Never seen one do that before...
pedant
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 23,576
Likes: 38
From: EXTREME southwest CT
The pickup coil in the distributor can crack, and open up while hot.
I've had this happen to me.
There should be 450-950 Ohms across the orange and purple wires of the DS II harness going to the dizzy.
Check when it has failed, and before it has a chance to cool off.
I've had this happen to me.
There should be 450-950 Ohms across the orange and purple wires of the DS II harness going to the dizzy.
Check when it has failed, and before it has a chance to cool off.
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Freshman User
Joined: Mar 2013
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Started acting all out of sorts on the way home, I finally pulled off and called a wrecker, not a chance I wanna wrestle that thing home in San Diego rush hour traffic with it quitting on me every 5 minutes. Gonna take it to a garage tomorrow and let them sort it out.
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Decided to give it one last shot before I took it to a garage. Pulled the distributor and checked it and the pickup coil. Both looked a little worse for wear and from what I could see, the coil definitely needed replacing. Checked the local parts store and they wanted $30 for just a pick up coil and $45 for a complete re-man distributor. Went with the distributor to save myself some time and trouble ($37 after military discount) and ended up paying $7 not to have to hassle with pulling the pickup coil and replacing it, just drop in the new distributor and fire it up. Fired right up like a champ and gave no indication whatsoever that anything was amiss. Gonna take it for a lengthy test drive late tomorrow night when the roads are empty to make sure all is well. On the plus side of things, the only thing left in that particular area that hasn't been replaced is the wiring between the module and distributor so if it acts the fool again, I know where to look first.
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Wasn't able to put a tester on the pick up coil, but it was visibly in bad shape and when I spun the drive gear by hand, there was noticeable variance in the distance between the pickup coil and thingamajig (the crown shaped piece that spins around on top of the distributor shaft)
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pedant
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 23,576
Likes: 38
From: EXTREME southwest CT
I would think it would be running poorly, sputtering etc...
But it shouldn't cause it to die completely if it is within spec at some point in its rotation.
The pickup is another story.
If it heats up and opens, it will stop the truck just as if you turned off the key.
But it shouldn't cause it to die completely if it is within spec at some point in its rotation.
The pickup is another story.
If it heats up and opens, it will stop the truck just as if you turned off the key.
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Allrighty, update time. After thinking I had everything fixed, Big Red left me on the side of the freeway again. Tired of messing with it (I can change just about any part on a truck and troubleshoot most issues, but I absolutely suck at electrical) I decided to just have it towed to my local garage. Turns out the wiring going into the horseshoe connection on the coil was way sketchy. The occasional bump in the road would make it lose enough contact to kill the engine. They soldered it up nice and spiffy and it runs like a champ now. (It damn well should, every electrical component under the hood has been replaced)
Thanks again for all the advice and guidance.
Thanks again for all the advice and guidance.
pedant
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 23,576
Likes: 38
From: EXTREME southwest CT
In fact, I JUST replaced the horseshoe on my truck!
I too made sure to fill the pin sockets with grease after soldering on the replacement.
(my bad though. I snagged the ground 'tach' wire while doing my Saginaw swap)
I too made sure to fill the pin sockets with grease after soldering on the replacement.
(my bad though. I snagged the ground 'tach' wire while doing my Saginaw swap)
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