My truck is almost finished after 17 months. I ran into a problem with my hei distributor. I have fire to the distributor, but no t to the spark plugs. I tested the coil and it's good. I replaced the module, but still no fire. This one has me stumped. Anyone else run into this?

 

A few things come to mind.
The HEI needs a full 12 volts. Do not use the resistance wire to power the HEI dist.

Are you sure you have power going to the right spade on the dist.?

I dont know how you are powering the HEI but some IGN switches may only power when in run and not start or the other way around.
You can check this with a test light on the HEI power wire in run and start modes, light should light in both.
If you hot wire, 12 volts from battery to HEI do you get spark and it runs?
If so then you get a issue with the IGN switch in my book.

If still no spark to the plugs check the cab and rotor for cracks or just replace both.
Note there should be a rubber washer in the cap under the coil.
Rotor button, rubber washer, coil and cover with screws.
IIRC there is a metal ground wire" from 1 for the coil corners to where the wires are in the cap.
I dont think I have ever seen anything connected but may want to try a ground wire to it.
Is the motor grounded to the battery and motor to frame and motor to firewall? Can never have too many grounds and the later trucks they were all grounded that way.

Cant think of anything else if it dont run hot wired then it is a bad HEI I guess?
Dave ----

 

Did you remove the pink resistor wire under the dash? It plugs into the ignition switch it has a green male connector on it. You have to cut it at the cowl connector and replace it with a solid wire.

 

Th we engine is on a 1962 Ford F100. I'll check these things and see of any correctvthe problem. 👍

 

Thanks for the insight guys. I have power to the distributor when I turn the key to on. When I turn to start, I lose power to the distributor. My truck has a wicked sense of humor 👍

 

I wouldn't blame the truck for that.
There should be a wire connected to the "I" terminal on the start relay. That wire was originally spliced into the wire going to the coil. It supplies 12V to the coil when the starter is engaged. It is in the wiring diagram.

 

Thanks CD, I'll try that. Yesterday's efforts were a bust. This is the worst part fir ne lol

 

IBecause of my inability to play nice with electrical and wiring, I solved the issue by a direct connect from the hei to the battery, with an on/off switch in line. Works, so I hope it holds 😆 ty CD, ty Fuzz 👍

 

That could double as a theft deterrent, too.

 

😆 yep, I got other tricks too