My car wont start and I can not get a good spark at the plugs.Things I checked coil,pick up coil,ignition module,wires,plugs.I dont know what else to check?Can the actual distributor go bad?

 

Well, first off you can crank the engine with the cap off and see if it is actually turning the rotor (broken drive gear or missing rollpin allowing the gear to drop off) Then there is a capacitor under the cap/rotor and the pickup coil (not the main coil).

 

I had the distributor apart when I changed the pick-up coil and the gear is ok.There is no capacitor on the small cap remote coil HEI so its not that.What about the magnets or what ever they are that are on top of the pick-up coil can they go bad?

 

Possibly the reluctor ring is loose?

 

what does it look like?Is it the piece on top of the pick-up coil?

 

A flat wheel with "paddles" on it.

 

Think I can get to it without taking apart the distributer again?

 

Well, you can get to it and see if it is slipping on the shaft, but to change it out I do believe you'll need to disassemble the distributor.

 

maybe just the rotor has a crack and is shorting to the shaft. look for carbon arcing, little black traces and spots on rotor and or cap

also the tach wire can kill some of them. it comes from the coil. disconnect it in the harness. I am assuming your coil mounts off to the side, with two connectors on it?

good luck,

Don

 

i just noticed you said you cannot get good spark. if you have a yellow spark, then check battery, and starter may be pulling too much current, robbing the plugs. so if it is yellow, and not white.

good luck again

Don

 

mine went back a week or two ago... thought it might have been the module or the pick-up coil... but ended up being that the magnetism in the distributor was bad and wasn't picking up anything... go figure... i figured that out by seeing how easy the shaft will spin while in the housing... mine spun without any effort... it should be a little notchy if it is working right

 

The rotor,cap and pick up are brand new. The spark is bluesh/white and using the type of spark tester I have(it has a adjustable gap)with it adjusted for HEI it will jump the gap when attached to the cap with out the spark plug wire.As soon as I hook up the spark plug wire it wont jump the gap.If I make the gap smaller It will jump .The wires are good.

 

That sounds like bad wires to me...I would try a new set.

 

The wires that were on the engine were only about 4 months old They are Taylor spiro-core Ive never had wires go bad in 4 months Ill check the resistance.I just tested them coil wire 360ohm plug wires 960-1900ohms.