Looks like ignition stuff goes here...

Everything SHOULD be good since I found my reluctor loose and put in a new roll pin, but it isn't. Since I had the distributor apart, I went ahead and put in a new pickup (Borg Warner ME12) and module (CBE7).

The reluctor slots are 180 degrees apart, and the teeth lined up the same either way, with the rotor aligned to a terminal when the reluctor was aligned with the center of the pickup. Truck started right up and seemed to be corrected since the reluctor was now aligned with the rotor. It got to operating temperature and ran just fine, except the idle didn't want to come down at all. Then the truck wouldn't crank hot, as if the battery was dead. So I let it cool down to where it would start and checked the timing to see if that's why it wouldn't start.

It was 40 degree at idle. I had not loosened or changed the timing in 2 years. So, I figured maybe what was wrong had started before then and just now got worse. So I set the timing to 10 BTDC, and it was much, much better, and the idle simmered down some. But now it would die when I put it in gear unless I set it to idle at 800 rpm in gear. Something's still not right.

I double checked everything and then decided to do a phase check. I drilled a hole in my old cap at #1 and put it on. When I started it (completely cold this time), It started popping a lot in the exhaust. I put the timing light over the hole and saw the rotor was VERY off-center from the hole/#1 terminal. I was JUST seeing the front edge of the rotor as it fired. So I shut it down and put it at 10 BTDC on the #1 compression since that's where I set the timing. SO the rotor should have been lined up with the #1 terminal and a reluctor tooth in-line with the pick-up.
But it wasn't. At 10 BTDC, the rotor is halfway between terminals, and the reluctor is half-way between teeth.

Can this be an electrically out-of-phase pick-up? The plugs and wiring are just as they should be with nothing crossed. I did some investigating and found that with my meter negative on orange and positive on purple, I get a negative meter swing with a magnet passed by the pick-up. This is the same response I get with the old pickup I took out. (and a positive swing with the meter leads reversed). SO, I plan to make a jumper harness to cross orange and purple to see if that fixes this. If so, then could the module be acting backwards since the pick-up responds, electrically, the same as the old one?

 

Are you setting your timing with the vacuum advance unit hose unplugged? You should. I believe that's the only way you are getting a 40 degree advance reading with your light, the vacuum hose was plugged in.

If it wasn't plugged in, I then am thinking your advance weights underneath the plate in the distributor are rusted and stuck in a advanced position.

If you get everything set, and then plug the vacuum hose back in and the idle jumps way up, then something is wrong, most Fords do not have vacuum on the dist at idle. That is also the reason why it stalls when you put it in gear. Several reasons why it has vacuum at idle; It's plugged into the wrong place, or the idle is set too high and the throttle blades are open too far.

 

Yes. Vacuum hose is removed and the carburetor port plugged. The mechanical advance is in excellent operating condition. I went that far to look at it while I was doing all this.
What I'm asking about falls into line with the timing being that far off at idle after a pickup and module replacement if it's true that the electrical phasing will do this. I had to retard the timing a LOT to get it down to 10 at idle. I turned the distributor about as much as the teeth are currently off by at 10BTDC. So if the electrical phasing does this, then that will be my issue because with it corrected, I should have to advance the timing by as much as the physical arrangement is off by. I'm jumpering the wires backwards today and will be able to see if that's it. I should be 20-30 degrees retarded, so I'll make an eyeball adjustment to half-way advance the timing before I start it. that should get me about 10 ATDC if all this is true, and then I'll be able to set 10 BTDC and see what the static alignment looks like.

 

That did it!!
I expected the outcome, so I visually advanced the static timing about halfway so it wouldn't be too retarded to start. Installed jumpers at the distributor plug to swap the orange and purple wires. Started right up and was around 10 ATDC. So I still had to advance the timing more to make it 10 BTDC and now THE ROTOR IS ALIGNED WITH #1 with the timing light at the hole in the test cap. I shut it down and brought it to #1 compression TDC and the rotor was aligned with #1 and the reluctor tooth was aligned with the pickup.

SO, the Borg Warner module and pickup are backwards from each other new, out of the box. I don't know if I should permanently swap the wires or return one or both of the parts...

 

I think I confirmed which part was backwards...even after seeing that the new and old pick-ups respond the same with a voltmeter and magnet.

I made a rig to test the response of the old and new modules, using 1.5V (AA battery) to trigger the module. Old module first, I provided power and ground, then checked the signal to the green module wire. With 12V to the module power, it sat at .7V on green. When I touched and released the AA battery with + to purple and - to orange, nothing happened. When I did it with + to orange and - to purple, the green pulsed every time I bumped it with the battery.

On the new module set up the same way, I got the green pulses when I touched + to purple and - to orange. Backwards from the old module.

 

The part number on the distributer IGN pickup is different for CW or CCW rotation of the rotor
A six is CW
A 400 is CCW ???
Jim

 

Yes. 400 is CCW.

 

The CW / CCW is just a guess, the different p/n might be just a different mount plate.

 

Yes. The plate and connectors would be different for sure.

 

Uh oh...

So the modules responded opposite with a 1.5V signal to the orange and purple wires. This made it an easy call to say the new module is backwards and won't work. So I took it off and put the old module in, and took out my pick-up cross-over jumpers. Started weird, so I checked the timing...about 50 BTDC!!!
I put the cross-over back in for the orange and purple, and timing went back to 10 BTDC.

So it's NOT the module since they both run exactly the same with the pick-up crossed or not crossed. BUT I compared the pickups in the first place and they responded ALIKE.

I'll put the old pick-up back in and see what I get.