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Top Issue- 02-05 Ford Thunderbird Ignition Coils COP

Tbird 1962 Duffy said:
Is there a diagram for the location # of each ignition coil for the 2002 Tbird ??

The engine light came on and the code reads "P0302 Cylinder 2 Misfire detected". They sold me an ignition coil to be replaced.

Any details on the #2 position and how to change it ??
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Here's an old post showing positions and firing order.

https://forums.fordthunderbirdforum.com/threads/cops-code.3566/#post-26000

If you already bought one COP, swap it and see if it helps. If not, take mod's advice and swap them all. It's affordable.

This page contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated. As an eBay Partner, and Amazon Associate I may be compensated if you make a purchase at no cost to you.

 
biddle said:
I've heard of them dropping things down into the engine and damaging it. That's why I do as much of my own work as possible. I have friends that have worked in car dealers, and a lot of the people that work there are big time losers!
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It was in 2012 when our 2005 Thunderbird with approx. 30k miles developed an engine miss. Unable to diagnose the problem myself, we took it to our local Ford dealer. Next day received a call from them telling me all ignitors needed to be replaced and my cost would be $ 1200.00. I felt I had no choice and approved the work. Paid the bill and picked up the car. Car ran fine. The next day something told me to check the books in the glove box for a letter from Ford. Sure enough, this repair should have been covered under warranty. Upon returning to the dealership, the service manager reluctantly refunded the money. I am convinced they were double dipping. Beware of dealership service, they are not all honest.
 
kees said:
Beware of dealership service, they are not all honest.
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I don't bother going to the dealer. The service advisors here locally rip people off. I have a friend that worked in the service department. They make commissions off it, so it's inherently a conflict of interest.
 
I just joined the forum because I ordered the coils from Amazon and want to share my experience from start to finish.

First, a bit about the problem. I've owned a 2004 Ford Thunderbird for about 14 years. I rarely drive it as its my "fun" car. Over the years I've repeatedly had problems with misfires and running extremely rough. In the past I've taken it to several shops in the area and they would fix it and it would run fine for a short while (around 2,000 to 3,000 miles) then the problem would reappear.

This time, I decided to figure it out for myself. I purchase an engine analyzer program for my laptop and diagnosed a misfire on cylinder #5 (front driver side). I switched the #1 and #5 coils and, sure enough, the misfire moved to cylinder #1.

I was going to order from Autozone ($53 for one coil, $253 for a set of 8) until I saw this thread. I'm going to replace the #1 coil and see what happens. To be continued.
 
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One of mine went bad late last year and I purchased 8 through a t-bird web site. Paid less then $400. and did the job myself with new plugs. Have the shop manual and it took me a few hours for each side and the car runs better then ever. I never figured out which one was bad so I have all the old one in the trunk. One of these days I'll figure out how to test them. The ones I purchased are supposedly guaranteed for life, at least that's what I was told. I saved quite a few dollars doing it myself........
 
FANZ said:
I am ordering a set of these coils to have on hand just in case down the road I have issues. My 05 is running great but you never know.
Any input on the best plugs to do a tune up?
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I had also bought a set (following the link from our forum - thank you) and waited for a warm day so I could change them out on my terms/schedule (mine is a daily driver). I went with Bosch platinum. Opinions vary but it you go with a platinum tip plug (and gap it properly!) I'm sure you will be fine.
 
I have two questions.
1. Can you buy the wiper seal and or the coil covers from bulletin #07N09?
2. If this is suppose to fix this problem why does it seem a lot of people on here keep having the same problem again?
 
DealerDude said:
I have two questions.
1. Can you buy the wiper seal and or the coil covers from bulletin #07N09?
2. If this is suppose to fix this problem why does it seem a lot of people on here keep having the same problem again?
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Both should be available online, start with Amazon. It's amazing what they have for our 'Birds. It's a design flaw, most common in the '03-'05 models after the engine reconfiguration. I don't think most owners have the problem again after making the initial necessary repairs, though some might disagree.
 
I bought 8 coils from Amazon that @biddle kindly gave us the link to and this past Monday my mechanic installed them with no problem,,,,,Had my 05 on interstate 10 today to downtown Phoenix and it runs great!
 
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I had 8 of these Coils put in my 05 three months ago and My Bird is running fine! My mechanic didn’t have any problem. Thx!
 
I have replaced all the coils three times on my 2004 since new and it only has 30,000 miles on it.

I paid about $130 at Auto Zone for replacement which have a lifetime warranty, so the second and third set were free, but time consuming changing them. If I was not good with a wrench the Bird would have been sold.

My a/c has a problem, only heat emitting, so I just bought a temp control valve for $45 on EBay.

My radio volume control went defective along with the CD player so I bought a Pioneer to replace it.

I only have 30,000 miles on this car which is just a stylish Lincoln LS which sells for less than 1/2 the price of my Bird, so in my opinion Ford made a lemon when it gave birth to the 2002-2005 Bird.

Korea makes a better car with a much longer warranty. I’ll never buy a Ford product again.
 
I do believe cars give trouble depending on age, miles, and how stored. My T Birds have always been stored in a climate
controlled garage, also have never driven them on long trips, all short 35 miles or less. I have had no real issues, with
anything except the suspension rotting away, which I believe is a Ford issue. My everyday cars are also parked in climate
controlled garage, but they are much newer.

Both of my T Birds look close to new, and everything works. All of this makes me wonder if the cars have issues
depending on how stored, driven, miles, weather, and so on.

Both of my T Birds could not have been made on good days, so much of the above must be true. Both of mine are
2002 year, so will be 18 years old this fall.

Both of my cars have original coolant, trans fluid, and spare tires, which are not cracked, and have not exploded. I keep
spares tires inflated to 23 lbs, and have a air compressor in trunk when needed.

Hope my luck holds out.
 
Bough my 2003 Tbird a little over a year ago. Ran perfectly until about a month ago when it began misfiring. No warning lights. Based on what I read here, bought the coil set from Amazon and NGK Iridium plugs. Found a mechanic I trust to remove the old and install the new. There were two types of old coils, neither the originals (69K miles). No signs of moisture or oil. Just started going bad, I guess. Running great right now. Perfect fit coils from Amazon just under $60 for the set. Beats Motorcraft for $75 each! If the coils go bad as often as suggested here, spend the lesser amount for what hopefully will be the same lifetime.
 
tbird said:
2002-2005 Ford Thunderbird and Lincoln LS have a widely known issue with Ignition coils going bad and also fouling out spark plugs causing misfires
. Just by replacing these components, you may be able to bring new life to your engine!

At the time of this post, 59.30 for an entire set of Ignition Coils! Can't beat that! If you have a 2002-2005 Ford Thunderbird I would buy these just to have on hand because of the history of these going bad! Don't forget to order 8 spark plugs too because the coils foul them out!

UPDATE April 2020
Here is the link for the updated part as of 04/2020 that fits better with the valve cover- https://amzn.to/2RaLkj2 previously everyone was ordering parts galaxy which works, but is a tight fit. https://amzn.to/31CezPd

There is a post here on how to replace or here.

Important- You may also have a problem with your cowl seal, wiper seal etc, which is causing the coils to fail! You can read more about that in this post. If you have coils problems after a few days/weeks/months it's likely not the coil, but an additional problem.

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Thank you TBird for your updated information. The bird just started to misfire on hills and from a light. I am the original owner and it has 20K miles on it. It is the baby of the family. I am going to order the coils today from Amazon and attempt to install them. Hopefully it is not beyond my skill level. Since this is a recent update is there a recommended plug to get for this 2002 Bird? I may as well do both since it seems like it was recommended. Again, I really appreciate your update on this problem that everyone seems to experience. Enjoy the summer and best of health.
 
I get a random short misfire sometimes. I think it is most likely a coil, but which one. I do not get a check light. Does anyone know how to find that culprit that is starting to go bad. I hate to replace all if I only have one that is bad
 
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