pulled the distributor to replace oil sender. put it back together with hypertech cap, coil and new wires. the distributor is in the right position--marked rotor center on distributor body before removal.

after installation the motor cranked with no start. i noticed there was an unplugged connector on the same cable end as the wiper motor connector and couldn't find anywhere to plug it in. i may have unplugged it while trying to access the oil sender, as recommended on the forum, by removing the wiper motor, but that didn't work for me. it has been a while since i pulled the connector off the wiper motor, and i have no memory of specifically what i did--my health is poor and it took a while to get back at it.

i got a check engine light while trying to crank the motor, but i'm unable to check the codes because my ignition lock is jammed in the run position--next fix on the list.

this is a 3 wire connector terminating around 6 inches beyond the wiper motor connector. the colors appear to brown, black and pink--it's hard to tell since the wire colors have faded over time.

help! this is the only x factor i can see that is preventing start-up: the motor ran fine before my repairs.

i just thought of something else. i broke a hard plastic vacuum tube that terminated into a two-port, wired vacuum module bolted onto the passenger side intake base, close to the distributor. i cut and spliced the tube with rubber vacuum line, but the fit was less than tight. i think i reconnected the other three vacuum hoses correctly--two plugging into a three-way tee and then terminating into the plenum.


thanks, froggy.

 

it sounds to me like the leads to the coil.

There should be 4 wires, so check the coil and see how many are still attached!

 

this connector will not reach the coil. i have the main connector and the battery and tach connectors attached to the distributor.

i was having a problem putting the main connector onto the coil. is there anyway to reverse the connector and put it in backwards? is it possible to do the same with the ecm connector?



thanks, frog

 

pics are worth a thousand words here...

 

no digicam. no money. it's on the list. this vette is soaking up my va check.

 

You state that you have the three plugins on the driver's side of the distributor plugged in, do you have the one on the other side plugged in? This one comes out of the distributor and goes around behind it and plugs in to a pigtail back there, it's usually a PITA to get with everything put together. As was stated, there are 4 connectors altogether that have to be plugged in, it sounds like you may have missed one.

 

i plugged it, but i'll go back and check.

 

That is the connector that plugs in your cap, if you still have the HEI. They plug in in the front slot of the cap, in front of the two single wires. And yes, without those, you will not get any fire. They should trace back to your distributor, and if you take off your cap, you will see that they plu into the ignition module, and the condenser.

 

Froggy: The wiper motor has two plugs. The grey orange grey plug goes into the side closest to the battery. The pink black brown goes in the front of the wipermotor with the pink closest to the engine. This shouldn't have anything to do with not starting. Make sure that you have the three plugs plugged into the cap correctly and all the way in. If I remember right they will only go one way. Also check the way you installed the coil in the cap for wire placement. I think the plastic tubes you are refering to are to the EGR solenoid. You would want this not to leak so you may want to try a little tighter hose. Take a little piece of the plastic tube to the auto parts store to find a snug fitting hose.
Immediatly after turning on the switch, do you hear the fuel pump run for a few seconds? Might not be an ignition problem, but a fuel problem. Just a thought. Check for pressure at the fuel rail schrader valve.

 

I just did a coil, cap, rotor tonight. The harness you're describing sounds like the module harness for the distributor. On the drivers side of the cap there's the B+ and C terminal for the coil (two individual leads) and right behind it, closer to the cap itself there's three terminals for the module. The middle of the three wires is black. Just an idea. The vehicle certainly wouldn't start w/out it plugged in.

 

thanks, guys.

thanks for the heads up on the connector olman, i'll plug it into the wiper motor when i get back on the car. i'm glad you clued me in on that. the loose connector was throwing a wrench into my fault diagnostics.

last night i tore the distributor back out and re-checked all the connections. they were a-ok. i thought i might have installed the distributor 180 off, so i reset it and still no start. i killed the battery so i'll have to wait till my $3 chinese charger winds it back up. i guess since i don't know which cycle the motor is in now, i'll have to do a #1 tdc check and reset the whole thing. it's probably a good idea anyway because i installed an aftermarket timing cover and indicator, and i should verify that it reads correctly.

i've got a check engine light, but as i said before, the ignition lock jammed in the run position and i can't check the codes. i'll pull the steering wheel and put in the new lock. the code may point me in the right direction.

i may have gotten a bad coil. my chiltons shows how to check it, so i'll do that after i check the code situation. i would think the problem must be related to the parts that were changed--it's a hypertech coil and cap, so you would think their quality control would be adequate.

what a pita. you try to be nice and see what you get.


thanks, froggy.

 

Just a thought, is there a possibility that your jammed ignition switch is not sending power to the ignition system?

 

i get what you're saying. the car cranked with the bad lock before the coil, cap and plug install.

another problem possibility is that i didn't have the positive battery terminal screwed all the way in since that is how i've been turning off the vehicle. i wonder if a less than full contact could power the accessories and the starter, but not give enough juice to the new high output coil?



thanks frog.