Ford Repair: 2001 Ford Escape misfiring, powertrain control module, 4x4 ford

Question
Hi Shaun.
I spent all day trying to figure out what is wrong with my 2001 V6 4x4 Ford Escape and after lots of money on wasted parts, I have determined the wiring to the No. 1 ignition coil is not getting any juice. I plugged the coil into different positions and it sparked so I know it works. I also changed the sparkplugs, but have since fouled the one in that position. It's just the No. 1 position that is dead. What do I call the wiring that I need? Is that what I need? Is it a factory part? Any advice? Thanks for your help.

Danielle

p.s. I am a 27-year-old newspaper editor ... not exactly a mechanic, but I am proud of myself for narrowing it down like this. Please let me know if I am overlooking something. Thanks again for your help!

Answer
Hi Danielle,
    I am actually proud of you, because you are trying to tackle something that many of my peers can't do when they are getting paid. Diagnosing vehicles is a very hard job, especially when lacking technical equipment to help.
    There a few causes that come to mind given the symptoms, but all of them take test equipment and maybe some wiring diagrams to eliminate the causes one by one. If there is no battery power to the ign. coil just on that cylinder, then it is most likely in the wiring harness(can't really be bought, just repaired), but if the coil ground circuit is faulty, then the problem is most likely in the powertrain control module or the wiring inbetween. If the cylinder does not have the proper compression(mechanical damage), then it also wont fire, and possibly foul spark plugs also. A bad fuel injector can also cause a misfire, but it won't foul the plug in the process, because no fuel is actually going in the cylinder. See if you can verify compression for me, and give me an idea what test equipment you have access to, and I can e-mail you some service info/manual content to help. I hope this helps. Good Luck!!   Shaun.