TFI Module... AGAIN!!! - Ford Forums - Mustang Forum, Ford Trucks, Ford Focus and Ford Cars

XplodEd EA · 05-24-2002, 15:34

Well once again, 1 year and 13 days later, the TFI Module decided to pack it in and shit itself!! WTF is with these things!! Luckily we havent been charged anything... yet. We got it towed for FREE to connolly motors in sandgate which is our usual mechanic/auto elec cos dad is gold ultra member or somethin with RACQ. When the service guy called them and told them about the car they ordered the part straight away. The car arrived there at 4 this afternoon and they called us 45mins later saying it was fixed, and the car is now home. Now we just gotta wait and see who/what is at fault. Hopefully the module has at least a 2yr warranty on it so we're covered.

Ed

Aussiblue · 06-02-2002, 01:27

Check it by backprobing see http://www.therangerstation.com/TFI_Diagnostic.html

I bought a new one when the RAC said mine was dead but it was OK; the pump had seized and stripped the dizzie drive gear. Make sure you fill the dizzie TFI socket with electrical gease and that the base has plenty of heatsink compund spread on it. It it has failed moisture in the socket or overheating is likely cause. Also, if you know a little about electronics they are not complex and so they can easily be pulled apart and fixed using the reference I gave above to see where it has failed. If you need a new one Veales sell much cheaper aftermarket ones.

XplodEd EA · 06-02-2002, 02:28

Damn I wish I knew about that last year, coulda saved a few dollars. Well it turned out that the TFI module was at fault and had a 5 year warranty on it. So we ended up having to pay nothing for the replacement and the guys were generous enough not to charge labour

Aussiblue · 06-02-2002, 02:33

Sound OK did they give you the old one back so you can fix it as a spare?

XplodEd EA · 06-02-2002, 02:39

Nah they didnt, I didnt think of asking for it at the time cos I was more concerened about having the car for the weekend. I might go back and ask about it tomorrow, hopefully it hasn't been disposed of yet

Aussiblue · 06-02-2002, 02:44

Odds on the send it off to someone who fixes them to be sold again.

EDFUTURA · 06-21-2002, 04:00

I've got a spare module in the glove box now - my original one shit itself at a hospital drive thru (when my Mrs was delivering some books) - I was not well pleased!!!

Apparently these things have been a BIG issue in the US - ie. class action suits etc. (due to cars quitting in middle of intersections and WOLLOP!!). Apparently they are not very heat tolerant and Ford US and apparently Aussie Ford too decided to save about 5 friggin' dollars per car by mounting the module on the dizzy instead of right away from the engine.

This heat intollerance is why it's absolutely critical to use copious amount of good quality heatsink compound when fitting it to the dizzy.

Also, I've been told by a reliable source (inside spare parts sales business) that you should always use a Bosch module - there's apparently some other brand you can get that is not real good at all.

Altho I haven't done it yet, you can easily enough mount the module somewhere away from the engine (ensure it's well earthed to the lower corner attach screw) - using a 3 wire loom to connect it to the dizzy - need to pay attention to sealing the part where the module prongs used to go into the dizzy because water can get into dizzy thru there (there's a seal fitted between the module and the dizzy originally). If doing that, be sure to use Sikaflex or NEUTRAL CURE silicon - if you use acetic type silastic you'll be sorry.

In the US you can actually buy remote mount type modules all fitted up to a nice big heatsink and all - but I don't know if they'd be compatible with Falcons.

Note: modules from earlier cars - ie. XF are NOT compatible - or so I've been told.