1991 ford festiva timing

[Rick the Quick]

Did you get your timing sorted out? Does the timing advance as you bring the rpms up?

[ghm11]

sorry i thought i replied to this but apparently i did not hit send or post ,i have been working a lot of hours and have not had the time to do anything else things are slowing down a little at work so i might get a chance this weekend.

[1garyz]

saw this thread and hopefully someone pics up on it, i have 93 festiva automatic setting ignition issue. if i ground out the sti to set timing per the manual my engines shuts off. so setting timing it is being set way advanced if i understand the ignition and leads to a problem/issue i have had with the car for some time. it had been my commuter car, hot southern cal bumper to bumper traffic engine temp rises then goes into thermal runaway leading to turning on the heater and blower to keep things cool for the engine, pinging starts in and until i can get some speed up out of traffic the engine pings its brains out. auto fan system works fine, plugs come out lean, replaced, no holes air leaks in intake system, air mass meter unit replaced, helped some, new radiator, hoses, water pump timing belt checked as timed correctly, fuel filter replaced, fuel pump replaced, thermostat removed and run in place same issues, no bubbles in radiator indicating blown head gasket (are festivas known for head gasket overheating issues?) car has become a yard ornament, would like to fix issue and i know shorting out sti to time engine is suppose to be the way to proceed, would appreciate any help with this issue as i would like to make the car the reliable "tin can" it has been since i bought it new in 93. has been a great car want to drive it if possible till i am in the boneyard myself with this "i dont know where the timing is really at" which i do think have a hand in the overheating in traffic issue. please you guys helped me out when i had the fuel pump fuses blowing out which was the fuel pump wearing out drawing too many amps blowing the fuses and the tips to replace with a more modern fuse in the fuse block. then this overheating issue i had no time to work on so i bought bought a kia rio "commuter car" and parked the festiva, i wont get rid of it, love this thing, now retired sitting in stir with the pandemic in southern Kalifornia and want to solve this issue, hope you guys can help me, i have the electrical troubleshooting manual and mechanics manual on the car.

[1garyz]

saw this thread and hopefully someone pics up on it, i have 93 festiva automatic setting ignition issue. if i ground out the sti to set timing per the manual my engines shuts off. so setting timing it is being set way advanced if i understand the ignition and leads to a problem/issue i have had with the car for some time. it had been my commuter car, hot southern cal bumper to bumper traffic engine temp rises then goes into thermal runaway leading to turning on the heater and blower to keep things cool for the engine, pinging starts in and until i can get some speed up out of traffic the engine pings its brains out. auto fan system works fine, plugs come out lean, replaced, no holes air leaks in intake system, air mass meter unit replaced, helped some, new radiator, hoses, water pump timing belt checked as timed correctly, fuel filter replaced, fuel pump replaced, thermostat removed and run in place same issues, no bubbles in radiator indicating blown head gasket (are festivas known for head gasket overheating issues?) car has become a yard ornament, would like to fix issue and i know shorting out sti to time engine is suppose to be the way to proceed, would appreciate any help with this issue as i would like to make the car the reliable "tin can" it has been since i bought it new in 93. has been a great car want to drive it if possible till i am in the boneyard myself with this "i dont know where the timing is really at" which i do think have a hand in the overheating in traffic issue. please you guys helped me out when i had the fuel pump fuses blowing out which was the fuel pump wearing out drawing too many amps blowing the fuses and the tips to replace with a more modern fuse in the fuse block. then this overheating issue i had no time to work on so i bought a kia rio "commuter car" and parked the festiva, i wont get rid of it, love this thing, now retired sitting in stir with the pandemic in southern Kalifornia and want to solve this issue, hope you guys can help me.

[Tyler77]

Oops double posted read the second one

I was just thinking pinging coming from the motor often happens because of the air fuel ratio being off.
You said it was running lean... If it were me I would replace the fuel injectors if they are the original ones. And maybe the oxygen sensor as well.
Also I’d check out the Idle air control valve. You can test it by taking it off And running 12 V to it to see if the solenoid still opens up.

I hope any of this might help you

[Tyler77]

I was just thinking pinging coming from the motor often happens because of the air fuel ratio being off. Possibly not the timing but maybe though.
Do you have a timing gun, I’d. Give that a try to check the timing...fairly easy
You said it was running lean... and if it isn’t the timing.....If it were me I would replace the fuel injectors if they are the original ones too.
they may be straining to get enough fuel into the cylinders
And maybe the oxygen sensor as well

I hope any of this might help you

[1garyz]

they are the original injectors on the car, what is a good choice for them? i see rebuilt ones on ebay, can you still get new for this car, kinda doubt it. the oxygen sensor was the first item on the replacements i made, i see in my post i did not mention that. i have a timing light for timing, the issue that troubles me is per manual you ground out the sti (manual shows exact plug i am shorting out and poof! car immediately shuts off. so i am grounding out the signal for the ignition doing what the manual says you are suppose to do timing the car. i have set the cars timing before at different locations to get around the PING and have set it at the shown timing position, BUT, if the manual says to short out the sti it is to defeat (i assume) electronic ignition advance so the distributor is being set by the mechanical position of the engine not the computers other inputs of temp, rpm, mixture etc from the the brain box. will order rebuilt/new injectors and see what i get with that. thnx for the input and anymore suggestions you may have on the injectors new rebuilt sources.

[tooldude]

Before you go out and buy injectors that you may not need, run a tank or 2 of gas with Seafoam through them, they likely could use a cleaning. The wire you need to ground for timing is black - that the one you used? If that kills the engine, check that the distributor is not loose or set to the end of the adjustment space. Someone may have set it to compensate for a mechanical problem. That STI wire connects only to the computer. If that kills the engine, I believe that would indicate a problem in the computer. BTW, you are supposed to start a new thread for a different problem.

[ricko1966]

Test the injectors before you do anything with the injectors. Bad oxygen sensor will default rich.And yes a blown head gasket will cause overheating issues.What concerns me most is that when you ground the sti the car dies, so obviously something in that circuit is messed up.First thing I would do is getting a wiring schematic isolate what all is on the same circuit, check continuity on all the wires in that circuit, look fo wires shorted to ground then start testing components.You have to get that circuit right just to check the timing.So that's where I'd start.