electronic ignition conversion

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Big B

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trying to install a electronic ignition setup. do u need to install a second ballist or just wire it into the factory ballist. any info will be use full. eng is a 340 with a single point dist now.
thanks big b
 
this is how i always do it..


electronic%20ign%20conversion%5b1%5d...2.jpg
 
If you have a new or "late" box, it's a 4 prong box, meaning it can use a 2 pin resistor. You can actually use your old one

If you have an older, used, "5 pin" box, it must have a 4 pin resistor. Even the half of the 4 pin resistor for the coil side is "same as" a 2 pin resistor

Also, if you toss your points dist. in the trunk, you can use it as a quick spare. Say the ECU quitts. Just swap in the points dist, hook up the dist. wire to the coil NEG, and pull the connector off the ECU.
 
What parts do you have now? If none, using a GM 8-pin HEI module will be simpler, cheaper, better spark than the Mopar ECU. Even easier and cheaper is the "ready-to-run" HEI distributor ($45 ebay, Steve White Performance and others). Even with the Mopar ECU, I think you can lose the ballast if you get a "ballasted coil" from an 80's Mopar engine.
 
thanks 4 all the respones's. was using a used ecu and that was the problem. with the complete kit in fired right up. its a 4 pin ecu with a stock ballist. the old electronic ign setup was running in this 340 before we swaped it into the 67. ok now 4 another problem. all the gauges r pegging out when eng running. what i am getting is a fluxuating(?) votage between 0 and 7 volts on the 5 volt side of the fuel gauge. the test light flashes on and off. i'm thinking it is a bad voltage limiter in the fuel gauge. would like to be sure before my next move. its been a long time since i was this deep into cars. i had a new road runner in 1968 that wound up with a 440 that ran mid to low 11s during its street racing heydays. thanks again for all the imput. big b
 
BillGrissom said:
What parts do you have now? If none, using a GM 8-pin HEI module will be simpler, cheaper, better spark than the Mopar ECU. Even easier and cheaper is the "ready-to-run" HEI distributor ($45 ebay, Steve White Performance and others). Even with the Mopar ECU, I think you can lose the ballast if you get a "ballasted coil" from an 80's Mopar engine.
Click to expand...

Is this the ones you speak of?
[ame="http://www.ebay.com/itm/DODGE-PLYMOUTH-440-426-HEI-DISTRIBUTOR-6714-BK-/370965981613?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item565f4ba9ad&vxp=mtr"]Dodge Plymouth 440 426 Hei Distributor 6714 BK | eBay[/ame]

If so, have you used them and whats your opinion on them? Just seems way to good to be true for that low of a price. Heck, even a petronix conversion costs more than this whole distributor. Let me know.
 
Do your gauges go to full scale as soon as you turn on the ignition? And are you talking the water temp and oil pressure or the fuel too?

The 0-7 volts fluctuation at the guages could be normal; the voltage limiter actually switches the 12v off and on at a cylce of around 1 cycle per second to give a lower avarege voltage to the gauge circuits. How the voltmter reacts to this is highly variable. So your test shows that the limiter id basically working, but or may not be showing a limiter issue.

You can check the sensors for resistance by themselves: remove the gauge wire and measure each sensor's resistance to ground. The temp sensor should be somewhere around 25-35 ohms at 180F (180F t-stat open), and will be much higher when cold (like 80 ohms to infinite ohms). And the fuel sender should read around 10 full, low 70's empty, and mid-20's at half full.

Beyond that, you can check the guages' resistance by themselves; I am not 100% sure but I think that they should be around 50 ohms through the guage terminals by themselves. Perhaps someone can correct me on that resistance if I am wrong. Gauges do go bad from time to time.
 
There are many posts here on the "ready to run HEI distributor", if you search. Most people had good luck. One guy said the bearings (or bushings) failed in a customer's car. I bought the small block one ($45) for my 65 Dart, but haven't installed yet. No instructions in the box, as I recall. I will look at lubing the bearings.
 
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