer on how much to plug the car into their scope and give you the detailed read out.

Usually it's less than one hour and it gives you reems of info for your local garage mechanic to go on.

If you're lucky it will behave badly while plug into their scope. I've done this before and they've been waiting for me when I went to pick it up, with the exact problem and a detailed, reasonable estimate for me to consider. IIRC they offered to lower the cost of the scope if I had the repair done there.

BTW it was a fusible link just off the solenoid, drove me insane trying to find it for 6 months, they found it BANG, then.

Sixlitre

 

[XcELR8R]

Thanx for the reply.

Hello and thanx again for the reply.I did take the car to Canadian Tire,I know shoot me,lol,they failed to find anything,so I opened my wallet again and took it to the dealer,again not much help,they said it is POSSIBLY the Crankshaft Position Sensor,but yet they dont list that part for the car,go figure.I went on nieghbours word there was no spark after warm up,but he was wrong,I checked it myself when it acted up and YES I do have spark,but its very weak,now I have a weak spark rather car is COLD or HOT.I checked the spark right from the coil and its orange not the crisp blue it should be,I did this test COLD and HOT and same results,weak spark.I dont know much about all these dam sensors and other crap they stuff into the cars these days,but I do know the Crankshaft Sensor has something to do with firing the coil.so I am leaning towards the Crankshaft Sensor,its all thats left to change.Now I have a new problem,the part,I cant find it,Ford dont list it.Does anyone out there know if the 1990 3.8 T-Bird has the same Crankshaft Sensor?its the only other option for the part I can think of,or by some chance would someone know that part number or where I could possibly get it,I will buy online so dont really matter where it comes from.Can the Crankshaft Sensor be tested in any way?I would like to thank anyone and everyone that replies to my posts,any help is a great help....Thanx again....XcELR8R.

 

[Sixlitre]

To find the part you're looking for you need to show up at a jobber, like NAPA, The Parts Source, AutoPartsExtra, etc WITH the part number.

To find that I generally look it up on-line in the American aftermarket, like at the Advance site or similar ones, until I find it.

Then plug in later years of you engine and see if they're still the same number. Then get more info on who makes em'. Echlin, Bluestreak, Niehoff, etc, etc.

Find out all this info on-line, then show up at the jobber's with each different brand's part numbers and let them price them for you.

Works for me. CTC said "we don't stock Coolant Temperature Sensors" to me for my 1986 Bronco. I said thank you, left, hunted down the application, in Niehoff which I know they stock.

Found the Niehoff number on-line, phoned a smarter CTC, had them run the Niehoff number, they said "yes we have three". I said "What's the CTC cross reference number and how many does Merivale have ?", they had four.

Drove down to Merivale greeted the idiot, asked him for the CTC # and he brings it out and asks "what's it for ?". I said "an 86 Ford Bronco's CTS sensor.

Sixlitre

p.s./
Depending on it's price, you might want to change the coil before you buy a crank sensor. I know very little about crank sensors, but I have a feeling they either work or don't, not halfway.