Crank but no Spark issue.

[ScubaSteve]

Okay the car is a 74 dodge dart swinger, 318, with a A904.

Im having quite an issue here. okay back story. it had been sitting for a while because i was on vacation, i had moved it to wash it, cranked over and started fine. When i went to move it back, it cranked but battery was dead, so i hooked up jumper cables and let it sit there and charge the battery a bit.
Car still wouldn't start, so i pushed it back to its resting space.

Afterwards car radio wouldn't turn on, no accessory's no nothing, not even cranking. okay, so i replaced ignition switch, okay cool i got cranking. still no start at all, so i ended up replacing, (stuff needed to be done anyways) starter, coil ballast, ignition control modual, spark plugs, wires, dist, coil, wires, voltage regulator. still no spark even with an inline spark tester... what did i do wrong? please get my girl on the street! aha


Getting tons of fuel, i see it spray into the carb, and the see thru fuel filter is filled with fuel.

 

[70aarcuda]

check to see if you are getting voltage at the coil...at the ballast resistor...

all of times there is a problem with the bulkhead wires...

 

[EL5DEMON340]

Check to make sure .008 between the rotor and pickup in the distributor with a brass feeler gauge. Mine was intermittent because of this

 

[trapster]

Man I used to have those wheels (american racing I believe)

Also check to make sure the rotor in the distributer is turning.

 

[krazykuda]

Also check to make sure the rotor in the distributer is turning.

Yes, check the distributor to make sure that the rotor is turning.

 

[64ragtop]

Still got the factory bulkhead wiring connector? Try disconnecting the battery, then unplugging the engine side of that connector.
Good time to inspect both sides of the connector for heat damage, corrosion, etc. If all seems well, spray WD40 into both sides
of the connector and plug it back together and unplug and replug 3-4 times. Reconnect the battery, and try starting the car. Good luck!!

If that "fixed" it, disconnect the battery and spray lithium spray grease into both sides of the connector. Plug and replug as above,
clean up the excess grease (it there wasn't a bunch of grease squeezed out, you didn't use enough) Then reconnect the battery
and cruise!

That car is too pretty to be a garage queen!

BC

 

[Christopher Lounsbery]

I have a 1973 Dodge Dart Swinger with a 318 she cranks but does not start, I can smell fuel I have a light spark coming out of the ignition coil nothing coming out of the distributor any ideas. Noted that the ballast resistor becomes warm with key on but never gets hot. Ran fine 10 days ago. No moisture in cap. Plugs were cleaned because of fuel fouling

 

[67Dart273]

Okay the car is a 74 dodge dart swinger, 318, with a A904.

Im having quite an issue here.
Getting tons of fuel, i see it spray into the carb, and the see thru fuel filter is filled with fuel.

You must be methodical instead of throwing lots of parts at the thing. That is because new parts are not always good meaning functional, and you can introduce new problems. There is some testing you can do

(On an aside ARE YOU SURE the fuel you see spraying into the carb is actually gas and not, say, water?)
Remove and inspect plugs. Are they wet/ dry/ fouled/ warn?
Is it possible the timing chain slipped? Does it crank "sound" like normal? You might consider running a compression check. On worn engines, its even very possible that it does not have enough compression OR THAT CONTINUED tries to start, you have enough fuel to wash oil down off the cylinders and reduce compression.

Ignition system itself
1..Make ABSOLUTELY certain that the ECU is GROUNDED
2..Turn key to "run" and measure coil+ voltage to ground. It should not be "high" that is it should NOT be up to battery voltage. It should instead be somewhere between 6V and 10V. Assuming the battery is charged and above 12V
3..."Rig" a spark test gap, or buy a spark tester. Use solid core wire from the coil tower to test. Crank the engine using the key. You normally should get a big fat blue spark at least 3/8" and usually longer
4...If not, clip your meter to the coil+ and to ground, Crank the engine using the key and read meter while cranking. Meter should read "same as battery" while cranking, and should be above 10.5V or higher
5...Turn key to run. Disconnect distributor 2 wire (pickup) connector. Inspect it with a light for corrosion, and "work" it in/out several times to scrub the contacts clean. With your spark gap "rigged" to the coil tower, take up the end connected to the engine bay, not the distributor. "Tap" the bare end to ground and each time you do, should get a nice hot blue single "SNAP" spark.

If you get this spark, and not at the plugs, move to the distributor. Remove cap and rotor, and carefully inspect for damage, carbon/ water/ dirt, and rotor "punch through." Inspect the reluctor/ pickup for rust/ debri, strike damage, and wiggle the shaft looking for excessive play.

Connect your meter to the distributor connector, with the meter set on low AC volts. Crank the engine. The distributor pickup should produce about 1V AC output

Get a brass feeler gauge and check the gap between reluctor and pickup coil. It should be about .008" That's inches, not metric. Inspect for damage due to too close gap or shaft/ bushing wear

 

[67Dart273]

Remember, all engines need these things to fire, start, and run

1....Compression, meaning enough compression to run, and the camshaft in time
2...Spark, meaning a hot enough spark and in time
3...Fuel meaning fresh, not so old it won't fire, enough to fire but not flooded

 

[67Dart273]

In depth ignition testing

Here's a post I made about the simplest way I know to get across testing the ECU/ ignition parts

You need a coil, the ECU and the distributor

Lay it out on the bench. Follow the diagram. Find the two distributor pickup terminals on the ECU. Hook them to the distributor

Hook the ECU case to battery NEG

Coil does NOT need grounded

Distributor does NOT need grounded.

Hook coil + to the power lead terminal on the ECU. Get a clip lead hooked there and let dangle. This is your battery "hot" when you are ready

Hook something from coil "case" to a probe for testing spark.

Hook up your power clip lead. Twist the distributor shaft while holding the test probe near the coil tower. The thing should make sparks

If not, unhook distributor. Take first one, then the other pickup clip leads, and "tap tap" ground them at the battery connection. Coil should make 1 spark each time you do so.

If not, try another coil. If that does not fix it replace the ECU

IF you hook it all up and it WORKS, then there is something AFU in the car harness. SUSPECT a bad ECU connector OR a bad DISTRIBUTOR connector
=============================================
This is all you need to test the basics of the ignition. You can easily test the ballast separate. A battery, the ECU, distributor and a coil, and of course some test leads

Below, the basic diagram for a 4 pin ECU

Below, the wire for testing spark. I use my 12V test light. No, LOL the spark won't blow up the bulb

Below, the ground connection. ALL you need is one wire from batt NEG to the ECU case

Below, the two distributor connections. In the car these are polarity sensitive, but for testing does not matter

Below, the coil NEG connection

Below, battery PLUS connection, one wire to this terminal of ECU and jumpered over to + side of coil

Below, all hooked up and ready to test (except for battery ground). Should produce sparks at least 3/8" and typically 1/2" long

Below, distributor "one wire" test. I have removed the other distributor wire for simplicity. Take the bare connector end or this clip lead (the yellow) and with everything hooked up, ground it repeatedly. Each grounding should result in a spark (In this photo you need to hook up the ECU ground wire, I left it off for the photo)

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