1985 5.0 Spout connector question

[LastDeadLast]

Hi,

I'm the new owner of an 85 F150 XLT.  5.0 EFI, 96,000miles.  Stock engine as far as I can tell.

It's idling a little rough so I pulled the codes and I'm getting a code 18 in continuous memory which translates to:  "Loss of tachometer input/IDM circuit failure/Spout circuit grounded"

Upon reading up on this fault, the first thing to check was the condition of the wiring.  Well it's bit of a mess.   The insulation has rotted off the wiring on a few of the leads going to the TFI, SPOUT and coil.

I can get replacement pigtails for the TFI and coil but I can't find anything for a 1985 EFI SPOUT connector.  I CAN however, find the newer style connector for the 1986+ engines.  Will the newer connector work on an 85?  From my reading, it looks like the SPOUT connector is used for nothing more than checking timing.

Thanks for the help!
-Shannon

[Gary Lewis]

You don't even need a connector.  You could use a switch as you are right, all that does is take the computer's ability to change the timing away and put you on base timing.  So if you want a later style connector go for it.

[ArdWrknTrk]

It's just a jumper.
I've seen (and used) a simple inline fuse holder, like this one from Waytek.

[LastDeadLast]

Thanks everyone for the help!  Probably best if I just start a build thread to document all this stuff.

-Shannon

[ratdude747]

I used a spade terminal pair for mine:



(old pic, I've swapped some unrelated parts since this was shot last month)

I previously had a bullet pair... but it was too hard to disconnect. Spades seem to be a happy medium. Different size crimps are used due to using a replacement TFI connector (which used 14-16 gauge wires for all connections).

[LastDeadLast]

Ratdude,

Glad you brought the TFI up.  I need to replace mine.  I've got a good TFI connect that I can use, but does anyone know where I can source the wiring terminals from?  I've searched all over, but can only find the pigtails with the wrong color coding.

Thanks,
-Shannon

[ratdude747]

The one I bought was one of these:

https://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo.php?pk=4673361&cc=1121432&pt=10623&jsn=4

(STANDARD MOTOR PRODUCTS HP4530)

The wires are all black (despite the description) but a good electrical diagram (or the old connector) will say what goes where. Other than the SPOUT I trimmed the new leads back a bit... which is why my SPOUT is a loop.

On a lot of Motorcraft pigtails the wires are all black too... the only time I remember getting an off-the-shelf pigtail that had colored wires was the coil plug:

https://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo.php?pk=939309&cc=1121432&pt=2592&jsn=21

(WVE 1P1091)

Maybe WVE makes a TFI connector? I think I was choosing my connector brands based on common warehouses for other things (I was ordering a lot back then as part of an engine rebuild where I decided to fix my hacked up harness the right way).