Somebody please give me some advice

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Alright so i figured out why the new distributor wouldn't work, i need to run a 12V line to it and that should do the trick!

Also i figured out why i lost ignition, after re-wiring the entire front end of my car, we came down to the conclusion that the Starter kicked the bucket, i've got a new one on order and that should fix the problem.
 
85GPLef41 said:
Possibly flat cam lobes?? :shock:

X2 i was having the same problem with my valves on my Cutlass and i pulled the cam out and had flat lobes so i swapped the cam and i aint havin that problem now
 
Ok so the new starter is on, and still no ignition.

I've narrowed it down to one of three things, either the alternator is shorted out, the key ignition in the car isn't making the connection, or my battery is somehow the cause of it, and i highly doubt its the battery so its either the alternator of the key end of the ignition.

any advice?
 
CamaroAdam73 said:
Ok so the new starter is on, and still no ignition.

I've narrowed it down to one of three things, either the alternator is shorted out, the key ignition in the car isn't making the connection, or my battery is somehow the cause of it, and i highly doubt its the battery so its either the alternator of the key end of the ignition.

any advice?

Have you checked voltage at anything with a volt meter?
 
I'm about to start checking voltages now to see whats up, Neither the alternator or the battery are the source of the problem, and the starter and the majority of the wiring have been replaced, i've also pin pointed my main three ignition wires, all three of which run into the wiring harness that runs to the inside of my car.

What all could be the problem here guys?? I'm at a stand still and i don't know what else could be wrong, could my key cylinder itself be the problem somehow??


Aside from breaking it, how do i get the cover off of the top of my steering columb on the inside of my car??

As for the three wires, one of them runs directly to the starter and connects where the possitive from the battery connects, the other one joins in with another one to become one wire and connects to the same place the other wire does, and the third wire connects with an eye-hole type connector to a prong on the starter.

I've replaced all of the fuses and tested them, as far as i know there is only one fuse/relay box in my car, and i don't think there is any computer box.

Just incase anyone needs the info, it's an 1988 monte carlo SS with the stock 305 top end of the engine.
 
Ok i just thought of something, and forgot to mention something, one of those wires i was talking about goes to the coil, could my coil/distributor being bad be the cause of this??

I'm still using the stock coil/ distributor, i haven't re-installed the new one yet


Also i just realised the stock distributor has this peice, http://www.autopartswarehouse.com/detai ... 3f85c7ab9e

And ignition control unit?? I've got a hunch that could be the direct source of the problem being as its the stock one from 88, and obviously seen better days, I'm going to read up how to wire the 12v power cable to my new HEI distributor because i think this is the source of my problem, any advice/ input would be much appreciated guys.
 
**update: as soon as i find a place to upload a video im going to upload a video from my phone of whats going on**

Ok, sorry for the double post but I've got a much more descriptive update.

From the ignition control unit on my distributor there are two connectors

1. A black 4 pin connector that says P.E.D 18 on the top, and labels the 4 wires coming out as A,B,C,D.

2. A black 2 pin connector that says P.E.D 12 and labels the wires coming out as A,B

The black 4 pin's wires go straight to the wiring harness.

The black 2 pin's wires go to a black connector on the top of the coil.

On top of my coil there are two connectors side by side

1.A grey connector with two wires coming out, labeled P.E.D

2. A black connector almost identical to the Grey one.

The black 2 pin on the side of the distributor/ coming out of the ignition controll unit is wired to the black connector on top of the coil.

The grey connector on top of the coil is wired to a Red 8 gauge wire that runs directly into the wiring harness that leads to the ignition on the inside of my car.

The other wire connected to the Grey connector is a tan 10 or 12 gauge wire that connects to some type of "condenser" mounted on the firing wall, i'm not sure if its a condenser but it looks identical to one.

And here are some pictures of what i'm working with

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And i've used a voltage meter, i haven't tested voltage yet but i know i'm getting continuity where i should be[/img]
 
WTF? What did you get that distributor off of? It looks like the small cap HEI that was used on EFI cars. If so, that may be your main issue. A normal HEI will only require you to plug one wire in to make it operate and has the coil in the cap. I have no idea how to wire that thing to work on your car. My mental flow chart says it shouldn't work very well, if at all. However, I may be wrong as it may just be a setup I am not used to seeing. In any event, that thing will use the computer to set the timing curve (not the initial though, that's your job.). It may be an oddity used on cars from 87 or 88, but it is not what I have dealt with before. As for initial timing, somewhere between 6 and 10 degrees is about right. The actual figure is dependent on the timing curve of your engine and it's combustion efficiency. I forget where mine is set, but I do know it's wrong because of a number of factors I won't go in to.

Anyhow, the issue may be somewhere in the elimination of the computer (if you got rid of it) and not in the distributor itself. You may need to put the computer back in to run the timing functions, and with it, the MAP sensor too. The early big cap computer HEI's will run without the computer, but it may be that this one will not. The easy way to make it run would be to find a non computer HEI off of a pickup truck and just use that. If it is a non computer item, it will have a vacuum advance can on it. These were used through the 80's on light truck applications and should bolt in and get you running. All you need is to run a switched 12 volt power wire to it and you are done. Just remember to get the cap and rotor at the same time. These tend to be pretty reliable distributors, but I would try to get the advance weight bushings new as they tend to be very worn at this point. The last time I bought a set I got them from Napa.


Oh, I just thought of this, but check this first. Put a timing light on a plug wire and hold down the trigger while cranking. This will let you know if it is firing or not. It should blink the light in an even succession if it is functioning. If it is, I would check to see if the timing is 180 degrees out. YOu did just stab the distributor after all. To do this, I usually pull the valve cover over the #1 cylinder. Next, I mark the position of the #1 plug wire on the distributor. Then I put the engine at TDC for the #1 cylinder by manually turning the engine until the timing mark on the balancer lines up AND the rotor is at about the #1 position. The valves will be closed if it is lined up properly. If they are not, then the timing is probably 180 degrees out.
 
another thing you might want to do is separate all those plug wires you have crossing over each other....
 
Why haven't you installed your vacuum advance proform dist.?? If you fixed the ground it'll work fine and you can take the distributor problem out of the equation.
 
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