Ok so this relay right next to the distributor is chattering away when I turn the key on....I think it's causing me spark issue but that is a wild guess... Anyone have a clue what this is? The search of the printed number on it brings up nothing even close to looking like this....thanks in advance!

 

EGR solenoid, I believe.

 

Hey thanks.....so I guess my next question would be...would a chattering Egr solenoid cause no spark?

 

I also believe that is your EGR solenoid. Looks like the one of a friends' 86 Camaro.
A defective EGR usually causes your engine to die off sporadically, because it lets too much exhaust gases get into the engine.
Doesn't have anything to do with spark directly.
If you have a no-spark-issue, it's probably your pickup coil or ignition coil, spark plugs or wires, followed by the ignition module.

 

EGR solenoid.

Unplug it and see if anything changes. Can't imagine how it would affect spark though.

 

Ok, so the reason I asked this was because we have already changed: plugs, wires, rotor, dist cap twice, icm twice, ignition switch, coil three times and still no spark.....made sure my block was well grounded...nothing....but I never replaced the PICKUP coil.... So now I'm thinking it may be that....we have power to the coil

 

key on will also cause the mixture control solenoid inside the carb to click 10 times a second, which is normal.

you can test the pickup coil with an ohm meter, but as inexpensive as it is, I'd just replace it. in fact, as inexpensive as a reman dist is, I usually replace the whole assembly when it is suspect.

before going any further you may want to crank the motor over and ensure that the rotor is spinning in the dist. a broken timing gear/chain can have you chasing all kinds of dist issues.

 

Rotor is turning sorry I meant to put that

 

Wrong thread...WTH.

 

Ok, so back at it....replaced distributor to only have it run a day, so I took it to a mechanic who again replaced distributor only to have it run for 30 minutes....anyone have any ideas what could be blowing my distributors? I had the alternator bench tested and it passed all 4 runs...

 

wow. what part is failing?

normally when the electrical parts there go bad they will refuse to work when hot but start right back up when cool again. three electrical failure parts are coil, module and pickup coil.

ensure when it fails that 12v power is everywhere it should be and double check your grounds.

 

Pickup coil the first time, unsure the second two times because distributor was under warranty and the mechanic replaced the whole thing both times, both times distributor was brand new not rebuilt. I have my 12 Vic at the coil and it only drops to 10 during crank, all other times it's there

 

That is a strange failure pattern. If you have good power and engine ground, there may be an issue in the EST circuits between the distributor and the ECM. It could also be the ECM itself that's the problem. Since the failure occurs so quickly after a new dist is installed, I would suspect that the cause would have to be pretty obvious with a lab scope connected to whichever circuit is causing the failure.

Your dist is internal coil type. Be sure that you have the ground strap installed under the coil. Otherwise you could be zapping the pickup coil and ICM with high voltage and/or current spikes from the coil.

The GM electronic spark timing system is old school and not too many techs today understand it or even ever worked on it. It may take some time either for you or the mechanic to study and become familiar with the system in order to know how to test it and what to look for.