When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
So I bought an Hei distributor off of ebay and I have questions before the problems. Question 1 do you have to use the three wires that go to the stock distributor? Question 2 do you have to still use an external ignition coil? I got the truck to run and it was running really rough and kept turning off. It is getting fuel brand new fuel pump. I do have an eddlebrook 675 carbeurator. Dont know if that needs to be tuned or not. The truck actually ran pretty good on the stock distributor. I have changed spark wires and plugs. Brand new battery and starter relay. I have messed with the jets and the idle screw and no big difference on it running a whole lot better. Also just as a note I have the hot wire and tach wire on the procomp in back.
I don't know anything about the Procomp, but if it is an HEI you don't need an external coil. All you need is a good source of high-current switched power, and the plug wires connect directly to the distributor.
To get a high-current feed you will need to install a relay that provides battery power to the distributor when the key is in Run or Start. And the white/light blue wire going to the DS-II module is a good source for power to trigger the relay - as shown here: Start, Ignition, & Carb Circuits - ???Gary's Garagemahal.
If you've not installed such a relay then my guess is that you aren't supplying enough power to the HEI and that is causing a really weak spark and, therefore, poor running. If you have, then my guess is that you inadvertently swapped plug wires and you have the firing order wrong.
How many volts should be ran in the on postion to the distributor? Also kudos this is some good info. Firing order counter clockwise is good 15426378 and I have redone the tdc a million times starting the 1 on where the rotor pointer in the distributor is at.
You should have full battery voltage to the distributor. So, around 12.8 as a minimum to maybe 14.4 when the engine is spinning above 1200 RPM and the alternator kicks in.
You can use the white/light blue wire to pull the relay in, but it has a resistor in it so you cannot use it to power the distributor directly.
Anything on the truck (except the gauges, and perhaps the fuel pump and old DSII coil) will run at system voltage.
Ideally the battery at rest will read 12.6V and with the alternator charging will be between 13.5 and 14.5 volts.
Do like Gary said and run a 30A relay triggered from the old coil feed.
Use a minimum of 12Ga. (and better off 10Ga.) wire from the battery or hot lug to the relay and on to the HEI input.
Your cab wiring and ignition switch cannot provide enough current for these power hungry GM style ignition.
ETA: Gary beat me to it while I worked on my post.
Ok so take the black wire with light blue wire that originally went to the stock distributor and put it where? Have a hot wire that connects to the battery and splice it into the red wire that I have on the distributor now? I am following you guys but please explain this part now that we are narrowing this down.
So buy another starter relay put the Battery hot wire on top and put the light striped blie wire on bottom run a wire from the terminal where the blue wire is on new starter relay to power on the procomp distributor? Guys I am very confused Please explain and to bad pro comp couldnt even mention this on a paper instructions which is dumb.
Guys you left me hanging truck has not driven in 4 years brcause of this distributor one reply from you guys at this point will leave me witg a running truck no reply plain amd simple no running truck. Really would be awsome if somebody can say that they were 100 percent reason someone has transportation on a truck that hasnt drove in 4 years. Please help me.
Jonny - You are in way over your head. But I will try to explain. A 30-amp relay is usually called a Bosch relay for the company that first created them, and they look like this:
We didn't say to use a starter relay. And we didn't say to do anything with a black wire nor a light blue wire. We said to use the white/light blue wire, meaning a white wire with a blue stripe, that goes to the ignition module and have it trigger the relay, which means connect it to the 85 terminal on the relay. Then connect the 86 terminal to a ground. The 30 terminal will connect to the positive post on the battery, and 87 terminal connects to the power feed to the distributor. And you should use at least #12 wire, but preferably #10 wire, to connect to the battery and to the distributor. In addition, you should put a 30 amp fuse between the battery and the relay.
If you do not know how to run a relay, then you can run a fat wire all the way to the ignition switch and then to the new dist.
You will have to drop the steering column down, the switch is mounted on top of the column behind the dash. If you have a automatic, just make sure you take the little plastic tube with the string in it loose that runs your PRND321 indicator or it will break. Once you deal with that, it's very simple, two bolts on a u-clamp and the column drops right down.
On the ignition switch find the red/lightgreen wire. Strip the insulation back and then wrap a new 12 gauge wire to this wire near the ignition switch. Soldering them together is best. There are other methods, you decide what is best for you.
Run this new heavy wire out and plug it in to your new dist. That's it.
Here's a diagram of a 86 ignition switch. I have been looking at it, worried about power during start. But if you do not cut the red/lightgreen, just skin it back, then in start the brown/pink should feed back around the splice to your new wire and give you power during starting.
If you do not know how to run a relay, then you can run a fat wire all the way to the ignition switch and then to the new dist....
Not that there's anything wrong with this advice technically, but I'd say that if you don't know how to run a relay, figure that out (or get someone who knows how to help you) before you start tearing into any other wires. Hooking up a relay is about as easy as wiring can be, and you aren't molesting any existing part of your wiring, so you won't screw anything else up. Gary explained what you need to do with the relay. Follow those directions or find someone who can help you. I think that's your best / safest bet.
Thanks for the quick registration .
I am using a HEI distributor in my 302 roller cam ford . The new HEI distributor only run about four hrs when it shut down . Engine shut off like I turned the key off . Module is toast . My alternator is putting out 14.9 volts . Am I wrong in thinking the voltage is too high for the distributor ? The distributor is connected directly to the charging circuit .
Rezvani's Latest Post-Apocalyptic Monster Is a Ford F-150 Raptor Underneath
Slideshow: Called the Fortress, the 850-horsepower pickup combines Raptor underpinnings with military-inspired features, survival equipment, and a starting price of $285,000.
