Duraspark no fire

[triggers68]

Hey guys, Im at my wits end. Took a spare 302 I had taken out of my 77', years ago, and put in my 69' to sell. Changed out dist. to duraspark and having problems. I have fire from ign.and to relay and engine turns over fine. I have new plugs, plug wires, coil, module, and cap n rotor. I have fire everywhere, including coil but not to the plugs. What am I missing or need to be looking for? Am exhausted to the point of pushing over a cliff. Dist. came out of an 84' f150 and was good when taken out. Anything internal in dist. that may be bad? ?:?

 

[Viperwolf1]

Does it have a rotor in it? If you get spark at the coil there isn't much to prevent it from getting to the plugs.

 

[triggers68]

Does it have a rotor in it? If you get spark at the coil there isn't much to prevent it from getting to the plugs.

Yes it has a rotor!! lol Im sure what ever it is its staring me in the face. Got me pretty frustrated today so I had to walk away. May try again tomorrow if I calm down.

 

[triggers68]

Just went out and checked fire on three prong plug going into dist. and it has fire. could it be the pickup coil in the dist? I may even be calling it wrong.

 

[Viperwolf1]

What do you mean by "fire"? I assumed you meant spark. Spark at the coil wire means the duraspark is working. Something is wrong with wires or distributor cap/rotor.

 

[broncnaz]

The pickup can go bad usually because the wires are in bad shape. Your description is throwing people off a bit by saying you have fire in multiple locations. basically you have power everywhere its supposed to I think although I'm not sure if you should have power at the 3 prong plug or not I know 2 of the should have resistance and dont really show voltage
Basically you have power but no spark. Most likely the dizzy is bad

 

[triggers68]

The pickup can go bad usually because the wires are in bad shape. Your description is throwing people off a bit by saying you have fire in multiple locations. basically you have power everywhere its supposed to I think although I'm not sure if you should have power at the 3 prong plug or not I know 2 of the should have resistance and dont really show voltage
Basically you have power but no spark. Most likely the dizzy is bad

Thanks, Broncnaz. You are right about my description. Power is what I mean but have always just called it fire, my bad. Dizzy being bad you mean change the pickup? This "Dizzy" has been sitting up in my shop for about 15 years. Gear is fine along with the vacc advance. I am sure I have all the wiring right. The set up I found online ended up being wrong. It said red wire from two prong plug on module to hot in ignition and white to "S" terminal on relay but with that setup, the starter wouldnt turn off. Switched to other terminal and turned over just fine. Maybe you all could shed some light on that?

 

[Viperwolf1]

'77 should have blue module and be wired like this.

 

[broncnaz]

No probelem we just trying to get everyone on the same page as fire and power kinda mean different things with a igintion system to some of us. There is a way to test the pickup i the dizzy if you have a old style mulitmeter with a needle. all you do is conncet the leads to the 2 wires going to the pickup then spin the shaft if the needle moves then the pickup is probably good. Usually its easier and cheaper to just get a rebuilt dizzy they should be about $50 and usually have a lifetime warrentee.
I think I must have used that same wiring diagram when I first did mine as it did the same thing. later on I heard that there was a mistake in wiring diagrams and manufacturing seems that the newer modules were wired wrong so the red is supposed to be the white and vice versa. they still worked correctly on stock vehicles as the functions are in the correct order just the colors wrong. just means that when tryng to wire it up they need to be reversed.

 

[triggers68]

Had someone mention to today that it may be as cheap or cheaper to buy a rebuilt dizzy rather than more or less rebuilding it myself. Think I will check on that rebuilt dizzy in morn. I like warranty. Thanks all!!

 

[DirtDonk]

Don't forget to check to make sure the distributor is actually rotating. If you're getting a spark at the coil but it's not getting to the plugs, then you either have a bad coil wire to the distributor, 8 bad plug wires, or the rotor is not turning.
Simply pull the cap off and rotate the engine. Either by hand, or using the starter. Whichever is most convenient for you.

If you're not actually getting fire at the coil, and were just talking about power, then it could be all sorts of things and we'll have to determine where the voltage is being interrupted.
Yes, it could easily be the internal magnetic pickup coil, but they can also last a long time, so lots of other things could be at fault.

Good luck.

Paul

 

[triggers68]

If im reading correctly, on the two wire plug on the module, use the colors of the module wires and not the wire color coming out of the cab plug itself. As you can see from my picture, my wire color swaps, could that be my entire problem? Right now on my two wire plug, the wire colors swap at the plug. I tried uplading a pic but couldnt figure it out. Its an 84' Duraspark with red and white two wire plug. The plug coming from there going into cab is swapped color wise and that is the colors I went by. So, forgetting my plug, coming from the actual module, I have white wire going to hot on ignition and the red wire to the "I" post on the relay. Should I just swap those wires around and possibly fix my problem?? ?:?

 

[Explorer]

Power to red in run, white in start on module. When they are swapped it will usually start, but cut off when key is released.

 

[triggers68]

Power to red in run, white in start on module. When they are swapped it will usually start, but cut off when key is released.

Are you meaning white to start "S" on starter relay?

 

[Explorer]

I don't run any wires to the starter relay. I always run directly back to ignition switch as Ford intended.

 

[Viperwolf1]

If im reading correctly, on the two wire plug on the module, use the colors of the module wires and not the wire color coming out of the cab plug itself. As you can see from my picture, my wire color swaps, could that be my entire problem? Right now on my two wire plug, the wire colors swap at the plug. I tried uplading a pic but couldnt figure it out. Its an 84' Duraspark with red and white two wire plug. The plug coming from there going into cab is swapped color wise and that is the colors I went by. So, forgetting my plug, coming from the actual module, I have white wire going to hot on ignition and the red wire to the "I" post on the relay. Should I just swap those wires around and possibly fix my problem?? ?:?

Ignore wire colors and go by the pin arrangement of the connectors.

 

[Viperwolf1]

I don't run any wires to the starter relay. I always run directly back to ignition switch as Ford intended.

That makes no difference electrically.