My 360 V8 runs very well when I have a "gap" at the coil wire. It will not start when the coil wire is fully inserted, it runs great with about the coil wire pull out about 1/2" (the spark jumps about 1/2"). The gap can be at either the distributor cap or the coil.
Yes, I have replaced the Controller, wires, plugs, dist cap, rotor, pick up coil, ballast resisitor, etc.
Any thoughts will be appreciated.
Is that a "lean burn" system.
------------------------------------------------------------ This IS a strange one! Does this engine use a condenser in the ignition system? I remember spending DAYS troubleshooting an old Datsun that had just had a tune-up but wouldn't start/run. Turns out that the brand new condenser was shorted.
Let us know what you finally find.
Mark
No, it has a single pick up coil and a ballast resistor which have both been replaces
Sounds like you have to much high voltage.
Did you replace the coil with a higher voltage version? Did you replace the wires with a lower voltage version? Can you put the old wires and or coil back on (one at a time) and try that. If you use the wrong wires (high voltage cables) or too high a voltage from the coil, you could be creating an arc, (short to ground) before the voltage gets to the plugs. When you unplug the wire slightly, you are actually creating two arc's, one at the unplug location and one at the SP. The voltage is thus reduced going to the plugs, because part of it is used up at the unplugged location..
Replaced coil, wires, dist cap, rotor, plugs with the same type as removed. When I found the problem (or symptom) I changed everything again, with no change.
The truck ran fine for many years and degraded to this condition during a weekend. This leads me to believe some component went to hell.
Think I have too much voltage or too little.
Gray
It sounds like you have a bad power connection. Although someone said that the second gap was lowering the voltage, what it is actually doing is increasing the resistance on the secondary side which lowers the current flow on the primary side. Your bad connection is causing a voltage drop on the primary side that increases with current and with the coil wire properly connected, is dropping the voltage to low for the controller to function properly. Your best bet would be to replace the power and ground connections to the controller and see what happens.
Thanks, TBone.
I'll try the changes & report
Gray
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