it wont start =(

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RPMLegends18

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hey guys,
ok heres the problem I will try to be the most specific to help you guys understand the problem and maybe help me out. here it goes. new engine is in everything hooked up like it was before (when it was running with the 360) and now it wont start. The coil is hooked up correctly, the control unit is good, i replaced the pick-up coil, and still nothing. If i pull the coil wire from the distributor and lay it about a 1/4" inch from a bolt or whatever to test the spark it has spark. now i put the coil wire back in pull a plug wire put in my spark plug tester, ground it out crank it and nothing. I am clearly lost. I have tried looking at wiring diagrams and it all seems right...its just driving me nuts!!! all this time and money building this new motor and now that its time to fire some little piddly thing is keeping it from firing it. just frustrating. I have cut back any of the stock wire looms to see if there is a short anywhere im just hoping to ask on here and maybe someone can help me out before i go diving in with me knife cutting all the electrical tape off....

any ideas would be much appreciated.

Thanks,
Ryan
 
If the coil throws sparkSSSS (not just one spark) when you turn the engine over, everything is working. If the sparks cant find a path out the plug wires then the rotor button is the problem. I've seen them broken, missing, etc..
Thats all I can offer . Hope it helps.
 
yeah it throws sparks.. it has a nice bright blue consistent spark...the rotor seems fine...ill throw on a different one and give it a try. thank you for the help
 
What Red Said, If ya got no spark coming outta the cap, Thats a problem. Sure you not 180 out? #1 on the Dist points Towards front (12 o clock)when on TDC #1
Also, a GOOD/ Best ya can get Ground from Engine to Body/Battery never hurts.
My 02 Eric



RedFish said:
If the coil throws sparkSSSS (not just one spark) when you turn the engine over, everything is working. If the sparks cant find a path out the plug wires then the rotor button is the problem. I've seen them broken, missing, etc..
Thats all I can offer . Hope it helps.
Click to expand...
 
I had this problem twice. First time the module was bad on the distributor and the second time my timing was off. I feel your pain. Iginition stuff is hard to figure out.
 
I swapped rotors and still nothing. The engine is grounded from the battery to the drivers side cylinder head and theres a ground strap on the intake manifold to the firewall as well. Theres also a body ground off the battery to the radiator support. Could it be.........ugh. this is so far beyond me lol. could it be the ignition switch? is there a way to maybe bypass the switch and see if it'll run that way? and the fuel is half GT100 and half 97 oct mix out of my race car jug. Its fresh from 2 weekends ago. I have another control unit around here somewhere that i need to find and just try it out for kicks and giggles but i cant find the darn thing to save my life. once i stop looking for it i will find it lol. thats usually how it is... and the air gap on the pick up is set at the owners manuel .008........should i try a different cap?

And ya at TDC the rotor points to the number one cylinder
 
I had the same problem as fwaugh. I backed the car in the garage one day and when I went to start it the next time, nothing. I tested the coil, the key on, then in the start position and all was well. The problem was the pickup in the distributor. It just went bad. I had another distributor, all grungy and greasy, but I slipped it in and it fired right up. Check it out, it is an easy change to just replace the pickup if you have an extra distributor. One other thing I would like to mention. After that episode, I bought a new Mopar performance electronic distributor and when I put it in, I had the move the distributor drive gear 2 teeth to get the rotor to line up and have adjustment clearance on the vacuum advance to time the new distributor. I still can't figure that one out, but it runs like a scalded dog!!! I'm feeling your pain, but with a little patience it should be easy to find. Ma's wiring is pretty easy to figure out. Good luck I hope these ideas are of some help. Geof
 
Is the motor grounded to the fire wall #-oand is the negative side of the battery grounded to your fender and is this the same dist you had in the old eng?

So you do have fire going to the dist but not going two your plugs.:scratch:

I hope a tec jumps in here and knows something more,:thumleft: But do make sure you have a grounding strap to your fire wall from your new motor.
It almost sounds like your rotor or cap is not working together.
Or there is a shorted wire in your distributor.
I am not much of a tec so give a tec a chance to jump in and help.

This is weird :tongue9:
So there is a good chance it is something simple:-k

I hope you get this fired up soon :cheers: I know the feeling :angry7:

When I first seen your post no one has replied yet. I got a phone call and did not Finnish till now. Wow good to see help when you need it.
 
What type of feeler gauge did you use to check the air gap on the distributor pick up? If it wasn't brass there's your problem. A steel feeler gauge will kill the pickup. Your problem sounds more like a bad cap/rotor to me though.
 
yeah theres the ground from the motor to the firewall and also the ground from the battery to the fenderwell. Thats what i was thinking at first was ground issue...its all grounded. and ya its the same dist out of the old engine. the only thing after i made sure it was all grounded was went and bought a new pick up coil for the dist threw it in adjusted and still nothing. i am honestly hoping its something stupidly simple lol....

it was a brass feeler gauge
 
Could It Be Neutral Switch??try Starting In Neutral.just A Thought,other Than That Try A New Ballist.2 Cents
 
it is in neutral I believe Ill try it if its not and I replaced the ballast resistor yesterday when i started throwing parts at it trying to solve my problem lol. maybe i'll try park. or an entirely new dist. bleh day three on this fiasco and it seems like Im just pouring more $$$$ into. oh well all that new stuff should help down the road I suppose
 
If the distributer were 180 degree wrong or if the firing order was wrong the engine would spit , grunt, backfire, something.
Neutral safety will prevent it turning over at all.
The spark from the coil goes through a spring loaded carbon contact in under side of the cap and to the rotor button, across it to the contacts around the cap to the wires.
I've seen cases where the rotor turns when the cap is off but not when the cap is on but that normally in GM where the drive dog in the rotor button is broken or in any where the drive gear or its pin is broken.
Take the cap off and try to turn the rotor by hand. If you can't , I give up.
 
I want to see a picture of the cap and the rotor.
I have seen so much build up on the lobes in the cap that the fire
wont jump through it, Looks like white chalk :angry7:
the rotor or cap is not a match or something.:clock:
like grumpuscreature said your steel feeler gauge killed the pickup
and or the new pickup is a bad part.


Been there before.

Makes you wonder if the rotor is moving at all like RedFish said.
 
well heres what i did....new cap, new rotor...nothing. tried a new ignition box, nothing, new ballast resistor nothing...so for kicks and giggles i threw a coil at it and it fired right up...lol so now i got a nice shiny new pick up coil, cap and rotor =) it sounds sooooo nice hearing this thing come alive... thanks for all the help guys. :cheers:
 
Finally, some good news!!! Just think of all the parts you won't have to replace anytime soon now!!! (I hope). I was wondering if you got that puppy started, and it's good to hear you did. Now, wheres the sound bite of the fire-up??LOL!!! Geof
 
RPMLegends18 said:
well heres what i did....new cap, new rotor...nothing. tried a new ignition box, nothing, new ballast resistor nothing...so for kicks and giggles i threw a coil at it and it fired right up...lol so now i got a nice shiny new pick up coil, cap and rotor =) it sounds sooooo nice hearing this thing come alive... thanks for all the help guys. :cheers:
Click to expand...
Good news first thing this morning :cheers: Happy to here it fired right up

:toothy10::wav::blob:
 
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