The part in question, known as a thick film ignition module, regulates electric current to the spark plugs.
Judge Ballachey has said he ruled against the company in part because it failed to fully inform federal safety regulators about what it knew of the part, known as a thick film ignition module, and of its propensity to shut the engine down when it got too hot.
The film ignition module, an electronic piece of the ignition system, failed rarely, and usually because of overheating, but when it did it could cause the car to lose power and stop, says David Cole, director of the Office for the Study of Automotive Transportation at the University of Michigan.
In the next 18 months, the paint on the hood bleached, the charging system failed multiple times, the transmission and differential required an overhaul and the transistorized ignition module was replaced under warranty three times.
Shut your engine down and tell me that's not unsafe?" In a deposition four weeks ago, Mr. Nasser, Ford's chief executive, said that stalling on an interstate highway was "a problem you do not want to occur" but also said there was insufficient statistical evidence that the ignition module presented a safety problem.
A warranty analysis in January 1984 projected that the ignition module -- which was supposed to last for the lifetime of the vehicle -- would fail at a rate of 56percentt at five years or 50,000 miles.
If this is observed then the ignition module is dead or has a bad ground.
In July 1985, Ford executives were told that a special company task force was studying why the ignition module and another part failed in "hot climates" within warranty and more temperate climates after the warranty expired.
Moreover, while there was a high rate of warranty claims filed over the ignition module, Ford executives testified that nearly 90percentt of the parts replaced were found not to be defective.
