New ignition trouble, MAYBE

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superdart

superdart

Shade Tree Tinker Gnome.....
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HELP!!

I have installed my new FBO Stage II Kit, and did the conversion from a 4 pin to 2 pin ballast resistor.

With the key on, I have voltage on the ECU side (but only 10.9 vdc) and with the key on START I'm running 10.9 vdc on the coil side. Both measurements taken with the ballast resistor NOT hooked up.

My battery was showing 12.27 vdc at rest.
Are these voltages correct (or at least normal)? Or do I have a voltage drop somewhere?

I also took the liberty to clean and replace some corroded fuses and solder some previously butt-spliced connections going up to the ignition switch.

After this, I hooked up the ballast resistor, turned on the key, and it promptly started to smoke. I shut everything off, and took out the resistor. It LOOKS fine internally, but it measures 0.5 Ohms (it's supposed to be a 0.25 ohm resistor). I was suprised it was not open.

Also measured voltage at the resistor wires AGAIN (with the ballast removed). 10.9 / 10.9 (ON, ecu side / START coil side).

Was the smoke just conformal coating burning off? Am I just being paranoid and picky about the voltage levels? Or is everything normal??
 
OK, so I found out this is normal.

Now I've started the car, and found 2 more issues:

The new distributor is bent (it wobbles)....I'll send it back and get another... :(

#2 My system charges @15 VDC when I'm at 1200 rpms. It's a pretty new voltage regulator, but it's a factory regulator. Does anyone know of a good aftermarket regulator for a 3 wire alternator?
 
Have you talked to Don at FBO ?

Im not very good with electrical so I dont know what to tell ya. Gooad luck.
 
I talked to him about the smoking ballast resistor. (didn't know it was normal for them to smoke the first time you put power to them).

I think I found the problem, and it's not a problem with the distributor (mostly).

It was brought up that maybe the engagement tooth was too long, keeping the distributor from fully seating on the block.

When I went to check this out, I about pulled the oil shaft clean out of the engine. The slot on the new shaft is WAY bigger than the old one, apparently it got wedged in the pump shaft and wasn't able to fully seat. The length is OK. A little bit of dremmel work should do the trick. Glad I paid a bit more attention to the rotor location before I pulled the distributor :)

Now the only REAL problem is the voltage regulator. I'll double check it once I get the car running again.
 
Factory style regulator?

Is it the flat one for the 70 up cars, or the cube one for 69 down?

If it charges at a steady 15 volts(doesn't go up to 17 or something if you rev it up) then it probably has a voltage drop to the ignition lead on the regulator. It then thinks the system voltage is lower than it really is, so it boosts the output to push it up.

Check the voltage opn the ignition lead(at the reg) with it running. You will probaly find it is 1 to 1.5 volts lower than at the battery direct.

If this is the case there's 2 ways to fix it.

1)spend 2 days looking for the drop, and another week rewiring the ignition switch circuit when you find it. Make sure you colour code it all correctly.... :shock: :pale:

2) use the existing igntion lead on the reg, to turn on relay with direct battery voltage to the reg.
It works well and is a 15 minute fix.

The reason I ask about the type of reg is that the old style one can be used, by grounding the second terminal on the alternator.

If you are using the newer style, just stick with it. The stock replacement is just as good as any of the aftermarket stuff.
 
It's a flat style, one I got from Mopar, and it doesn't have 100 miles on it.

I'll measure the voltage at the coil once I get it started again. I used a flat file to correct the engagement tooth. It fits fine now. My only concern is that I may not have got the gear back in correctly. I'll have to set it all to TDC and check my gear setting. If it IS off, it's only by one tooth at the most. But, better safe than sorry.
 
superdart said:
It's a flat style, one I got from Mopar, and it doesn't have 100 miles on it.

I'll measure the voltage at the coil once I get it started again.
Click to expand...


That's great, but it won't tell you anything on your charging problem.

The voltage at the coil is reduced through the ballast. On the regulator it should be system voltage. Check it on the ignition lead of the reg, and it will tell you what is going on. 8)
 
DUH!! I should know these things :roll:

I'll check and let you know.
 
OK. I did a quick ballpark timing adjustment to get the motor to idle about where it should be.

The more I run the RPMs up , the higher the voltage goes. 15vdc at 650 and 16vdc @ 1000 rpms, and higher if I rev it (went as high as 16.8).

I think I'm looking at a bad regulator.

EVERYTHING else seems fine.
 
What type of Regulator are you running ? I bought a new Mopar Perf. one and ir was bad right out of the box.
 
I too am running a MP regulator. It's been on there a while, so I'm not sure why it would suddenly die (then again, regulators don't gradually die, do they? :D )

On Moparchat someone mentioned checking the field wires to ground, said if they are grounded, it would tell the alternator to produce whatever it could at a given RPM.

I did some electrical work on the car, but only repair of individual wires, and removal of the effeciency circuit. I can't imagine where I grounded a field wire. I am going to look into it, non the less.

I REALLY need to break down and get the factory service manuals. The schematics in Hanes & Chiltons suck.
 
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