2003 Ford Windstar Coil Pack

by Rob
(CT, USA)

Is a coil pack the same as a distributor cap. How hard is it to change myself?

Steve Says,

No, a coil pack is not the same as a distributor cap. Yes, you should be able to do this yourself. You might want to go buy the part first so you know what it looks like before you try to change it. If your car has a coil pack then it has no need for a distributor. In the olden days a car had a distributor that was keyed to the crankshaft and that would turn a rotor inside the distributor which would "distribute" the voltage to the spark plugs through the spark plug wires. This system worked ok but parts would wear out relatively quickly and there were a lot of parts that needed periodic replacement. Parts like the distributor car, rotor, etc. Once car engines started becoming controlled more and more by computers car manufacturers did away with the distributor system and in its place they put in a coil pack. This coil pack system uses camshaft and crankshaft sensors to tell the computer when it needs to send a signal to the coil pack to make it "fire" the spark plug. This system is generally much more reliable over the long term. This reduces the need to change all those ignition parts all the time and makes the car more reliable. Now that you know some of the differences between the two systems we can get to answering your question about your car.

It should have 6 spark plug wires going to it that you have to remove and one bunch of wires that plug into it. It should just come unbolted after that. Be sure to mark how the spark plug wires come off so you can get them on in the right spot. If you don't you will have a bad misfire if your vehicle even starts. You need to be careful not to damage the connector that plugs into the coil pack. That connector goes to and from the computer and makes it so the computer can cause the spark plugs to fire. Be sure this electrical connection is tight when you are done.

If you would like to have a picture of where the spark plug wires go just click on the link below and get an online repair manual for your vehicle. They are cheap and have very good information. This is what I use in my shop: