Well I'd thought I was out of the woods on this electronic problem, but I guess not. This goes back a ways, so to refresh, my initial symptom was the starter turns well, and I'm getting fuel, but it won't ignite. I saw a good spark at the coil, but that may have been a lucky try and misled me. Now, I think the problem is intermittent.
Here's what's currently happening. I replaced the rotor and cap and was able to start and drive for a few days. I thought problem solved. But the other day it wouldn't start again. Now I noticed that when I turn the ignition key to the first position before the starter, I don't get the red oil light lit and the fuel guage doesn't move. Starter turns strong but engine won't ignite. It looks like 9 out of 10 times or so, turning the key will light the oil light and fuel gauge will rise. Then it seems like it wants to fire. So my guess if the oil light isn't coming on it won't fire. If it does, it will fire.
I can do some more diagnosing this weekend. Any suggestions?
As always, thanks.
- Jim
Jim Altemose, Long Island, NY
'63 Polara 500 (Max Wedge)
'63 Polara 500 (383)
'65 Belvedere I (Street Wedge)
'71 BroncoOn Thu, Dec 20, 2012 at 5:16 PM, <Dodger7998@xxxxxxx> wrote:--I am thinking that I heard you had replaced the rotor, which would be the most likely culprit,,,In a message dated 12/20/2012 3:38:39 P.M. Central Standard Time, jaltemoose@xxxxxxxxx writes:Thanks for your help and patience.
Car was running fine two weeks ago when I parked it. Topped off brake fluid due to soft pedal. Fixed the soft the pedal and went to start it up. Did nothing else. When sitting for more than a couple of days, it takes a while of turning over to start. Now it's not showing any signs at all of catching although it's turning over well (I've connected my jump-box).
Pulled coil to distributor wire from distributor; positioned it near my A/C bracket and see what I thought was a good spark. Unplugged #1 plug wire from plug, stuck in a bolt to give me a good connection. Positioned wire near same bracket; no spark. Changed rotor; no spark.
I'm admittedly an amateur, so I'll repeat all of this. I have a new distributor cap I can try. I can also try bypassing the the ballast resistor since it's a pertronix ignitor.
- Jim
Jim Altemose, Long Island, NY
'63 Polara 500 (Max Wedge)
'63 Polara 500 (383)
'65 Belvedere I (Street Wedge)
'71 Bronco
On Thu, Dec 20, 2012 at 4:19 PM, Bill Paxton <wmp4@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:--
Check your grounds?
From: 1962to1965mopars@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:1962to1965mopars@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Bill Paxton
Sent: Thursday, December 20, 2012 4:17 PM
When did it start doing this? Was it running fine before?
From: 1962to1965mopars@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:1962to1965mopars@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Jim Altemose
Sent: Thursday, December 20, 2012 4:01 PM
To: 1962to1965mopars@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Re: Pertronix
No, but I can try that. I pulled the number 1 plug wire from the plug and wasn't getting a spark to ground. (I stuck in a bolt that was the right size into the rubber sleeve.) I didn't bother with any of the other wires since I'm getting no signs of firing on any cylinders. It's turning over well, but no hint of the engine firing. Wires and cap and rotor are only 2 years old. Plugs are 1 year old. I smell more gas as I'm turning it, so I'm guessing my fuel delivery is OK, but I can check that too.
As always, thanks.
- Jim
Jim Altemose, Long Island, NY
'63 Polara 500 (Max Wedge)
'63 Polara 500 (383)
'65 Belvedere I (Street Wedge)
'71 BroncoOn Thu, Dec 20, 2012 at 12:15 PM, Herb <zephyr9900@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
You should have 12v to the coil side of the resistor to run correctly. Have you pulled a plug wire from the cap to see if spark will jump from the cap to a ground? The wires can look good but be bad and do exactly what your describing. By just spraying WD40 on the wires will displace moisture enough to start.
-------Original Message-------
Thanks Herb.
Do I have this right? You're saying that although I visually see what looks like a strong spark coming out of the coil into the distributor, it may still not be enough? I should try bypassing the ballast resistor? Is this something I can measure with a meter?
Just to rehash, I'm getting what looks like a good spark from the wire that goes into the distributor from the coil. But no spark from the plug wires. I've replaced the rotor; the next thing I was going to try is replacing the cap. It's a pertronix ignitor.
Thanks.
- Jim
Jim Altemose, Long Island, NY
'63 Polara 500 (Max Wedge)
'63 Polara 500 (383)
'65 Belvedere I (Street Wedge)
'71 BroncoOn Thu, Dec 20, 2012 at 9:59 AM, Herb <zephyr9900@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Too low of voltage to run correctly. Common mistake on Pertronix installs. When electronic items get to a minimum voltage they just shutoff, and that voltage, is negatively effected by heat, hence driving down the road and it just shuts off. Your running at about 7 volts with the resistor and a lot of 12 volt items will shut down at 5 or 6 volts. So your running right at the thresh hold of dyeing all the time! Its best to bypass a good resister behind it, or I save old bad ones and solder a wire from spade to spade behind it. That way you keep it looking like Ma MoPar wanted it to look. And from loosing points at car shows if your in to that. Or, if your not, just eliminate it all together.
Herb
1954 DeSoto Firedome Estate Wagon 276 HEMI
1956 Plymouth Belvedere 361 4-Sale
1959 Dodge Coronet 326 Poly
1961 Plymouth Belvedere Custom Suburban Wagon 318 Poly
1961 Dodge Dart Pioneer Wagon 318 Poly
1963 Plymouth Fury 2D/HT 7.0L Gen III HEMI
1963 Plymouth Sport Fury Convertible 361
1970 Chrysler 300 Hurst 440
1979 Dodge Aspen Sport Wagon 360
1999 Durango SLT 5.9L
2008 SRT-8 Magnum 6.1L
St. Louis, MO.
&
-------Original Message-------
Interesting. Is there any downside to keeping the resistor?
- Jim
Jim Altemose, Long Island, NY
'63 Polara 500 (Max Wedge)
'63 Polara 500 (383)
'65 Belvedere I (Street Wedge)
'71 Bronco
On Wed, Dec 19, 2012 at 8:47 PM, Jim Hanlon <jhanlon1903@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> with the petronix you dont need a resistor,if you want to keep it looking
> stock you can take the resistor out from the back and replace it with wire
> ,crimped into the stock connections,reinstall,and you can't tell.
>
>
> On Tue, Dec 18, 2012 at 10:47 PM, Doug J <63sprtfury@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>>
>> I'm with ya too Dodger,, and like Gary said,,, it is getting harder to
>> find even 70's or 80's mopes in the junk yards. However,, when I finally
>> did my conversion on the '63 last year, the only "new" part I bought was a
>> ballast resistor. Although I cheated a bit, as I had an old orange box yet
>> from my last "race" car that had only a season on it before I upgraded the
>> ignition system. Still,, that was "old" money. LOL Can not believe how
>> much better the old girl starts with the electronic conversion. I put the
>> control box on the radiator support behind the horns. Casual observers
>> don't even notice it. Of course you guys would spot it in an instant,, which
>> is what I like about the group. All the great knowledge.
>> BTW, I wouldn't be afraid of the Pertronix unit, I had that system on an
>> old Massey Harris loader tractor on my acreage for years, it was like a kiss
>> from heaven when it came to cold weather starts. Which is a real test for
>> old mechanicals.
>>
>> Doug
>> '63 Sport Fury 'vert
>>
>>
>>
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