One of the hardest-working components of the 1991-1996 1.9L Ford Escort or Mercury Tracer's ignition system is the ignition coil pack.
In this guide, I'll walk you through how the coil pack supplies spark to all four cylinders, what signals it needs to make that happen, and the most common failures you'll run into with this type of system.
This information will give you a big leg up when you're dealing with an engine no-start or a cylinder misfire on your Escort or Tracer.
Contents of this tutorial:
APPLIES TO: This tutorial applies to the following vehicles:
- 1.9L Ford Escort: 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996.
- 1.9L Mercury Tracer: 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996.
IGNITION COIL PACK WIRING DIAGRAM:
IGNITION COIL PACK DIAGNOSTIC TESTS:
How The Ignition Coil Pack Works
Like I mentioned at the beginning, one of the things that'll really supercharge your coil pack diagnostics is understanding how it actually works.
The key thing to know is that the ignition system on your 1.9L Escort and Tracer is a waste-spark system. In this setup, two cylinders —called paired cylinders— get spark at the exact same time.
Another thing to know is that the coil pack is made up of two individual ignition coils: Coil A, which supplies spark to cylinders 1 and 4, and Coil B, which supplies spark to cylinders 2 and 3.
Here's what happens when you crank the engine:
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The CKP sensor activates, starts generating a signal, and sends it to:
- The ignition control module (ICM) —1991-1995 Escort/Tracer.
- The powertrain control module (PCM) —1996 Escort/Tracer.
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The ignition coil gets 12 Volts, and this 12-Volt feed supplies voltage to the primary side of both ignition coils inside it.
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The ICM or PCM receives the CKP signal (and other inputs) and sends two activation signals to the coil pack. These are two separate control (switching) signals —one for each half of the coil pack.
- Ignition Coil A activation signal: Spark control signal for cylinders 1 and 4.
- Ignition Coil B activation signal: Spark control signal for cylinders 2 and 3.
The "activation signal" is just the ICM or PCM switching the Ground side of each ignition coil ON and OFF (interrupting the Ground path). That ON/OFF switching collapses the coils' magnetic fields and makes them fire spark from their two towers.
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The two coils inside the coil pack fire spark, and the spark plug wires connected to the coil pack deliver it to the spark plugs they connect to.
- Spark plugs for cylinders 1 and 4 fire at the same instant —one is the "working" spark, the other is the "waste" spark on the exhaust stroke.
- Spark plugs for cylinders 2 and 3 fire the same way —paired, simultaneous sparks.
Common Coil Pack Failures
Ignition coil pack failures on the 1.9L Escort (Tracer) are pretty common. These are the most common issues you'll run into with a bad ignition coil:
- No spark coming out of one coil pack tower —this is a sure-fire sign the coil pack is toast and needs to be replaced.
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No spark coming out of two coil pack towers that connect to paired cylinders (cylinders 1 & 4 or 2 & 3). This points to one of two things:
- A bad ignition coil.
- The coil pack isn't receiving the specific coil (A or B) activation signal.
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No spark coming out of all four coil pack towers —if all four towers don't spark, the problem usually isn't the coil pack itself. Most of the time it means either the CKP sensor has failed or the coil pack isn't getting IGN power.
This step-by-step tutorial walks you through the coil pack test so you can quickly figure out if your Escort or Tracer's coil pack is good or bad —and avoid replacing good parts:
Ignition Coil Connector Pinout
Here are the coil pack's 3-wire connector circuit (wire) descriptions for the 1991-1996 1.9L Ford Escort and Mercury Tracer:
- 1 —Coil A control signal: Dark green with yellow stripe (DK GRN/YEL).
- Activation signal for spark to cylinders 1 and 4.
- 2 —12V IGN power feed: Dark blue (DK BLU).
- Power with the key in the RUN or START position.
- 3 —Coil B control signal: Brown with red stripe (BRN/RED).
- Activation signal for spark to cylinders 2 and 3.
Spark Plug Wire Firing Order
Where To Buy The Ignition Coil And Save
The coil packs below are made by Standard Motor Products and Motorcraft (Motorcraft being the factory original part) —solid brands I've used for years and never hesitate to recommend:
Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Buying through these links helps support this site at no extra cost to you. Thanks for your support —it really means a lot!
More 1.9L Ford Escort Diagnostic Tutorials
You can find a complete list of diagnostic tutorials for the 1.9L Ford Escort (Mercury Tracer) in this index:
Here's a small sample of the tutorials you'll find:
- How To Test The MAF Sensor (1991-1995 1.9L Ford Escort, Mercury Tracer).
- How To Test The Fuel Pump (1991-1996 1.9L Ford Escort, Mercury Tracer).
- How To Test For A Blown Head Gasket (1991-1996 1.9L Ford Escort, Mercury Tracer).
- How To Test Engine Compression (1991-1996 1.9L Ford Escort, Mercury Tracer).
If this info saved the day, buy me a beer!
