Aaron's slanted '74 Dart Sport finally had its first major issue in the past three-plus years he has been driving it. Since completing a total rebuild in March 2006, he has used it for his daily driver and has put about 30,000 miles on it.
He called me after work about a week ago and said his car wouldn't start. We thought it might be flooded, but after letting it sit for a while, it still would not start, so I went to see if I could help him. We fiddled around for a while with this and that, not really doing much other than making sure no wires were disconnected or melted, vacuum lines were intact, carb was getting gas, jumper cables were boosting his system, and ignition wires were all on tight. No major diagnosing. Then it just simply started...
He has driven it this past week without any other issues... until yesterday morning. Wouldn't start again. Cranks and cranks, just no go. So, we got out the multi-meter and ignition tester and went to work on it yesterday afternoon. Still won't start. Here's what we have determined so far:
Installed ignition tester in-line on cylinder one... no spark
Same on cylinder two
Replaced coil with brand new one off the Duster project... nothing
Replaced ECU with brand new one off the Duster project... nothing
Installed ignition tester in-line on primary wire from coil... single spark
Here's what I need explained...
With the ignition tester connected to the coil's primary wire and grounded to the body, we get a single spark when the ignition key passes the "run" position, then there is no spark as it gets to the "start" position as the engine cranks. I understand the distributor is out of the loop in this scenario, so I would not expect the test light to "flicker" as it would if connected to a spark plug wire. Since there is no interruption of the circuit being introduced by the spinning rotor, why would the light not burn steady while the key is in the "start" position. I assumed there would be a constant supply of voltage as the engine tries to fire up, then once the engine starts and the key is released to the "run" position, the distributor takes over to "distribute" the voltage among the six plugs - hence the "flicker". What am I missing here?
I will admit, since it was getting dark outside, we buttoned everything up before pulling the distributor cap and checking it and the rotor's condition. I can't tell you if the rotor was spinning or not. I just realized that there would be no spark at any of the plug wires if the nylon gear on the distributor shaft has broken off. That's the next thing we will look for is a spinning rotor.
Any other comments or suggestions are welcomed,
Jerry
He called me after work about a week ago and said his car wouldn't start. We thought it might be flooded, but after letting it sit for a while, it still would not start, so I went to see if I could help him. We fiddled around for a while with this and that, not really doing much other than making sure no wires were disconnected or melted, vacuum lines were intact, carb was getting gas, jumper cables were boosting his system, and ignition wires were all on tight. No major diagnosing. Then it just simply started...
He has driven it this past week without any other issues... until yesterday morning. Wouldn't start again. Cranks and cranks, just no go. So, we got out the multi-meter and ignition tester and went to work on it yesterday afternoon. Still won't start. Here's what we have determined so far:
Installed ignition tester in-line on cylinder one... no spark
Same on cylinder two
Replaced coil with brand new one off the Duster project... nothing
Replaced ECU with brand new one off the Duster project... nothing
Installed ignition tester in-line on primary wire from coil... single spark
Here's what I need explained...
With the ignition tester connected to the coil's primary wire and grounded to the body, we get a single spark when the ignition key passes the "run" position, then there is no spark as it gets to the "start" position as the engine cranks. I understand the distributor is out of the loop in this scenario, so I would not expect the test light to "flicker" as it would if connected to a spark plug wire. Since there is no interruption of the circuit being introduced by the spinning rotor, why would the light not burn steady while the key is in the "start" position. I assumed there would be a constant supply of voltage as the engine tries to fire up, then once the engine starts and the key is released to the "run" position, the distributor takes over to "distribute" the voltage among the six plugs - hence the "flicker". What am I missing here?
I will admit, since it was getting dark outside, we buttoned everything up before pulling the distributor cap and checking it and the rotor's condition. I can't tell you if the rotor was spinning or not. I just realized that there would be no spark at any of the plug wires if the nylon gear on the distributor shaft has broken off. That's the next thing we will look for is a spinning rotor.
Any other comments or suggestions are welcomed,
Jerry