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1980 - 1986 Bullnose F100, F150 & Larger F-Series Trucks Discuss the Early Eighties Bullnose Ford Truck

Duraspark II problems

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Old Mar 6, 2025 | 04:39 PM
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Duraspark II problems

Hey everyone I’ve been fixing up an ‘86 F350 with a 460 and have had luck getting it to run to not running and everywhere in between. I eventually had to replace the dist and the whole Duraspark II harness due to the wires just falling apart and receiving no spark. After I wired up the new harness I had spark but timed the dist wrong and it would not start. Fast forward a month or two and I go to time the dist but now I’m receiving no spark. Nothing has changed beside getting a new carb to replace the junk one that was on there. I’m getting 8 volts at the positive side of the connector for the ignition coil so I’m thinking it’s resistor issue. Any help would be appreciated!
 

Last edited by AntiFood; Mar 6, 2025 at 04:53 PM.
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Old Mar 6, 2025 | 04:55 PM
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8 volts on the coil positive, key ON - engine not cranking, is a good thing.
Time to do the test light ... on the coil negative, to see if it's blinking, when you spin the engine over with the starter.
 
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Old Mar 6, 2025 | 05:03 PM
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Originally Posted by JimsRebel
8 volts on the coil positive, key ON - engine not cranking, is a good thing.
Time to do the test light ... on the coil negative, to see if it's blinking, when you spin the engine over with the starter.
Yes I am getting a blinking light on the coil negative with the test light.
 
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Old Mar 6, 2025 | 05:36 PM
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Originally Posted by AntiFood
Yes I am getting a blinking light on the coil negative with the test light.
That usually means everything works.
Do you have a spark tester? I used to just ask my wife to hold the coil wire... wasn't long before she bought me a spark tester from harbor freight.

 
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Old Mar 6, 2025 | 05:52 PM
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Originally Posted by JimsRebel
That usually means everything works.
Do you have a spark tester? I used to just ask my wife to hold the coil wire... wasn't long before she bought me a spark tester from harbor freight.
Yeah I do. I was using it prior to setting the ignition timing to make sure there was spark, as it was an issue before replacing the wiring harness. I even checked the way your wife loved so much but still nothing that way either. All the plug wires, plugs and dist are brand new so I'm just a little confused how nothing can change after having it working then nada. Even pulled the cap off to see if something was gunked up but the cap and rotor are immaculate. I was using a start button and tried just cranking with the key and realized the starter solenoid is sticking as well.
 
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Old Mar 6, 2025 | 05:57 PM
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This actually points to a failure of the secondary windings in the coil. This is extremely rare and not usually even brought up as a possibility.
The auto parts store can test the coil. Coils rarely fail people just buy them because they think it'll fix their problem, like when they buy a starter cuz their car doesn't start.
 
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Old Mar 6, 2025 | 05:59 PM
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If you do go to the auto parts store they can also test the ignition module.
It seems unlikely, as the light is blinking on the coil negative
 
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Old Mar 6, 2025 | 06:02 PM
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Originally Posted by JimsRebel
This actually points to a failure of the secondary windings in the coil. This is extremely rare and not usually even brought up as a possibility.
The auto parts store can test the coil. Coils rarely fail people just buy them because they think it'll fix their problem, like when they buy a starter cuz their car doesn't start.
Originally Posted by JimsRebel
If you do go to the auto parts store they can also test the ignition module.
It seems unlikely, as the light is blinking on the coil negative
I'll give both of these a try maybe with all the mangled wiring around the engine bay something finally failed after sitting in between now and "the time of spark".
 
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