HeadScratcher...please help. "newbie"
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HeadScratcher...please help. "newbie"
Hey guys, new to this forum but in need of some help. Heres my problem.
I have an 83 F-250 with the duraspark 3 system and I put a 351 Windsor out of a 78 E-250 into my truck (I think it was a Duraspark 2 system) . It ran fine for about two weeks then just died. The problem is that the plugs are no longer generating a spark... I tested and replaced the distributor/rotor/coil/ignition module... and nothing changed. All the voltages are correct and when the key is in the run position the coil does build up the magnetic field, but when you crank it over it does not spark... However I discovered that when the key is in the run position you can disconnect either of the two plugs on the ignition module and it makes the spark plug SPARK!...haha i'm at a loss as to what to check next. I would think there is some sort of sensor on the engine that tells the module when to make it spark, but it don't know where to find it. Anyhow I would really appreciate some help on this one. Thanks guys.
-tyler
I have an 83 F-250 with the duraspark 3 system and I put a 351 Windsor out of a 78 E-250 into my truck (I think it was a Duraspark 2 system) . It ran fine for about two weeks then just died. The problem is that the plugs are no longer generating a spark... I tested and replaced the distributor/rotor/coil/ignition module... and nothing changed. All the voltages are correct and when the key is in the run position the coil does build up the magnetic field, but when you crank it over it does not spark... However I discovered that when the key is in the run position you can disconnect either of the two plugs on the ignition module and it makes the spark plug SPARK!...haha i'm at a loss as to what to check next. I would think there is some sort of sensor on the engine that tells the module when to make it spark, but it don't know where to find it. Anyhow I would really appreciate some help on this one. Thanks guys.
-tyler
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Joined: Nov 2004
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From: Asheville, NC
Congrats for the engine swap. The Dura 3 system has a sensor on the engine crank, with a distributor that has nothing inside other than a rotor, that senses spark.
My '83 351 had Dura 3, but the computer was fried due to previous owner "improvements" and other problems. I bought a new Dura 2 distributor, and module, and made a 3 wire harness to run from the distributor to the module. I just used a wiring schematic for the dura 3 and the dura 2 to be sure things were connected right. It worked from the beginning. Having a vacuum advance now really made a difference in engine performance, too.
On the power side of the modules, did you wire the red and white wires to the same color wires on the module? My wiring has red coming in from the harness and becomes white wire going past the plug to the module. The white wire goes red. Check it out. It could easily be something simple like this!
My '83 351 had Dura 3, but the computer was fried due to previous owner "improvements" and other problems. I bought a new Dura 2 distributor, and module, and made a 3 wire harness to run from the distributor to the module. I just used a wiring schematic for the dura 3 and the dura 2 to be sure things were connected right. It worked from the beginning. Having a vacuum advance now really made a difference in engine performance, too.
On the power side of the modules, did you wire the red and white wires to the same color wires on the module? My wiring has red coming in from the harness and becomes white wire going past the plug to the module. The white wire goes red. Check it out. It could easily be something simple like this!
Post Fiend
Joined: Jul 2004
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From: Northern California
Originally Posted by Holmesuser01
My wiring has red coming in from the harness and becomes white wire going past the plug to the module. The white wire goes red. Check it out.
Do you know why the wires swap colors like that? Do you know why that is? I've been asking people including people at Ford that question and they just don't know.
I have Ford Wiring diagrams, and they show Red wire to red wire, and white wire to white wire, but yet my 1981 has Red to white, white to red, just as you described, etc...
Just curious to know this, because it defies my logic.
Posting Guru
Joined: Nov 2004
Posts: 1,137
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From: Asheville, NC
I have Ford Wiring diagrams, and they show Red wire to red wire, and white wire to white wire, but yet my 1981 has Red to white, white to red, just as you described, etc...
Just curious to know this, because it defies my logic.[/QUOTE]
Wiring changes from model to model. Who knows? I have a feeling that yours is connected properly at the power end, but am wondering about the coil pick-up in the distributor. This is a dumb question, but, are you sure your distributor rotor shaft is turning? Ive seen stripped distributor drive gears before. Stranger things have happened! The fact that it ran for awhile makes me think it is something odd happening. Good luck finding that your shaft is turning properly.
The Duraspark 2 system is a good straight-forward system. I do wish sometimes that it was all-in-one like the (aack) GM HEI system on V8's.
I will mention the GM system here because my car is an '85 Oldsmobile Toronado, that has been very dependable since new.
Just curious to know this, because it defies my logic.
[/QUOTE]Wiring changes from model to model. Who knows? I have a feeling that yours is connected properly at the power end, but am wondering about the coil pick-up in the distributor. This is a dumb question, but, are you sure your distributor rotor shaft is turning? Ive seen stripped distributor drive gears before. Stranger things have happened! The fact that it ran for awhile makes me think it is something odd happening. Good luck finding that your shaft is turning properly.
The Duraspark 2 system is a good straight-forward system. I do wish sometimes that it was all-in-one like the (aack) GM HEI system on V8's.
I will mention the GM system here because my car is an '85 Oldsmobile Toronado, that has been very dependable since new.
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Originally Posted by Holmesuser01
Congrats for the engine swap. The Dura 3 system has a sensor on the engine crank, with a distributor that has nothing inside other than a rotor, that senses spark.
My '83 351 had Dura 3, but the computer was fried due to previous owner "improvements" and other problems. I bought a new Dura 2 distributor, and module, and made a 3 wire harness to run from the distributor to the module. I just used a wiring schematic for the dura 3 and the dura 2 to be sure things were connected right. It worked from the beginning. Having a vacuum advance now really made a difference in engine performance, too.
On the power side of the modules, did you wire the red and white wires to the same color wires on the module? My wiring has red coming in from the harness and becomes white wire going past the plug to the module. The white wire goes red. Check it out. It could easily be something simple like this!
My '83 351 had Dura 3, but the computer was fried due to previous owner "improvements" and other problems. I bought a new Dura 2 distributor, and module, and made a 3 wire harness to run from the distributor to the module. I just used a wiring schematic for the dura 3 and the dura 2 to be sure things were connected right. It worked from the beginning. Having a vacuum advance now really made a difference in engine performance, too.
On the power side of the modules, did you wire the red and white wires to the same color wires on the module? My wiring has red coming in from the harness and becomes white wire going past the plug to the module. The white wire goes red. Check it out. It could easily be something simple like this!
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Posting Guru
Joined: Nov 2004
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From: Asheville, NC
Why go to points? You'd have to adjust them so often! They are a step backwards, in my opinion.
Get the Haynes manual for our trucks. There is a duraspark 2 schematic there. Also, there are several threads here at this site that have the wiring diagrams posted in them... I think I printed them out and used them when I made the switch from DS3 to DS2. At any rate, the truck sure runs better.
Oh yeah. Its the same coil. Mine has some HOT spark... hot blue spark!
Get the Haynes manual for our trucks. There is a duraspark 2 schematic there. Also, there are several threads here at this site that have the wiring diagrams posted in them... I think I printed them out and used them when I made the switch from DS3 to DS2. At any rate, the truck sure runs better.
Oh yeah. Its the same coil. Mine has some HOT spark... hot blue spark!
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It worked! I pulled some parts from a friends junker ford and did a little handy wiring and now its all set up as a DS2 system and it gets good hot spark every time i turn it over! Thanks for the advice on that one. Now onto the new latest and greatest problem...IT still won't start... I pulled the fuel line and it wasn't getting fuel so i replaced the pump and it fixed that problem, now when i crank it over you can hear the carb make a kind of spraying sound and if you look in it there will be a bunch of fuel vapors...IT seems to be worse if i hold the throttle wide open. So I would think the vapors are getting held up and not going into the cylinders for some reason... any ideas? Haha for all the work its causing me this thing better run like a champ when i'm done.
Posting Guru
Joined: Nov 2004
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From: Asheville, NC
One thing you might try... Get a can of carb cleaner with the little plastic tube extension. Find the idle mix adjust screws, and one at a time, gently screw them clockwise until they gently bottom in their slots. Count how many turns in you go and write it down. THEN remove the screw and the little spring. Squirt a few good squirts of carb cleaner in the hole where the screw was. Insert the tube as far as it will go and give it an extra squirt. Reinstall the screw and spring and gently screw it down until it bottoms gently, then turn it back out the same number of turns that you originally turned it to make it bottom. This gets you almost set back the way it was. Do the same with the other idle screw assuming that you have a V8, I dont remember. If its a six, then you have one screw.
If its a six, the carb can be replaced for less than $100, if you are lucky.
If its a six, the carb can be replaced for less than $100, if you are lucky.
Fleet Owner
Joined: Sep 2005
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From: Lake Tahoe, Nevada
Just re-reading the thread... are we really sure there is a carb problem? Vapor is good!
Are you getting any pop or backfire when you try to start it, like maybe a firing order problem?
Are you getting any pop or backfire when you try to start it, like maybe a firing order problem?