How To Tell Which Coil Pack Is Bad In Ford F-150?

You should inspect each coil pack if your Ford F-150 is having an issue. Your car may have many different problems due to a faulty coil pack. Therefore, you must always be aware of who is having trouble.

But the question is, how can you tell which one is the problem?

In this article, find out how you can check which coil is the faulty one in your Ford F-150, and find out the symptoms of the problem and the possible causes!

Which Coil Pack Is Bad In My Ford F-150?

It might be challenging to identify the defective coil pack at times. You will only know which coil pack is failing once you add a dynamic load to your Ford F150 coil to verify resistance.

Use the simple method below to determine which coil pack in your Ford F150 has to be replaced. The procedure is relatively easy to follow and will take a little time to finish.

Step 1. First, you must use a wrench to separate the negative battery line from the battery. You must then isolate the battery cable.

Step 2. Locate the coil for your Ford engine. Open the front hoods for this. The coil resembles a black cylinder and has a central wire that resembles a spark plug wire, as you’ll see. Additionally, it will be connected to two side posts using wires and nuts.

Step 3. Remove the thick wire from the coil’s center. Pull it straight out of the coil to do this. Remove all nuts and wires from the side terminals as well.

Step 4. Use an ohmmeter to check which coils are operating correctly and which are not. Check the reading you receive by placing the test leads on each side of Ford’s terminals. Primary resistance is what it should be, and it should range from.4 to 2 ohms.

Step 5. Moving the test leads from the negative post to the center terminal is the final step (where you remove the large wire). Additionally, avoid removing the other lead from the coil’s positive post. Instead, take a reading of the resistance on the ohmmeter now.

For the Ford F150, a value between 6000 to 15000 ohms indicates a decent coil pack.

Step 6. If the reading falls outside the acceptable range, you should replace the coil pack.

How Can You Tell If A Ford Coil Pack Is Bad?

Bad coil packs are one of the most troublesome ignition problems affecting the Ford F150.

Your F150 may become practically impossible to drive if the coil pack is faulty. Or it could barely impact the engine’s capacity to function.

As they cannot ignite the spark plugs, the situation will worsen.

In older cars, coil packs replace the position of the distributor and coil. The engine’s computer gives them instructions on when to ignite the spark plugs.

Keep in mind that the bad spark plug and coil pack symptoms are pretty similar. So much so that examining the plugs first is a better idea.

The Ford F-150’s rough idle, misfires, high fuel consumption, check engine light illumination, and occasionally hard starting are the typical symptoms of faulty ignition coils.

In the worst-case situation, the engine won’t start if the ignition coils are in exceptionally terrible shape.

Let’s review the symptoms of a bad coil pack!

Symptoms Of A Bad Coil Pack

In the following few paragraphs, you will see a list of symptoms that might occur if you have a bad coil pack.

Also, if you were wondering When To Replace Coil Packs In Ford F-150, it is pretty simple – you replace it when you see the symptoms of a bad coil pack, which are numbered below. 

A Low Fuel Efficiency

A frequent indicator of damaged ignition coils or spark plugs in an F-150 is excessive fuel usage.

So it’s time to check the condition of the ignition coils and spark plugs if your car is using much more gas than usual.

You Experience Sluggish Acceleration

The engine will lose power if the ignition coils malfunction.

In addition, your F-150 may delay accelerating when you push the gas pedal, making it take longer to get to the required speed.

You Experience Irregular Idle

Rough idle is another sign of faulty ignition coils in a Ford F-150.

When the engine is inactive, it won’t run smoothly, and the cabin can vibrate.

It Is Difficult To Start Your Ford F-150

When the ignition coils fail, the engine will take longer to turn over and start.

Your F-150’s ignition system will have to work much harder to ignite the fuel/air combination in the combustion chambers.

There Is A Check Engine Light On

Your F-150’s engine will misfire if an ignition coil fails or has already failed, and the check engine light may come on in the instrument panel.

You must attach an OBD2 scanner to your car to run additional tests. Any error number between P0300 and P0312 indicates that the engine is misfiring, and you should take a closer look at your coils.

What Is Causing Your Coil Packs To Go Bad?

In the next few paragraphs you read about particular potential things that may have caused your coil packs to go bad!

A Spark Plug Leak

The ignition coil in the Ford F-150 might malfunction, causing the engine to misfire and possibly sustain damage if there is an oil leak in the spark plug tube.

This often occurs due to a breach in the valve cover’s spark plug tube seal.

The leak is stopped mainly by replacing these seals.

Animal Damage Or Damaged Connectors/Wiring

There is a good chance that some animal (such as rodents) has let out some steam in the engine compartment of your F-150. You will often see bite marks beneath the hood if that’s the case.

Then, it’s crucial to thoroughly inspect all the cables, hoses, electrical wires, and connectors for the ignition coils for damage.

Blown Fuse

Of course, electricity is required for the Ford F-150’s ignition coils to operate.

Faulty fuses cause the circuit to be stopped, which prevents the coils from firing.

To determine the precise placement of the fuse for the coils in your car, see the owner’s handbook or the fuse box lid. Then, replace the blown fuse with a fresh one with the required amp rating.