I was on my way to get gas and she died. I have been noticing some hesitation and missing at higher RPMs the last couple of days....I'm thinking the ignition module or possibly even the coil **** the bed. She would crank and try to fire but wouldn't run. Soooo...I had her brought home and I guess I have a weekend project now. I popped the distributor cap to look at the rotor/contacts/rotor button and all looks well there. Probably something fairly simple I hope. I'm bummed though because I was planning to drive her to work tomorrow, but glad it happened 10 miles from the house and not 50.

This is the first time that I used my insurance (Hagerty) to get it brought home and I gotta say I was "less than impressed" with the customer service at Hagerty (guy was a moron)...but the towtruck driver that came out was a good guy so it all worked out in the end.

Has anyone had any issues with the Summit HEI distributors?? Pretty sure its an ignition problem because it's getting gas and Lars just rebuilt the QJet thats on there....we'll see....

 

You gotta do some testing before replacing parts, it sounds like it could be the fuel pump (or fuel filter) seeing as it hesitates at higher speeds. Search the Forum for a while for some tips on troubleshooting. Good luck.

 

Could it have been out of gas? (faulty gauge) You said you were on a fuel run.

 

Disclaimer: I've never been inside a Summit HEI distributor.

I've seen alot of GM pick-up coils go bad in stock distributors, is Summit the same set up? With the stocker, the wires break right at the pick-up because they get worked back and forth as the pick-up moves to change the timing advance.

Over time, the wires get weak and break from the continuous back-and-forth movement. But by the time this happens, they have been through so many heat cycles that they are 'trained' to stay in place, so it isn't obvious that one is broken; you have to look and or give them a light pull to be sure they are still attached.

 

Or did you suck up some crap from the bottom of the tank that clogged the filter???

 

You may need to hit it with the BF Hammer!

 

There is a procedure for checking the module that can be done with a cheapo multimeter (if you have a Haynes or Chilton's manual it should spell it out)- I diagnosed a bad one in my old Chevy truck. It's a good idea to carry a spare module if you run an HEI....

 

Pretty sure it's getting enough gas....at least enough to spit it out the top of the carb when I am cranking it. Guage read 1/4 tank....I've been a little lower in it before with no probs. I found a few posts where Bankok Dean was having almost the exact same symptoms with his vette and he had a Summit dist (like me) and had numerous probs with the module and condenser...I dunno, time will tell....like I said, now I got a project for the weekend. Hope I can get it fixed quick though because it's supposed to be NICE this weekend....and I wanna do a little boogity boogity boogity down the road in it....know what I mean?

 

check the filter on the carb. i had the exact same problem, it was missing at higher RPMs.

my main fuel filter was fine. i thought it was filthy, but it sat in lacquer thinner for about 3 weeks. some crap came out of it, but not enough to warrent any problems.

my carb filter though was completly black and plugged up.

 

The filter is fine, I just got this carb back from Lars last week.

 

After nearly three months three condencers, three moduels three coils and caps all with 800 miles on the Summit distributor, plus three tows and $1,000. I dumped the Summit (china) crap and droped in a new distributor and can now drive over 5 miles with out a problem.

 

I still have the stock GM HEI from the motor that I pulled out last summer. That's the first thing I'm going to do this evening is clean that one up a bit and put a new Moroso cap and rotor that I have on hand on it, and put it in. That one was performing fine when I pulled the old motor...should have just stuck with it in the first place...newer is not always better. Oh well, live and learn, right? If that ends up fixing it, I am gonna start barking up Summit's tree....everyone says they stick by what they sell....

 

that does sux........sorry to hear that happend

 

well....I put my old distributor back in with a new cap and rotor and it worked great!!.....for a while.....then I did a mini burnout in the driveway and it stalled out and wouldn't start again....same **** as last night....would try to fire but wouldn't stay running or idle....so....tomorrow I guess I'll try to see WTF is up with it....dayum....bummin me out!!

 

Sounds like a fuel problem

 

One thing I didn't mention....the coil in the Summit distrib that I pulled out this evening was friggin BAKED (right where the button spring makes contact with the underside of the coil)....no wonder it wouldn't start last night....but damn...is it possible that I just fried another coil?? I checked voltage on the red (batt) wire going into the coil and it read 11.95 volts on my meter....I will try and sort this out in the morning after a good nights sleep.
Dean, I hear ya about the fuel....I am just reluctant to go there seeing as how I just put that carb back on the car last week after getting it back from Lars. But, on the flip side of that, I wasn't having trouble before the carb swap....wtf??? Stay tuned for more tomorrow and thanks for everyones input

 

About 2 years ago I had a Summit HEI coil develop a crack across the top. Towed home. Was out of warranty. Rightly or wrongly, I purchased an Accel distributor. Been running well for about 2 years.

 

Why would it be a fuel problem if it worked fine with the new distributor? If that were the case, then all you would have to do is let it sit for awhile and it would start, not change the distributor.

By the way, most local auto parts store have the equipment to check your control module.

 

OK...here's an update because I know you are all just biting your nails in anticipation....

As I said before, the coil in the Summit dist. was cooked. This morning I pulled the OEM dist (currently in the car) apart and took the coil and the ign. module down to Auto Zone to be tested. I also pulled the module out of the Summit dist and took that along too. AZ tested the coil first and it tested OK....well sort of...their test was not showing the resistance within the parameters that the service manual calls for, BUT they also tested two brand new coils and they were the same as mine...so that leads me to believe that there ohm meter was not right (whatever).

I then had them test the two modules, both of the modules tested bad. So I bought another module and came home and installed the coil and new module back into the OEM dist and the motor lit right of....smooth idle, good throttle response, etc. Haven't road tested it yet...waiting on the wife to get home from work because I despise WALKING.

Anyway, here's my next question....shouldn't the Summit distrib. be better than the OEM dist with heat dissapation because of the fact that it's of billet aluminum construction? It bums me out that that distrib. failed like it did because it's a cleaner/newer setup. But after reading about some of the problems that others have had with the Summit one, I am "gun shy" about using it now. what do you guys think?? Should I completely rebuild the electronics in the Summit dist and try it again???

If there one thing that I hate to see, it's a C3 broke down on the side of the road, especially when it's MINE!

When the wife gets home, I'm goin' for a little shakedown cruise....I'm gonna drive her (the vette...lol) like she owes me money....I'll let ya'll know...stay tuned....

 

Well hopefully you got it figured out..................OBTW I hate walking too!