Losing Spark...352 FE
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Mountain Pass
Joined: Feb 2017
Posts: 154
Likes: 3
From: Beautiful East Tennessee
Losing Spark...352 FE
After changing to a Edelbrock intake, Holley Street Avenger 4 barrel carb w/electric choke, and a single wire alternator I can’t keep my engine running. When the engine is cold, it starts great. As it runs and warms up, the idle slows to a nice 800 or so rpms. Then as the temp levels out the rpms start intermittently cutting out, dropping down to 600 or so momentarily then it bounces back up to 800. After a few cycles like this it drops below 500 and doesn’t recover. Won’t start again till it completely cools. I added a 1” Mr. Gasket spacer thinking this was a sure fix but no difference.
Tonight after it died I hooked up my timing light and tried cranking the engine.... no spark. I’m running an older remanufactured distributor with a Pertronics Ignitor rather than conventional points/condenser and a flame thrower coil. What’s going on? Help? BTW, it’s a ‘67 F100 4x4.
update: misdiagnosed——not losing spark. All seems to be new carb issues. My bad
Tonight after it died I hooked up my timing light and tried cranking the engine.... no spark. I’m running an older remanufactured distributor with a Pertronics Ignitor rather than conventional points/condenser and a flame thrower coil. What’s going on? Help? BTW, it’s a ‘67 F100 4x4.
update: misdiagnosed——not losing spark. All seems to be new carb issues. My bad
Thread Starter
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Mountain Pass
Joined: Feb 2017
Posts: 154
Likes: 3
From: Beautiful East Tennessee
Both the pertronics unit and the flamethrower coil are about 5 years old. Is there a “life expectancy” of these units? I’d guess less than 6,000 miles in that time.
Cargo Master
Joined: Oct 2011
Posts: 2,242
Likes: 299
From: Kenner,La.
No spark
Just to be sure connect a voltmeter to the Bat side of the coil before trying to start, have someone start the engine and watch that the voltage stays at 7-9 volts, if the voltage stays and the engine eventually stops, then as you said it is a problem with the Petronics.
Thread Starter
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Mountain Pass
Joined: Feb 2017
Posts: 154
Likes: 3
From: Beautiful East Tennessee
Just to be sure connect a voltmeter to the Bat side of the coil before trying to start, have someone start the engine and watch that the voltage stays at 7-9 volts, if the voltage stays and the engine eventually stops, then as you said it is a problem with the Petronics.
thx
Thread Starter
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Mountain Pass
Joined: Feb 2017
Posts: 154
Likes: 3
From: Beautiful East Tennessee
Just to be sure connect a voltmeter to the Bat side of the coil before trying to start, have someone start the engine and watch that the voltage stays at 7-9 volts, if the voltage stays and the engine eventually stops, then as you said it is a problem with the Petronics.
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Tuned
Joined: May 2015
Posts: 413
Likes: 52
Pertronix units like to run at full voltage. If you are still using the resistor wire from the ignition switch it may be dragging the voltage down too much. You could run a test wire from the battery positive to the coil positive and see if the condition improves. To avoid any backfeed disconnect and and tape off the current coil positive wire from the ignition switch. Do you have an electric choke? Are you running it off of the coil positive wire? That can also drag the voltage down. A cleaner way to run the electric choke is to use the coil positive/ignition wire as a trigger for a relay. Run the grab the power for the choke from a fused connection to the starter solenoid. You'll get a solid 12 volts to the choke that way without interfering with the ignition.
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Cargo Master
Joined: Oct 2011
Posts: 2,242
Likes: 299
From: Kenner,La.
Losing spark
2X s with Gpatrick, these trucks electrical systems were not originally designed with electric chokes and electronic ignitions. So wiring up as he suggested just may be the whole solution. Definitely worth doing.
Thread Starter
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Mountain Pass
Joined: Feb 2017
Posts: 154
Likes: 3
From: Beautiful East Tennessee
Well, I hear you. However, consider what changed and what hasn’t changed. I was running the pertronix unit just fine before I started this project. I’m not running my electric choke off the resistor wire. Rather, off an accessory terminal on the fuse block.
Cargo Master
Joined: Oct 2011
Posts: 2,242
Likes: 299
From: Kenner,La.
Losing spark
Check the “I” terminal on the solenoid for 12 volts while the engine is in cranking mode. That may also cause a weak or no spark while cranking. The way the engine dies it almost sounds like it is “loading up” with fuel since you said it smells rich from the exhaust. Get a vacuum gauge and use that to adjust the idle mixture which should be around 1.5 turns from lightly seated.
Hotshot
Joined: Mar 2013
Posts: 14,255
Likes: 199
From: Phoenix, Az.
I'm leaning more towards the coil and jets. Some coils don't like to be laying horizontal. Pull the coil wire out of the coil and see if any of the coil's inner oil has leaked out. That would be a sure indicator the coil is a hurting unit. As far as the jets go, what is the list number on the front of the carb's air horn?
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