How-To, Coyote Wiring: 2nd Gen F-150 donor + Ford Racing Controls Pack

[CoyoteCobra]

Hello FFR owners,

I own a Cobra but it is not an FFR. Despite us having a different make, the FFR community has been very helpful due to the similarities of our cars and I've lurked on this forum quite a bit. This has helped me avoid several annoyances on my build by seeing what others have done. To give back to the Cobra communities I have documented some changes I had success with in hopes that it may be helpful for builders who may come across this.

This thread , which I read quite a bit of before I started my own car, has some good info in it but the solution isn't there and there's also misinformation in that thread, no doubt as folks were still trying to discover the quirks of the 2nd gen Coyote F-150 engine vs Controls Pack harness. Having searched around on various forums I could not find the simple solution to the problem of the 2nd generation Coyote from an F-150 to work with a Coyote Controls Pack from Ford Racing without having to swap out the cams, repin the whole harness, etc..

The below is mostly just a copy/paste/aggregate of my posts on another Cobra forum (not sure if it is against the rules to link threads to another forum here).


The good:
The second gen F-150 has 385HP stock. That config is with however many mufflers they put on a 150, cats, 87 octane towing tune, truck intake manifold, and log exhaust manifolds. These Coyotes respond very well to modifications as it seems with bolt-ons and tuning you can get them to 425+ HP while maintaining super nice manners and drivability.

For those looking for a milder build using an engine drop out, the 2nd gen F-150 is an incredible value. I found mine locally with about 5k miles on it for about $2500 with all accessories. It is a practically new engine and at that price it was too attractive to pass up.

The bad:
The problem is that the F-150 has a different firing order than the Mustang/Controls Pack (302 HO vs Flathead V8) and it uses MAP vs MAF. The wiring harness on the engine is slightly different and you can't use the Coyote Controls Pack from Ford Racing in a plug and play method. Some adjustments are needed.

The not so ugly:
I've seen so many conflicting statements about how to make it work. Ford's stance is that it simply can't be done without swapping all of the cams along with phasers, chains, tensioners (really? ), and so on. I believe that would set you back about $900 in parts plus quite a bit of work with pulling the chains and retiming everything. Then you have some who say you don't have to make a single change to anything (that's also not true), while others have said that you have to repin practically the whole harness.

There is more than one way to do it, but what I did to make it work (without changing the cams) was pretty quick and easy. It includes a few changes to the wiring harness + a custom tune that I had to get anyway since the engine is modified. I've yet to see anyone post the easy changes online in a clear manner. You can also buy a customized harness with changes made to it already but the only ones I've seen were pretty expensive for a few quick pin changes detailed in this PDF.

Please note that after making the attached changes, the F-150 Coyote should fire up but I would not run it like this for more than just a second to see if it will start and idle. The F-150 + whatever modification you have made to it will need a custom calibration and the software adjustments for the HEGO, knock sensors, and diagnostics. The stock controls pack tune is expecting a stock air intake, Mustang manifolds, longblock, etc. and that is something your F-150 in a custom installation is not going to mirror. AFRs, timing, diagnostics, etc. are going to be all over the place without changes to the software.

Most software tuners should be able to figure out the sensor assignment for you and do a data log to create a custom tune. For the software/tune config I've been working with Ken at TuningByOz with success. He's been great to work with throughout the process. So far we've done several lengthy data logs from a cold start to operating temp to get the base tune right. The Coyote purrs like a kitten now but I have to do more data logging and tuning with Ken once I get it on the street to make sure the tune is calibrated right under load and driving conditions.

How-To: https://www.dropbox.com/s/upvmrwfbkk...anges.pdf?dl=0

Disclaimer: This is only meant as a guide of one way to do this. It is purely in hopes of helping others with their projects and avoiding the aggravations. The attached worked great for me and is how I solved my wiring issues, but I make no warranty, guarantees, etc. on what you do to your wiring harness, if you cut the wrong wires, short circuit something, break a connector, and so on. If you're in doubt then just don't do the attached and go buy a premade harness from someone (the only ones I found were pretty expensive for just a pinout change though).

I encourage you to verify your work (and my guide) before proceeding or connecting power to your PCM.

[q4stix]

I was finally able to read through this and it looks like it all makes sense to me (but I've been doing a lot of other wiring recently too).
Good to know that even the F150 harness can be used too without having to switch over to the Mustang GT engine harness.

All of this will certainly reduce the cost of replacing the necessary components assuming they'll be going with a custom tune by a pro anyway.

[CoyoteCobra]

Yeah mine runs great so far with the changes described. I saved a considerable amount of aggravation, time, and money by not having to swap basically the whole valvetrain + wiring harnesses. That's why I documented in hopes it could help some other folks during their project

[initiator]

Wow - what a service for folks looking to save serious bucks on their engine choice! Great add to the community.

[CoyoteCobra]

Thanks! That was my plan with making the guide!

[dbo_texas]

I just read through your detailed instructions. This is awesome and made my day! I was planning to do the Gen 1 F150 in my build since it seemed the Gen 2 required so many changes, but I was worried because low-milage Gen 1's are much harder to find these days. They are still out there, but there are a ton of Gen 2's out there and these changes look fairly minimal. Thanks for posting!

[CoyoteCobra]

Yeah the Gen2 has a few extra ponies with its better cams and bigger ports, too.