I've been having this issue for about a month. First time it happened I played with the car on a Saturday with no issues, started it many times. Sunday it wouldn't start but it has always cranked over. When I would stop cranking it hinted at starting. It did this over and over. I hot wired it battery to coil directly and still no start. when I disconnected the positive terminal the eng would lurch. Yesterday I drove it around the corner and stopped at my friends. While sitting it started die and then it did. All the same symtoms came back and I had to leave iot at my friends and go to work. This morning it started on the first crank and I drove it home?????? It ign1 run and ign2 crank position? new stuff= ignition switch, refurb stock dist no points, mudule and ballast resistor, coil, alt, VR. Please correct any ignotance on my part, still learning everyday.
Been learning myself for 40 years...... Make sure your ECU is grounded well. -possibly bad connection at firewall Do you have a voltage meter? Dual ballast or single? Also hot wiring to coil wont make it fire.... fyi you need voltage to ballast and ECU
Sounds like a failing ignition box if you've converted. I had an orange box do that. When you say crank, do you mean the engine turns over but does not fire?
I've been known to "rig" a temporary pilot lamp or meter connection so I can monitor a "suspect." See if the coil + is getting voltage here is how When you go to start it, turn the key to "run" FIRST. Look at coil+. It should be say, 6-8 maybe 10V and NOT as high as battery. This shows it's getting power, drawn "down" through the ballast AND THAT the ECU is grounded AND drawing current. Next crank it using the key and look again at coil+ Now it should be "same as battery" and that is, if the battery is pulling down, say, 11.5--11V during crank, then coil+ should be "same." Check spark. "Rig" a test gap using SOLID core wire out of the coil tower to a wide gap plug or spark tester gap. I have a Lisle, not terribly expensive, and works.
Yes voltmeter, dual ballast. I drove it home from a shop hotwired because ign1 was cut, fixed that first.
yes ECU is the ignition box (not HEI, but similar) when you direct wired it to drive it home- how did you do this? Wire from battery to ballast? Possibly your dual ballast is in backwards...it can work that way, but makes for hard starting- a car i bought recently had the ballast upside down for lack of a better way to say it. There's a U -shape notch in one side to determine how it goes. 67Dart273's test above will sort that out for you....
Yes the ballast orientation. It is just two resistors "the long way" in one "container." The "U" shaped cutout orients it. Proper, unbroken harness connectors are "keyed" so they only go in one way. Otherwise you can look at a wiring diagram and figure it out. The coil+ wiring works just like a 2 terminal points/ electronic ballast. The second section supplied the old "5 pin" boxes. Chances are you don't really HAVE a "5 pin" box, as most have been replaced. You can not tell by looking at the ECU as some boxes have 5 physical pins. You have to carefully check resistance from "the 5th" to the other 4 to determine if it's a dummy. More modern "4 pin" boxes can use either a 2 or 4 pin ballast. Older "true" "5 pin" boxes must have a 4 pin ballast Diagram below is geared to conversion which is why upper right wire says "existing" THAT is the "run" wire from the key. Notice those two ballast terminals are JUMPERED and that the "U" is at the bottom of the ballast. The "bypass" (IGN2) is not shown on this diagram. It connects to the coil+ ballast terminal.
Mentioning HEI enter a different ball game. Do you have a factory Ignition box or an HEI conversion? If you not sure attach a picture of what you have.
He may be "mis using" the term. HEI was originally GM, period. Since then it has gotten "spread out" into aftermarket and several types of ignition, even though "quite high output" are not "copyrighted" GM terminology. HEI to me means "using a GM module" or a replacement module designed to bolt in replace a GM module BY THE WAY many of us has DONE that--replaced the Mopar ECU and eliminated the ballast, with various kinds of GM module I usually don't suggest such things during troubleshooting, because you can add problems and complicate the matter
I've seen people call the big Ford TFI distributors of the late 80's and early 90's with male post caps be called "HEI".
Sorry for mixing terms. Had a V8 pinto after HS Class of 79, maybe that is where HEI entered my brain.
A similar problem for me was a combination of dragging starter and misadjusted timing. You may want to check that out. Yote
It looks like the crappiest of the crappy for an ignition ECU, too. I hope that wiring isn't indicative of the rest of the car.
That ECU is definately a newer "replaces" one. Definately have seen worse wiring. I would find the plastic plugs for the ballast though they are around.
When I got my car back from a shop, the car wouldn't run. Most of the wiring you see in my pic is from the shop. I removed the ballast and found the ECU only bolted on the bottom flange with a sheet metal bolt. They drilled 6 fn holes in my firewall for the ECU and only one lined up and was used. I know it is not grounded properly, I have work to do. Any pics of what good looking ECU wiring looks like?
