So it all started when I took out the intake manifold to change the manifold gasket, I put everything back together and fired it up it started up and stalled after 2 seconds. After poking around I found the the timing was way off so I disconnected the est wiring and it immediately started to run like normal. I set the time it 10 btdc and locked down the distributor. reconnected back the wore and ran like crap! Timing way off!! disconnect runs perfect! It have a brand new icm, pickup, iac, TPS, cts, mats, has a holley stealth ram intake. Please help thanks you in advance

 

the distributor is in the engine in the wrong place. static time your engine and re position it

 

What do you mean static time?
I have marked everything and put it back in the same position. Disconnected the est wire and set initial timing to 10* and the car runs perfect! But when I reconnect the est wire it starts to run like crap

 

I mean..... both valves closed on #1 cylinder. timing mark on the balancer at "0" on the timing scale. and distributor ,when installed, has the rotor button pointing at #1 on the distributor cap. that is what static timing means. but you ALSO have to time it with a light,when running.6 degrees BTDC. with the ESC wire disconnected. its brown with a black stripe. after all this, shut it off and re connect your ESC wire and youre done. HOWEVER if the timing chain is worn ,or the ESC module has a problem. it will be all out of whack.

 

Ohhhhhh I thought that process was called finding tdc. I did do that. I doubt that the chain is worn becuase it was running good before. No codes nothing so I also don't think it's the esc or knock sensor.
Any more ideas?
Thanks for you help so far I really apreciate it!

 

Pull your #1 plug and stick your thumb over the spark plug hole. Have somebody bump the motor over until it blows your thumb off the hole. Crank the motor over with a breaker bar until you are at 0 on the timing mark. Pull the distributor cap and see where the rotor is facing. If it's not facing #1, that's your problem. I had the same issue awhile back, my distributor was 180 off. If that's not the issue, then it's time to start looking at other things. Also make sure you disconnect your battery after setting timing with the bypass wire unhooked. Unhook the wire, start the car, set your timing, shut the car off, hook the bypass back together, unhook the battery for a few, hook it back up, try starting the car.

 

Have you checked to see if the timing is retarding when the est is plugged back in ?
If it is the up polarity is backwards.

 

UPDATE
I went out just now and I started the car up with the wire plugged in and it started up fine idle fine at 1200 and then dropped as usual! After about 10 mins it stalled just like that! I restarted it and it went right back. I unhook the est wire and idles perfect again!

Also I have already set timing. I found top dead and set the distributor.

 

Also if the distributor is off by 180 I wouldn't think the car would start with or with the wire plugged in. Right?

 

How do I tell if the timing is retard when I plug the wire in?
I have a crafts man advance timing light when I point it at the balancer with the wire plugged in and the advance **** on the light set to zero I can't see the timing mark anywhere. But if I turn the advance **** all the way up which is about 25* I can see The mark a little bouncing around on the balancer.

With the wire disconnected I set the **** on the light to zero and point it at the balancer and it shows me a Steady 10* at idle.

Thanks so much so far you guys are really helping

 

Is there a reason why you are using 10* instead of the standard 6* BTDC? Could just be that the extra advance is just enough that when you plug the EST wire back in it throws it off enough to mess with the idle.

 

I mean I doubt that's the problem also because it was running with 10* since I bought the car. But I'll give it a shot and see what happends.

 

I had that issue with my old 355 hsr motor. My car would actually start and drive. The headers got extremely hot and i knew something was way off.

 

Did you fix it?

 

Anyone?

 

did you maybe pinch a wire in the intake on the back side when installing it?

 

Just checked no wires in the way.

 

Yes i did. I put the distributor in the correct place and the issue went away.

 

Would the car even run with the distributor in the wrong place?

 

Yes but itll run like crap.

 

I have had similar issues in the past. I'd be willing to bet the you Ignition Control Module or you ignition coil is bad.

I recently put in a nice MSD coil and it lasted about 3 months. The bad coil symptom was it would start, run until warm and then lose spark and shut off.

If the ICM is bad, the computer will not advance/retard the timing correctly.

I bet its one of those two things. And they're easy/cheap to fix!

 

Hey "Tuned Performance" --


I'm new to this forum. I'm having similar ignition problems with an 86 IROC TPI I'm restoring.


It sets a Code 42 at cold startup. After warm-up and computer reset, no more Code 42.


I'm wondering what you meant in your earlier post when you sad "the up polarity is backwards". What is the "up"?


Also, even though I'm not ever seeing a Code 43, does the ESC system (module and knock sensor) have anything to do with the startup sequence?


Thanks in advance (no ignition pun intended) for any help you can offer.


Cheers.

 

Did anyone eventually figure this out?? I'm having the same issue.

 

THIMK what ignition timing does to the rotor/cap relationship:

The LATER the spark occurs, the FARTHER the rotor has turned. Meaning, when the timing is advanced properly as what happens after setting the "static" timing with the EST disconnected and the ECM puts the correct 20-some ° of advance back in, the rotor is pointing SOMEWHERE ELSE from where it was when doing the "static" setting. Specifically, the spark gets sent to the wrong cyl.

The rotor turns CW. When the timing is advanced it points somewhat toward the NEXT cyl in the firing order.

Try, just for the halibut, moving your plug wires one notch CCW on the dist cap. If that makes it run right, then your problem is that when you re-stabbed the dist, you didn't have the rotor far enough CCW to where it points correctly at the correct plug wires. I strongly recommend that you do this only as a test; the plug wires fit MUCH better if they are in the factory locations, not all squeewaw some kind of way to make a rat's nest. If you find that moving them cures the issue, you need to re-stab the dist.

#1 plug wire should be at the front of the dist, just to the driver's side of straight ahead. #8 should be just to the pass side of straight ahead. When stabbing the dist at #1 firing position (the engine set at around 12° BTDC) the rotor will need to point about 30° CW from directly toward the driver's side, before the gears begin to mesh; then, as the dist slides in and the gears spin the shaft, the rotor should turn itself to almost straight ahead.

 

The problem of the OP is what Tuned posted. The pickup coil polarity is reversed, incorrectly manufactured pickup coil. This causes the spark advance to retard once under ECM control. Instead of advancing.

Easy to fix, swap the two terminals in the pickup coil connector and continue on.

Note that the OP replaced all of the distributor parts at the same time he swapped the intake manifold, as he posted that he did this.

RBob.

 

My issue is that my car was running great and then it slowly started getting worse until it wouldn't turn on anymore. I have a new ICM, ESC module, Pickup coil in my MSD Distributor and new coil. I reset timing 4 times, including checking for TBC and set it twice. If i start the car without the EST connected, it runs great. but was soon as you connect it, it falls on its face. I've replaced the ECM as well and nothing. I did notice while messing with everything, That if I unplug the coolant temp sensor on the intake, the injectors go wide open like if you opened up a faucet and don't pulsate. This is getting very frustrating. She's a 92 RS 5.0 TBI.