77 will not start

[TX77]

Let me start off by saying I have been lurking for a few weeks and soaking in a bunch of knowledge. I cannot believe it took my so long to find this site. I have spent most of my time on hardline crawlers in the past as I also have a jeep and was into the crawling scene in AL before moving to TX.

I figured y'all know more about Broncos than me, so here it goes.

Short story, bronco has been sitting for about 6 months and will not start, motor is all stock.

Long story, I have had the Bronco for about 6 years, only issue I have had is cold start trouble as the choke does not work correctly. A little over a year ago I was transferred from AL to TX. I left the Bronco with my dad who was supposed to drive it every so often, as we all know things get busy and that didn't happen. He did drive it a few times and he said it ran great. 4 moths to ago my dad was going to load it up and take it to a friend of mines house to have a custom family cage put in it before bringing it to me in TX. It would not start. Ran good 3 months before that.

After having the cage put in it, my buddy started on trying to get it running again. He put a new electronic box on it and a new coil, still will not start. He thinks it is something in the wiring.

My bronco finally arrived in TX last weekend. I got to mess with it myself today. It turns over fine, I'm getting fuel, and I have power to the coil.

Thanks ahead of time for any suggestions.

 

[Slowleak]

Sounds like you need to narrow it down between a fuel and spark problem. Does it cough if you give it a dose of starting fluid while cranking? Have you pulled a plug wire to check for a spark while cranking?

 

[77bronk]

nice another 77 in the area... im up in north fort worth.. been sitting maybe a clogged carb? i would say like slow said try some gas dumped in the carb while starting. make sure after that new coil everything is hooked up correctly and your getting spark.

 

[TX77]

Thanks guys, just ordered a remote starter button so I can turn it over and check for spark at the same time. Just got me frustrated after it running great, then it not doing anything. I know the wiring needs to be replaced as well, but I was trying to put that off till after my jeep is sold.
77bronk, once I get it running and tagged out here we will have to meet up. I have only seen one other Bronco since being out here.

 

[77bronk]

Sounds good . There's a few in the Fort Worth area i know a few guys .

 

[TX77]

Ok, I got gas to the carb. No spark. I found a yellow wire going to the starter relay that was broken off at the connection, that is now fixed. Still no spark. Any ideas on where to check next?

 

[77bronk]

Coil ? Or dizzy ?

 

[TX77]

Just put a brand new coil on it Saturday thinking that could be it.

 

[Slowleak]

Could be your ignition control module (ICM). That's the silver box on the fender near where the jack is stored.

 

[TX77]

Just replaced the ICM as well.

 

[77bronk]

When I replaced mine I hooked up something wrong on mine at first think i had it grounded . Neg side on mine is not hooked up . And had no spark .

 

[Slowleak]

If you have a test light, hook it between the tach side of the coil and a ground. The light should constantly flash when you are cranking the engine.

 

[TX77]

Guess I'll try another and see what happens.

 

[TX77]

If you have a test light, hook it between the tach side of the coil and a ground. The light should constantly flash when you are cranking the engine.

I'll try that as well.

 

[DirtDonk]

Make sure you're getting voltage to the coil with the key in START as well.

If you have a radio noise suppressor on the positive side of the coil, go ahead and disconnect it while you're trying to find the fault. If it dies and shorts out through it's own body, it can literally steal the juice from the coil (bleeds it off to ground, but not so bad that you get sparks or melted wires).

Pop the distributor cap off and crank the starter to make sure that the rotor is spinning.

If you have a test light, this is the easiest way to verify spark. Just hook it up like normal, crank the starter again and see if the light pulses. Just like Slowleak's test, but with a different tool.

That's about it for now. Hard to come up with other idears until you've exhausted a few more at your end.

Good luck.

Paul

 

[TX77]

With the key on I power to the coil. Tach side des not blink when you engage the starter. Roter is spinning. I replaced the cap, rotor, and base as they were worn.
Ideas?

 

[Slowleak]

I'm not real familiar with Duraspark systems but it maybe a bad pickup coil inside your distributor or it could be that the ICM is not getting power which might mean a bad ignition switch.

 

[77bronco_ed]

Napa guy gave me wrong rotor first time. Compare to old one.
I just had a few issues on my 77. After all my trouble shooting it came down to bad /corroded connections. Just for piece of mind i would clean up electrical connections and add a dab of dielectrical grease. May not be your problem but it sucks spending hours troubleshooting and finding a bad connection.

Check grounds as well.

From now on that is first thing i will check.

Ed

the guys on this site are very helpful, you can also find several videos on testing. Coil, starter relay, etc.

 

[gkling01]

At the top of your distributor, inspect the (I think blue) magnetic pickup for cracks. My 76 was shutting down after warming up and would not start until things cooled down. I replaced coil, ignition module, starter relay and finally looked closely at that pickup and noticed a crack in the casing. About $20 at Napa and about 30 minutes to replace. Could be your problem.

 

[TX77]

At the top of your distributor, inspect the (I think blue) magnetic pickup for cracks. My 76 was shutting down after warming up and would not start until things cooled down. I replaced coil, ignition module, starter relay and finally looked closely at that pickup and noticed a crack in the casing. About $20 at Napa and about 30 minutes to replace. Could be your problem.

Thank y'all, this fixed it. I was able to drive it around the block last night. Now I got to get my headlights back working!