CUDA DIED...NO SPARK to PLUGS !!

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pastortom1

pastortom1

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Drove the Cuda to Church last night, but when I tried to start it, it fired weakly for half a second then quit .........No spark.

I covered it up and went home.........just went over to check it out.....Checked all connections everywhere........cleaned terminals.......Cleaned the rotor........Checked it with an inductive timing light, and still no spark.

The car is not a rat......most stuff new..new coil.....new motor...new wires etc.....BUT, a 7 year old blue box electronic conversion is in there........I'm wondering if this could be the culprit?

I know very little about the boxes........Can they just plain give up the ghost like this?

HELP..........:sad4:
 
Did you check your ballast resistor. They seem to be a common area of failure in Mopar ignition systems.
 
Put a meter on the coil. If you get an open circuit, it's bad.
 
STILL no spark at all...........

I had a new coil on the shelf, put it in, and no difference.........

What about that ballast resistor.......Can it cause a complete loss of spark?

What else other than my "blue box" could be the problem ??

Ignition switch ? (not sure about these old ones.......works fine for cranking and what not......)

Resistor ? Coil Condenser ? Blue Box ?
 
Coil layin down or standing up? (Leaking oil?)

I'd bet the box, but I suck at ignition. Used to be good at it, ....back in the day....before old age set in early....
 
Coil lays sideways, but no problems I can see......New coil makes no difference.........

That box is 7 or 8 years old now........(it TOO may have grown old before it's time......the stuff sure ain't like it used to be.......)
 
1st the ballast; single or dual, check for open circuit with key in run position & start position.
2nd is the rotor turning during cranking- on a /6 the dist. gear may be broken, on V8's it could be the timing chain.
3rd ignition box, not the most likely failure, but easy to diagnose with a known good unit.
4th distributor pick up, in my experience it's the 2nd most common failure item after the resistor, but more of a PIA to replace.
 
CHECK VOLTAGE getting to system? More and more problems with bulkhead connectors

PULL CONNECTORS at ECU and distributor, work them in/ out to scrub clean, and "feel" for tightness.

CHECK reluctor gap, test shaft by wiggling, look for reluctor damage striking pickup, or magnetic junk stuck to reluctor/ pickup

Check ballast, easiest is with test lamp or just try another, or temporarily bypass

IN FACT for testing, you can jumper both sides of the ballast together, and JUMPER DIRECT to the battery or big stud on the starter relay. This way you know you have power "that far."

(Buy some Radio Shi* test clip leads)

CHECK for spark at the coil, by using a clip lead / screwdriver or your test lamp. This eliminates the coil wire/ distributor/ plug wires/ rotor as part of the test problem. If you do NOT have spark right at the coil it has to be

distributor problem (reluctor/ pickup/ bad connection, distributor not turning)

bad resistor

system not getting power

bad ECU and check the ECU ground. SUSPECT the ECU connector before you replace ECU
 
1. turn ignition on and measure voltage on the + side of coil with your - lead of the meter on ground. if nothing, then it could be ignition switch, ballast resistor, bulkhead connector or some other wiring.
2. If you have voltage there, as was stated, make sure the dizzy is spinning. If it is, it could be your box or the pickup in the dizzy itself.
 
Ballast resistor will start motor during cranking (ballast bypass) but wont keep it running in "run" . If that the case, just jump the resistor until you get home and replace. Get yourself a points dizzy and get her home for the in depth diagnostics. You can limp that thing home with a jumper wire from the battery + to the + coil and bump the starter relay with a screwdriver with a points dizzy. Good times!
 
The blue box will experience sudden death. I had a known good blue box in my Valiant. Pulled it, rounded the corners on its pitiful heatsink, taped it, sanded and painted gloss black. Looked as good as it worked for about 2 weeks. Still looked good when it hit the trash can. LOL
I've read that the chrome box ECU isn't meant for street use but it's the only alternative I had on hand. Works great !
The pick up coil is easy enough to test with a meter at its 2 post connector. If it checks out, replace the ECU. When yuo pull the ECU off the firewall you may see evidence of its failure on the backside. Mount the new one and be sure its' chassis grounded before making power connections. Happy moparing
 
I'll put my money on the ecu. I always have a spare ecu, coil and ballast resistor in my car when I go anywhere. That stuff can take a Crap at any time without notice.
 
Just plugged in a new blue box.........Still no spark at all.

Next I'm poppin' in a new ballast resistor, then a new ignition switch (which is original)......

(I'm not just throwin' money at it.....I really want extra parts on hand since this is my personal cruiser.......I might get lucky changin' these out one at a time and find the problem.....I don't want to monkey with the dash unless I have to).
 
Just plugged in a new ballast resistor, and still no spark.

BUT, when I left the key in the "on" position for about 30 seconds, the resistor started to smoke......Really hot stuff.........

This MUST be an indicator of something common, it would seem.....

Anybody have an idea ? :banghead:
 
For a ballast resistor to get blister your fingers hot is common. Was it smoke or steaming moisture, and did you ever check the pick up coil in the distributor. If you're happily throwing parts at it why stop to ask for help ?
 
RedFish said:
For a ballast resistor to get blister your fingers hot is common. Was it smoke or steaming moisture, and did you ever check the pick up coil in the distributor. If you're happily throwing parts at it why stop to ask for help ?
Click to expand...


Doesn't seem like he really wants any help. Having spare parts is one thing, but actually knowing how to diagnose a problem, is another.
Personally, I can't afford spare parts.
 
I had a direct short inside my Alternator before that took the power out on the whole car.
Had the hood up when it happened, sparks were flying all over the place and then it just went dead.

Does it crank over??
 
lrazor said:
Doesn't seem like he really wants any help. Having spare parts is one thing, but actually knowing how to diagnose a problem, is another.
Personally, I can't afford spare parts.
Click to expand...

What the blank kind of response is that? Seems kinda' clear that I've been swapping out the parts these guys thought might be the problem.......You think? Some guys here actually gave me TIPS on diagnosing the problem too, and I've followed advice..........

So why the BS...................? Like it's been said many times before on these forums, if you ain't got anything decent to add, don't add.......Just leave it alone.

Thanks to the guys who've been constructive without negative comments. You're appreciated as always.
 
I can't add to what has already been mentioned. It sounds like you might have to get down and dirty and "start from scratch". It could be something simple or something major... just don't know. The resistor getting so hot that is smoked is not normal in my book. Sounds like that resistor is fried now. Ohm meter is your friend.
 
Other than swapping out the pick-up coil or distributor (I had terrible luck with my Chevy's......absolute junk) I don't know what else to do except get under the dash........

Voltage looked good at the coil........I picked up another switch, but I've never seen one do this in 40 years of old Mopars.......I still think it's somethin' in that ignition set-up.......

I have another complete distributor set-up in the garage on the Duster project.......I think I'll try it in the morning before I stand on my head under the dash.......
 
RedFish said:
For a ballast resistor to get blister your fingers hot is common. Was it smoke or steaming moisture, and did you ever check the pick up coil in the distributor. If you're happily throwing parts at it why stop to ask for help ?
Click to expand...

Definitely burning smoke......that coil was HOT and smokin'.......

Pick-up coil I'm checking in the morning........

......and I stop to ask for help because it "helps"........and a LOT of other guys will search the subject, and find the help that I get in the thread, AND find what the problem actually turned out to be........

The more info on a given subject the better, I think. That's why I always hit up the guys.

Thanks Red.
 
Many owners will try everything that is quick and easy first. I've been there done that too. When all else fails and they finally remove the distributor cap to find a mess from the pickup dragging against the stator or the shaft not turning at all... well, like they say hind sight is 20/20. Good luck
 
Checking the distributor for any obvious signs of trouble was about the first thing we did.......Nothing out of the ordinary.

This morning I swapped out the distributor for the one in the Duster project which I know was working fine.......(instead of rebuilding the one in the Cuda)........ The swap made no difference. No spark. It's apparently not the pick-up coil or anything else in there.

I had an extra ignition switch in the box so I swapped IT out next.....No difference.

I'm gonna re-check all the continuity under the hood and check the voltage again at the coil, etc.........Stumped.

After that, I guess I'll have to take the cluster out and check the mains. Don't know what else to do.
 
Have you checked to verify that all the Bulk Head connectors are on all the way in the engine bay?
Make sure they are seated into the bulk head.
 
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