7.3L IGNITION WIRE ISSUES

[Teddy Bear]

I apologize if this topic has been discussed already. I searched the forums and couldn't find anything recent on this topic. 

 

I have a 2022 F250 with the 7.3L , 5 months old with roughly 5k miles on it. Last weekend while I was towing my 3,500 lb boat back from a 130 mile trip, I attempted to pass a slower vehicle in front of me, and was astounded at what happened. As I maneuvered into the left passing lane, I pressed down on the gas pedal to accelerate , and the truck down shifted to 4th gear I recall, and just struggled to move.  It appeared to be misfiring badly and surging. I returned to the lane I had been in , and as long as I kept it under 2,000 rpms , the truck drove fine and had plenty of power to make it home. Everytime I attempted to go over 2K rpms the problem would come back. Oddly the engine light never came on . Today, I took the truck out for a drive without anything and tow and it was still appearing to be misfiring at higher rpms, and this time I did get the engine light to come on. I plugged into the OBD port and got confirmation that there had been multiple misfiring of cylinders 1 and 3. 

 

I've heard through various networks that other owners have had this issue. It seemed to have been more of an issue back in 2020 when the 7.3 was introduced. It was reported that some of the ignition plug wires have been found to go bad extremely prematurely. I understand that part # LC3Z-12286-B has replaced "A" to deal with this problem. I have read that there is a LC3Z-12286-C , which is used in medical vehicles , that may be a better replacement,  but have no verification that this is true . oddly the C version is about 1/2 the cost of the B version , so I am even more confused. Fortunately the wires are only about $24 for the B and $12 for the C . It seems that this is a fairly inexpensive repair, but I'm concerned that this will be a regularly re occurring issue over the life of the truck. I've ordered three of the LC3Z-12286-B wires that my Vin # calls for, and 8 of the LC3Z-12286-C wires, to replace all 8, if I can verify that 1) they are better, and 2) they will work in my application ( CCSB ) 

 

I would just also like to note, that my original intention was to just bring it back to the dealer , as this must be covered under warranty . I discovered they are so backlogged, I can't even get a service appointment until May 16th ( 4 weeks) . I rely on my truck for work , so I have no choice but to fix this myself. 

 

 

[IUEC135ELEVATOR]

Following this thread to what is said about this..... There are some pretty knowledgeable guys here I'm very interested to see what they have to say about this. (I may go buy some extras....just in case!)

[NH_Bulldog]

I have read about some older issues with the wire between the coil and plug and their proximity to the exhaust manifold (heat generated when under load).  
 

My Explorer Limited with the 4.6L V8 had a situation exactly like you described and it turned out to be the coils not the wires.   They worked fine at lower RPM’s but couldn’t produce enough energy for high-demand needs.  So I replaced all 8 coils (nothing else) and it was like a new vehicle!

Edited April 18, 2022 by NH_Bulldog

[Teddy Bear]

55 minutes ago, NH_Bulldog said:

I have read about some older issues with the wire between the coil and plug and their proximity to the exhaust manifold (heat generated when under load).  
 

My Explorer Limited with the 4.6L V8 had a situation exactly like you described and it turned out to be the coils not the wires.   They worked fine at lower RPM’s but couldn’t produce enough energy for high-demand needs.  So I replaced all 8 coils (nothing else) and it was like a new vehicle!

2 hours ago, IUEC135ELEVATOR said:

Following this thread to what is said about this..... There are some pretty knowledgeable guys here I'm very interested to see what they have to say about this. (I may go buy some extras....just in case!)