Ford Repair: 1985 Country Squire not wanting to stay running., ford country squire, distributer cap

Question
Hi Jason,

I have been working on my parents 1985 Ford Country Squire
for the past 2 months off and on.  It it a 5.0 with fuel injection.  
Originally what would happen is the car would run fun for some time and then just suddenly stop running.  Sometimes it would start right back up, and others it would have to sit for a few minutes before it would restart.  So I replaced your basic components (Cap and rotor) and the problem seemed to get worse.  Now the car will run from somewhere around 2 to 5 minutes, die, and not restart.  It seems the time it stays running has gone down, It used to be 5 minutes, then 3, today it didn't even make 2 minutes.  I have replaced the pickup coil, ignition coil, and plug wire from coil to distributer cap.  Still the same results.  Ignition module is next on the list of things to change out.  It is a bit more expensive.  

It is getting fuel when I try to restart, plus I can hear the fuel pump engage when you turn the car on.  Fuel filter and PCV valve have been changed.  

When the car does run, it runs like there is nothing wrong, and drives perfectly fine.  

Thanks,
Paul

Answer
Simple test-  see if the check engine light goes out when you crank the engine.  I suspect it will, and that's what we want it to do.  I'd say there is a 99% chance your ignition module is bad.  If the light stays on during cranking, there is still a problem with the pickup coil (or the distributor) which is unlikely.  Hope this helps,
Jason