Stranded in Little Egg Harbor NJ

[matthon]

Anyone near Little Egg Harbor in NJ?

I'm stranded at the Wawa with truck, trailer, and a car for my daughter I just picked up.

No spark, found a coil, I think it's the magnetic pickup, found one nearby, arrives at the parts store at 3:30.

318 in an 84 Dodge.

My fear is it won't be a match for this distributor.

Thoughts?
Google Maps

 

[RustyRatRod]

Wasn't 84 a lean burn year?

 

[matthon]

Dunno, it's got an Edelbrock intake & carb, headers, etc.

 

[slantsixdan]

2-wire pickup + vacuum advance = not Lean Burn.

Gonna be difficult to set the pickup air gap in the field without a nonmagnetic 0.006" feeler gauge, but two sheets of regular printer paper will do in a pinch.

 

[dano]

If you have a Mopar ignition box (original or replacement) be sure the body of it is chassis grounded really well. That can cause a no spark condition.

 

[413]

Get a small block points distributor and you are off and running. Carry one on the vehicle with you for next time this happens.

 

[matthon]

New coil, new distributor today.
Ignition module was replaced a month or so ago.

I ruled out the ignition module early on because it had recently been replaced.

Now I think it's the module.

 

[nutz]

Wasn't 84 a lean burn year?

didn't think trucks used lean burn
sorry too far away
one of my old friends loved points cause he said can allways make it run

 

[matthon]

So I couldn't get the reluctor off to replace the magnetic pickup. My understanding is it should be held on by 2 roll pins, but mine had some kind of wire snap ring.

Guys at Napa found me a new distributor, at another store, so went and got that (the guy I bought the Subaru from brought me).

Stabbed it in, no spark.

These 2 guys asked if I needed help, we bench tested the old coil, it's bad, and bench tested the new coil, it's good.

Very long story short, when I crank it now, no spark, when I let of crank coil wire sparks, and when I turn key off coil wire sparks.

Me thinks that means the ignition module is bad, which is the only thing left to replace, which I recently replaced already, so I had ruled it out early on.

The score now is the coil was bad, the module appears to be bad as well, and I'm sleeping in the Wawa parking lot.

A FBBO member is graciously bringing me a module in the morning.

Today has been full of crap, but also incredibly generous people.

I got up at 1am, left at 2am, drove 5hrs, loaded the car, stopped at Wawa at 8:30.

That'll be 24hrs+ by tomorrow morning, when hopefully I can go home.

 

[1WildRT]

Sounds like quite the "adventure".... I'm guessing once you get home that ignition system is gonna be gone over with a fine tooth comb...

 

[1WildRT]

So I couldn't get the reluctor off to replace the magnetic pickup. My understanding is it should be held on by 2 roll pins, but mine had some kind of wire snap ring.

Guys at Napa found me a new distributor, at another store, so went and got that (the guy I bought the Subaru from brought me).

Stabbed it in, no spark.

These 2 guys asked if I needed help, we bench tested the old coil, it's bad, and bench tested the new coil, it's good.

Very long story short, when I crank it now, no spark, when I let of crank coil wire sparks, and when I turn key off coil wire sparks.

When you turn off the key the circuit collapses causing the single spark... The module/pick up coil normally does that constantly... Chryslers Electronic Ignition was problematic to diagnose/repair in the 70's/80's... Now the parts quality only makes things worse... Much worse...

Me thinks that means the ignition module is bad, which is the only thing left to replace, which I recently replaced already, so I had ruled it out early on.

The score now is the coil was bad, the module appears to be bad as well, and I'm sleeping in the Wawa parking lot.

A FBBO member is graciously bringing me a module in the morning.

Today has been full of crap, but also incredibly generous people.

I got up at 1am, left at 2am, drove 5hrs, loaded the car, stopped at Wawa at 8:30.

That'll be 24hrs+ by tomorrow morning, when hopefully I can go home.

 

[318willrun]

Get a small block points distributor and you are off and running. Carry one on the vehicle with you for next time this happens.

I carry one with me when I travel. One wire fire.

 

[RAT ROD AL]

Good luck Matt. Hope you get it going .

 

[matthon]

My 64 wagon has a poly 318, I put an MSD ready to run in it 100 years ago, been running fine ever since.

A friend offered to pull it with the coil and wires and drive down here, 5hrs one way.

I told him I couldn't ask him to do that, time, energy, skip a work day. There had to be an easier/faster way.

Yes, a poly 318 and LA 318 use the same distributor.

I may have to buy a horse and carriage and get home the old fashioned way.

 

[abodyjoe]

just seeing this now. i was probably napping before night shift when you posted it.. you are about an hour from me. i don't have any stock electronic ign parts though. my duster may have a points dist in it though if you could use that..

 

[Icetech]

Hope you get up and running and today goes better for you....

 

[4spdragtop]

Sorry to read Matt, hope you get rolling shortly.

 

[nutz]

Thats what you get with a Subaru.
If you were getting a real car you would have been fine

 

[Icetech]

Dear Martha, It's day 23 stuck in this "New Jersey".. The natives speak funny and say things like "OH!" and "EH!!"... i fear that their mannerisms will rub off on me. The only bright spot in all of this is i can find good pizza pretty much anywhere i look.. The women here wear war paint all the time, they call to me in ways i don't understand and am ashamed of. I can fight the temptation.. but i fear that it may open up some new doors in me i do not wish to face..

I will do my best to return to you and my cars as soon as is possible... Your Mopar man, Matthon...

Spark is hell.

P.S. When i return i would like to procure some of these "Tank Tops.." they seem very comfortable and give me free range of motion..