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View Full Version : Weird Vibration At 2000 Rpm's In All Gears?

Jibberish18
09-29-2003, 12:55 PM
Hi there. New to the forum and decided to give it a try since the phone lines seem to be busy today. Well I guess I'll go ahead and ask my question.

I have a 2000 Ford Focus 2.0 with the ZETEC engine. I recently isntalled a MSD replacement Blaster Coil on my car. The Blaster coil is actually made for a 4.6 L DOHC Cobra Motor but fits perfectly on my car. With it I installed MSD 8.5 mm Superconductor wires. Well initial response after installation was very good. Idle was as smooth as the OEM coil and wires. I took it for a ride around the block and noticed a probable improvement in 0-60 times. RPM's reacted quicker in drive and in Park. Now the problem...kinda.

I have these weird vibrations in my gas pedal at around 2000 RPM's. While my air conditioning is on the vibration spreads to the rest of the front of the car while at idle. It almost has that feel when someone replaces there OEM rubber motor mounts with Polyurethane performance mounts.....you almost always get a more rough idle. But in this case It's mostly at 2000 RPM's. It can get pretty annoying at times and I'm wondering what could be wrong and better yet am I doing any damage to my electrical components? Please help me out. Otherwise at other RPM's the car runs smooth....on highway it's beautiful...just at 2000 RPM's.

(Special shout out to Jeff from the Import Division for helping me get a new set of wires and answering all my questions)
msdtech2
09-29-2003, 04:52 PM
I would recommend checking under the hood at the plug wires to make sure they are not arcing at any point on the wire. Also make sure that the clips are fully connected to the plug end as well as the coil end. If you do not see any problem, switch the coil back to the original to see if this helps the situation.
Thanks
msdtech2
Jibberish18
09-30-2003, 08:48 AM
So what would you say if I told you that when I put on the OEM coil the vibrations go away?

BTW I checked the coil, and the wires....all look good and are set properly.
Jibberish18
09-30-2003, 05:42 PM
Well I reset my ECU yesterday by disconnecting my battery and it seems like the problem spread to almost all RPM's. It was actually getting better too.
Jibberish18
09-30-2003, 08:45 PM
Okay. I just took off the MSD Coil and wires and put on the factory Motorcraft OEM coil and Borg Warner Wires. It's confirmed. Either the coil or the wires or both are causing the weird vibrations in the car. What could it be? And what can be done?

The MSD coil definitely is much more lively than the stock coil. That's for sure. Everything about it's performance is better except for the vibrations. today, after resetting the ECU, the vibrations were being felt even apart from 2000 RPM's...SO MsdTech2. Got anything for me? :(
msdtech1
09-30-2003, 10:53 PM
Start adding one item at a time back onto the engine to see which one is causing the problem. First do the wires, and then do the coil. Do you feel the MSD Spark Plug Wire snap onto the spark plug when you push down on them? Inspect the side (white area) of the spark plug to see if there are any small black dots or a carbon track. The spark may be arcing down the side of the plug to ground when under a load. Are you running the MSD Coil with the stock motorcraft ignition system or do you have a MSD DIS unit installed?

MSD Tech1
Jibberish18
10-01-2003, 08:28 AM
Start adding one item at a time back onto the engine to see which one is causing the problem. First do the wires, and then do the coil. Do you feel the MSD Spark Plug Wire snap onto the spark plug when you push down on them? Inspect the side (white area) of the spark plug to see if there are any small black dots or a carbon track. The spark may be arcing down the side of the plug to ground when under a load. Are you running the MSD Coil with the stock motorcraft ignition system or do you have a MSD DIS unit installed?

MSD Tech1

Thanks for the reply.....I can't go back and forth with the wires one at a time like you suggested because the Ford Focus uses a different type of coil than the coil MSD makes.....the difference is the connections. So the Borg Warner Wires will not fit on the MSD coil and the MSD wires will not fit on the OEM motorcraft coil. Only the Ford Escort ZX2 has the same type of connections for the coil that MSD makes although both cars have the same engine..... The Focus has different coils available and they are replicas of the MSD...."ACCEL, SCREAMIN DEMON" many people have used them without problems.

When I push the spark plug wires down on the coil I do make sure that all of them are on correctly. I don't really hear a snap...I don't think I can hear a snap with that type of connection? I haven't pulled out the spark plugs but from the looks of them through my valve cover the top looks fine. I will however check them.

And finally I am running the MSD coil with the stock ignition. It was the only upgrade I made. That and the MSD wires.
msdtech2
10-02-2003, 01:20 PM
We will wait for the units for testing.
Thanks
msdtech2