What I have:
75 f250, 460

New electrical parts installed.
Rebuilt dist from Napa,
New cap, rotor
New ignition module (7 wire with green grommet) Same as the old one.
New plugs, ignition wires, coil,
New starter solenoid, voltage regulator.
New wiring harness.

Problem:
After a top end rebuild, the motor started right away and ran great several times without any issues. Last time I went to start it, it ran for about 10 seconds and died as if it were out of gas and then would not start.

-Since I do not hav my gauges hooked up yet to confirm whether there was gas or not. I added 4 gallons of fuel to the tank; Motor still won't start.
-Turns over with the key, there is spark at the coil igniton wire and spark at the plugs.
-Fuel squirts in the carb when I move the throttle lever.

The problem is, after I added fuel and it would not start, I began "changing" things. Like the timing, questioning whether I had a wire that was loose, if I had something wrong with the way it was wired to the ignition switch. I did too many things and not in the right way. So, now I am trying to get it back to how it was when it started and seem to be unsuccessful.

What I have tested:
-Ignition switch - continuity exists between the correct terminals when the key is in various positions - according to 1975 ignition switch test diagram.
-Resistance in the distributor pickup - I checked the resistance between the two wires (orange and purple?) on the dist with a multi-meter and it was about 600 as I thought maybe the pickup failed. This appears to be within the normal range.
-Checked the fuse for the ignition. It is good.
-Battery has full charge.

Questions:
1) When I try turning the motor over using a remote starter, there is spark at the coil wire and the plugs with OR WITHOUT the key in and in the on position. Should there still be spark with the key off?

2) If the ignition module went bad, would there still be spark and would the motor not start?

3) When installing the distributor, I have the #1 piston at TDC, the arrow pointing at TDC on the harmonic balancer and the rotor pointed at the #1 wire on the dist. cap. Is this correct?

4) Would there still be spark if the starter solenoid/relay were bad?

What am I missing? Any ideas why it won't start?

 

#1 No
#2 No
#3 Maybe. The distributor could be 180* off. Make sure you're on the compression stroke.
#4 Yes
#5 Is the spark you're seeing blue or yellow? Yellow is bad. Module.
#6 Spray some quick start and try it. A fire extinguisher has to be close.

 

Disregard this thread. The problem ended up being substantially bigger.

 

Like what?

 

 

Oh crap.... That is bad. Any idea on the cause yet?

 

Not sure yet...
I am thinking I set my valve lash incorrectly - it was my first time doing it.
Might be the wrong length push rods.

When I pulled the valve covers off and the intake manifold, I had water in the gas and in the oil. Hoping this is the result of the head gasket being compromised and not the result of cracked heads. I will know soon enough...

 

Before tearing it down I'd put a rad psi checker on it and pump it up too see if and just where a leak might be. I'd also put air in each cylinder to see if the cylinders will hold any psi.

 

Ouchy wouchy.

 

Here is what happened.

When I installed the rocker arms, I did not have them tightened down correctly. When I set the lash, it the valves were not in the correct positions. As a result, the rockers were actually loose and after running the motor the rods would move around. The end that was supposed to seat up under the rockers came loose and got wedged under the base of the rocker while the other end was still in the lifter. Cam lobes comes up and pushed the rod up into the base of the rocker.

I pulled the heads and looked at the valves and pistons. The pistons are absolutely spotless, not even the slightest scuff. Same for the valves, they are like new. For my own peace of mind, I will still have the valves pulled to be sure none of them are bent and the heads are not cracked.

Coolant is drained, oil is drained. I will pull the cam to be sure there is no damage to it either. And then the rest of the clean up begins before putting it back together.

Lesson learned.

 

Actually, yes. You're applying power to coil thru the "I" term of solenoid. May even "try" to start as long as you're applying power to "S" terminal. Not that it makes any difference now, just FYI.

 

The cam should be fine but the lifters might be damaged where the push rod rests. This kind of pressure may have collapsed the hydraulic function of the lifter. Adjust the new push rod/ lifter assembly on the flat side of the cam if you hadn't done this previously and not the lobe side. The rocker arm should be ALMOST bottomed out on the post when properly adjusted. Just my two cents worth.