ca16de ignition module

[psychopathicdude]

When I was attempting to revive the CA16DE in my 87 Pulsar, one of the things I replaced was the ignition module. Now that the engine is running properly, I was curious if the original module was indeed bad. So I took the new one out and replaced it with the old. The car ran fine for about a day, then stopped abruptly while idling in the Taco Bell drive thru (how embarrassing!) I pulled the car forward with the starter and after eating my tacos, reinstalled the new module. Fired right up and I drove it home. Does anyone know what exactly "goes bad" in the old module? Can I expect the new one to someday do this same thing? Should I keep a spare? I'm curious what all is hiding inside that expensive heat-sink-looking thing. If the malfunction is as simple as a bad solder joint, I'm gonna be pissed. Oh, well... at least I already had the new one to put in. It'd be wierd if i switch them again and the old one works for a while. Those intermittent failures can be a bitch to diagnose. Let me know what y'all think. If anyone cares to "drop some knowledge" on me, I'd appreciate it.

Michael

[mmcleo11]

Your going to be pissed...
The most common ignition module fault is: dry solder joints. However, when the fail, they normally short out, frying the entire circuit and will either run on 1 less cylinder or just stop running full stop. With 10+ years of refinement in electronic technology, most new modules will probably outlast your motor
PS: The solder join is so small that U could use a solder iron tip the size of a pin head and still bridge about 5 other joins!!

[psychopathicdude]

argg......i kinda figured.