Have an engine problem its a 360 with a pertronix ignitor and acel super coil new cap and rotor and wires, problem is truck will be running then all of a sudden it will just die, it will start back up but after a few minutes it will die again, i just bought a new ignighter and put in, also could the switch being lose cause this problem

any help would be thankful

 

What is an ignighter? What switch being loose? Have the control module checked.

 

there is no control module the ignighter takes the place of the points inside the dis and the loose switch is the ignition switch

sorry

 

The Pertronix is a very popular solid-state ignition module that fits under the cap of a stock points-type distributor. A lot of the show-truck people use them to gain the benefits of electronic ignition without changing the original appearance of the distributor. (The Duraspark is much larger, not to mention the clutter added by it's remote module). I've seen a lot of Continental and Wisconsin industrial engines that use them from the factory, and they had a very low failure rate in that application. I'd suspect the ignition switch or wiring, especially since the module has already been replaced. You need to take a voltmeter or test light and attach to the positive side of the coil and see if the voltage disappears when it dies. If so, trace that wiring back to the switch and see if you lose it there. Ford has had some ignition switch trouble in the past, but ususally on mid to late-80's stuff. If it's the '74 in your gallery, could just be going out due to old age.

 

thanks for the info

did you mean the switch could be going bad or the wiring.

 

gave the test light a try it only has died once and the light went out and didn't come back on till the switch was turned off and truck restarted, the wiring harness and wires wright next to the switch are hot to the touch any idea's why this would be

 

If wires are hot right next to the switch it's either a bad connection to the switch or in the contacts of the switch itself. Try removing the connector and see if the contacts are sprung or corroded. If that looks okay, then get a new switch. If it's gotten bad enough, you may have to get a switch and replace the connectors as well. Is it a dash-mounted switch or column-mounted? The old dash-mounted ones are really easy as they usually have standard 1/4" spade connectors. You can remove the wires from the plastic holder they are mounted in, (after drawing a diagram of which one goes where) and crimp on new terminals -- available at any auto parts or hardware store-- and install to the correct terminals. If the terminals on the switch are loose or discolored, or show any signs of overheating or corrosion go ahead and replace the switch. Often on those dash-mounts, you can install your old lock cylinder in the new switch and retain your original key. Good luck, and sounds like you are right on top of the problem now. You should have it straight soon, for a little money and not much labor. If yours is a column-mount, I'd try to find a new harness connector at the junkyard and splice into the wiring to your current one. If you do splice though, I'd use good quality crimp connectors or solder and heat shrink the wires. Some of them carry a fair amount of current and it nees to be done right to prevent problems down the road.

 

Going to check the wires tomorrow I know that the connectors are inside of a plastic harness can the spade connectors be pulled out and replaced and placed back in the harness. haven't tried that before

 

Usually on those connectors the originals have a little tab on the backside allowing them to lock into the plastic housing. You can push down on this with a tiny screwdriver or paperclip to release them. The typical replacements don't have this tab and so won't lock into the housing, but if you use uninsulated terminals you can push them into place inside it once it's attached to the switch. Then just wire-tie that wire to the remaining ones.