Please Help: Distributor Grounding - No Spark
Thread Starter
Intermediate
Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 36
Likes: 0
From: Chicago IL
Please Help: Distributor Grounding - No Spark
Ok, so i've been chasing electrical problems forever - replaced the entire ignition system - HEI, sparkplugs, wires, etc. However, still doesn't work right - intermittent spark, rough idle, keeps dying. I just realized what the problem might be....
I'm running the aluminum Performer RPM - would that mean that the distributor doesn't have a good ground anymore? What's a good way to fix that? I guess i could just tie a copper wire b/w the dist. body and the heads, but that seems too bubba... advice?
I'm running the aluminum Performer RPM - would that mean that the distributor doesn't have a good ground anymore? What's a good way to fix that? I guess i could just tie a copper wire b/w the dist. body and the heads, but that seems too bubba... advice?
Drifting
Joined: Jul 2002
Posts: 1,944
Likes: 20
From: The only Corvettes in Highett Victoria
Solution???
Rental,
One area often overlooked is the engine grounding through the earth or ground strap that runs between the chassis and the engine block just in front of the starter motor. Check that both ends of this cable are free of rust and dirt etc. and give a good earth. Remember, the engine and transmission mounts are made of rubber and these are the only points that support the engine/transmission.
Regards from Down Under
aussiejohn
One area often overlooked is the engine grounding through the earth or ground strap that runs between the chassis and the engine block just in front of the starter motor. Check that both ends of this cable are free of rust and dirt etc. and give a good earth. Remember, the engine and transmission mounts are made of rubber and these are the only points that support the engine/transmission.
Regards from Down Under
aussiejohn
Le Mans Master
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 9,192
Likes: 27
From: Boca Raton Florida
Aluminum is a very good conductor so as long as the ground straps are connected and good thats not the problem. If your thinking there is an intermittent connection you could run a solid temp ign switch, effectively bypassing the stock unit for troubleshooting purposes.
So you have a new dist, plugs, wires?
So you have a new dist, plugs, wires?
Thread Starter
Intermediate
Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 36
Likes: 0
From: Chicago IL
Yeah, I bought a new HEI distributor from Autozone, cap, rotor, wires, coil and sparkplugs. One thing that's really weird is that last night while I got it running [badly] for a few minutes I connected a timing light and when I put the pickup on the sparkplug wire right next to the dist. cap, the timing light worked fine and when I put it on the wire next to the sparkplug, there was no light. bad wires?
Racer
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 344
Likes: 0
From: Washington DC
Originally Posted by rentalcop79
Yeah, I bought a new HEI distributor from Autozone, cap, rotor, wires, coil and sparkplugs. One thing that's really weird is that last night while I got it running [badly] for a few minutes I connected a timing light and when I put the pickup on the sparkplug wire right next to the dist. cap, the timing light worked fine and when I put it on the wire next to the sparkplug, there was no light. bad wires?
Le Mans Master
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 9,192
Likes: 27
From: Boca Raton Florida
I agree, wire is bad or wrong type for the car/ignition combo. If you still have the old wires and they are not fried, try swapping that one wire or the whole set. Sometimes you have to be carefull making a lot of changes all at once, better to do them one at a time.
Burning Brakes
Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 1,036
Likes: 2
From: Huntingburg Indiana
If you bought the duraspark wires from auto zone, they are trash. I went through 3 sets of these on my 78 chevy 4x4. One time I had 1 wire short out. They gave me a new set. The next time 3 wires shorted out. On one of those occasions, I was checking to see that the wires were installed correctly on the plugs. I got a 35000 volt shock that went up my arm into my elbow. My elbow hurt for about 4 hours. Those wires look nice and they have lifetime warranty, but it's a pain in the butt to change out wires every month. It's even more of a pain on a lifted 4x4. If your ignition is basically stock, buy the gm wires. I have never had a problem with these and they are not that expensive.
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