distributor problems

[SCAGNETTI]

i am going on my 3 rd accel distributor. what keeps causing them to fail. i switched out the coil and the control module. and still no spark. the pickup must be bad. any ideas anyone? or are accel distributors junk period.

[batchik2]

I don\'t know much about accel but i wouldnt waist the cash, just go to the local parts store and buy one. You will get the same performace as the accel just without the sticker. Plus you may get it warrentied.



To answer your question it could be the pickup but, you need to diagnos why it it keeps failing

[SCAGNETTI]

i am trying to figure out why it keeps failing in the first place. the truck isn\'t even on the road yet. it goes from the drive way to garage and only for a couple quick drives to dail in the carb. but i keep having to fix problems with it that i can\'t get a good baseline. i can\'t get ahead.

[batchik2]

do you have another dis. laying around? i cant think of what else would be the problem without a dis. infront of me.



is it the old 80 hei set up?



maybe ill play around with the one from my camaro when im out in the garage today.

[SCAGNETTI]

yeah it\'s a 80\'s hei coil in cap setup.

[Scotty_S-15]

First, I\'d run a direct wire from the battery to +12V on the Accel HEI. Check the internal wiring to the module. All OK? Then, while engine is cranking over, check the voltage at the distributor +12V. Some modules require more voltage than others. Point is, your starter might be sapping the voltage, leaving you without enough for the module to fire. If that\'s the case, you could try taking an independent 12V source and run it directly to the distributor, including the ground from the 12V source. Just tie that ground to any other ground on the truck.

........... If still no luck, Like Batchik said, I\'d look to either borrow an HEI, or buy a boneyard HEI, if you can get it for a few bucks. If that works, you know there\'s major problems with the Accel distributor.

..... Good Luck!



An afterthought..... Sometimes a marginal battery, or too small wiring from battery to starter, will cause abnormal voltage drop. Normally this would cause the engine to crank slowly, but odd things do happen.

[SCAGNETTI]

yeah i hear you. i have a brand new bosch starter and new wires and all new grounds througout the vehicle. a new battery with 1000cca. this has happened twice already to me. the accel distributors are junk! there is a swap meet here tomorrow i will see if i can get something there. thanks for the input.

[dynlub]

Hi, Did you check your alt. for overcharging? To much amps,destroy solid state circuitry. TOM http://www.s10v8.com/images/smilies/icon_smile.gif

[Scotty_S-15]

On 2005-11-05 12:03, dynlub wrote:

Hi, Did you check your alt. for overcharging? To much amps,destroy solid state circuitry. TOM http://www.s10v8.com/images/smilies/icon_smile.gif



Hmmm, following that thought, if the diode bridge is iffy, a little AC juice could possibly fed back into the system, which may also play hovoc with solid state circuitry.

[SCAGNETTI]

you would think i would have other problems if the amps were too high. the alt is just a 90 amp and the battery doesn\'t matter. why would just distributors burn out instead of fuses and ign switch?

[batchik2]

On 2005-11-06 17:54, SCAGNETTI wrote:

you would think i would have other problems if the amps were too high. the alt is just a 90 amp and the battery doesn\'t matter. why would just distributors burn out instead of fuses and ign switch?





http://www.s10v8.com/images/smilies/icon_confused.gif PFM http://www.s10v8.com/images/smilies/icon_lol.gif

[Scotty_S-15]

Amps are not an issue. A particular load, such as a distributor, blower, light, etc. only draws the amps they need. No such thing as too much amperage going to a load. True, a load can DRAW too many amps and self destruct, but that\'s because the item had an internal problem. (short circuit, for instance)

........ And why didn\'t a fuse blow instead of the distributor going bad? A fuse only protects against overcurrent or a short circuit. In many cases an item can go bad without overdrawing current or short circuiting.

[SCAGNETTI]

yeah i get what you\'re saying. i am just miffed at this point i am going to get another distributor. 90 day warranty and this thing is only 3 weeks old. we will see what happens tomorrow. i keep you posted on how i make out.