New info on dis module

merkur

Registered User
Ok,I have been reading about inconsistent performance from the DIS module related to heat. I had a problem with the tach quiting after a few miles of driving. One of the guys on the board came up with the great idea of putting fresh heat transfer compound on the mounting surface and re-snugging it down. I did that, and it worked for a few days, and started doing the same thing again. I came up with the idea of building a heat sink under it, and useing longer bolts to mount it. This worked well until I let it get up to around 210 deg. and it quit again. I was just hanging out under the hood trying to figure out what went wrong when I noticed the the module itself was slightly bowed up in the middle. This would cause the contact between the heat sink and module to break leaving nowhere for the heat to go. I fabricated a small brace that goes across the module so that when the bolts are tightened the bow is pressed back to original. It is my guess that this is what is happening to alot of SC owners out there. I will take some pics of my heat sink and brace system tomorrow, and post it up. Oh yea, and my SC hasn't missed a beat since. Later
Danny
 
DIS Heat Sink & Brace

I agree, we need pics.

I'm not having any DIS problems now, but I'd buy a heat sink & brace to prevent problems in the future.

68COUGAR
 
Every year someone creates a heat sink for the DIS and then we dont hear or see it again..

I would think to get a new DIS however even if this seems to cure the problem.

Lets see some pics:O)
 
cool ~~~~e

i dont think most people need a fatty heatsink like that unless the underhood temps are twice as much as a stocker SC

i use arcic silver . no problems.
 
I would think that if there is an air gap then it is either time to replace the DIS module or not torque it so tight.
 
You asked to see pictures, you can plainly see the heatsink underneath the dis. Ford moved the dis beside the fender for the 94/95's, not because of a heatsink grease problem, but because of its proximity to the head.

I dont know about you, but my computer seizes at 180F, so wouldint it make sense that the jackshaft which reaches around 180F anyway, would make a crappy heatsink?

I've seen most people just pffft it and say its too much work, I spent 5 dollars and 15 minutes, not having to worry about or replace the dis: priceless.
 
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what the hell? i overheated my sc when barely got it.... completely overheated, and guess what? the dis was still running perfectly, that was like 3-4 years ago, and i barely replaced my DIS just about less than a year ago... so i think you got other problems.... even when my temps climb past 210 it still working fine, no missfire or bucking or nothing! so you might wanna think about getting a new DIS module.

but great idea... kudos to you...
 
Lets not shoot it down just yet. No matter what a cooler component will last longer and not all fail at the exact same temperature. I would like to see a better picture of this heatsink and brace if you have one.
 
Sorry guys, I didn't get a chance to get a pic of it yesterday, as it was raining. It is still raining this morning. If the sun pops out I'll get one, and get it on here. As for people thinking that because your DIS didn't fail after you over heated, that heat isn't a problem............Well heat is a problem. Over time it will kill any circuit. I am sure you took a couple years of the life of your DIS when you over heated it. It didn't fail then, but it did fail. And to the other comment about The DIS warping because it is tightened down too tight. It is bolted to a hard flat surface. The only thing that will make it warp is heat. I do agree with you that I need to get a new DIS, because this one is on the way out. I hope that with the heat sink, and brace it will last a couple years or more before it takes the final plug into darkness. Later
Danny
 
cut its life? it was a 13-14 year old dis module how much life can it have left? but yeah get a better pic and we can go from there! others have tried putting bigger heatsinks on it and they end up overheating, but yours seems to work...
 
I got the pics, but for some reason when I go to manage attachments it won't load the page. If I click it twice it goes to error on page. Is there some one that I can E-mail them to so they can get posted?
Danny
 
I got the pics, but for some reason when I go to manage attachments it won't load the page. If I click it twice it goes to error on page. Is there some one that I can E-mail them to so they can get posted?
Danny

Could your browser be blocking popups? The attachment manager is a popup window. Just a thought..... :confused:
 
Yes that is a very good idea, but I turned the pop up blocker off and it still wouldn't work. It is my computer doing it, I just can't seem to get it figured out.
 
The heat sink, and braces are aluminum 3/8 C channel. As you can see there are 5 pieces of channel under the module. They are placed about 1/8 in. apart for air flow. On the back side I gave them 3/8 overhang. They sit on a 2x3 in. piece of header wrap to insulate them from the engine. The braces are the same aluminum channel cut in halve length-wise, and then machined to fit the recess of the bolt holes and put the corner of the channel across the top edge of the module. You can feel a huge difference in the temperature between before and after. The total cost for aluminum, longer bolts, and heat sink compound was around 10 bucks, and I still have enough to make 3 or 4 more. I will be taking the prototype parts off to clean up the cuts, and probably polish them to make it pretty. So there you go. Thanks for posting the pics for me. Later.....
Danny
 
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