Not starting. I get around to checking the timing, as it's not cranking very evenly, and it's at about 16 while cranking. Oops, forgot the est wire. Unplug it and it's still around 15.

I go to retard the dist a bit, turn it the wrong way not thinking about it, and it starts up.

Only now it's running at about 20.

I used a piece of rubber to turn the dist without getting shocked, and got a nice smooth idle around 22, but it was getting rough down around 10

I messed with it for another minute, but soon it needed higher and higher advancement to run smooth. 22-26 was getting rough, and 10 was worse.

I stuck a rod into the no.1 cylinder to check the piston position with the balancer marks, in case the balancer sleeve is slipping, and the 0 mark is dead on with the piston at it's top position.

I'm about to pull the distributor to check it. Sheared gear pin or shaft? I don't quite see it, but I'm not sure what else could cause this. ICM is only about a year old

It seemed to start running just a tiny bit worse over the last few weeks, and last saturday it just wouldn't start. Now it only starts with the timing super advanced.

 

Or might there be something else entirely that is messed up, and it will only start with the timing advanced, and gets worse as it warms up.

But then how did it go from 10 a few months ago, to 16 by itself?

 

I don't know why it'd run with more timing but, I'd do a compression test because of the "not cranking very evenly." did it give any symptoms before it started running bad?

 

Earlier in the summer I was cruising along about 50 and I though I started feeling sort of an on-off-on loss in power. Every few seconds. Kinda like driving into gusts of wind or through puddles. Somebody else driving probably wouldn't have noticed it.

Last couple months there did seem to be a fluctuation throttle/power while cruising around 20-30 in town. I had to work at it to notice it at higher speeds.

It's hard to describe.

Bit of a ticking sound too that I've noticed over the last month. Coming from the distributer area I think. I could hear it from inside sometimes, but that sound seemed like it was coming from wiring inside the dash, unless it was the same sound from the engine.

Mileage was getting worse over the last month too.

But basically it ran one day, and wouldn't even try to start the next day.

I'll go out and check the compression, and pull the distributer since the timing is way off now and the bolt is loose too.

 

Well, the distributor is fine. The role pin isn't sheared or anything, I can feel the pulses of the reluctor fins, and the rotor feels tight.

I'll check the compression tomorrow.

What readings am I supposed to get anyway? I remember testing for 150ish on my 6cyl nova. I'm guessing about the same on this.

 

yeah, probably about the same. the bigger thing is looking for consistancy accross all cylinders. probably within 10-15% of eachother.

 

This is with the original ecm? I had an issue with a '730 ecm where I only had base spark and about 5 deg of adv. the module throws in above idle. Never quite figured out what the issue was becuse I lost interest in the swap, LOL. Then more recently I had the same issue after burning a chip for the '165 and found my heater core was leaking on the harness. Look for the subtle.

You're not supposed to move the dist. over 10 deg. from base spark. Supposedly it can get damaged, although I've seen people really f' with 'em and they still run when set back to base. Give a dist. module a try.

 

The symptoms you describe are why I replaced my Wells ignition module back in 2005... Couldn't time the engine worth beans. I'd get her down to 10 BTDC, but she would run like crap and then the timing would JUMP (with my hand on the dizzy and the bolt tight enough that it takes some force by hand to turn it, so it wasn't just the engine spinning the dizzy) to about 18-20 BTDC.

But, I also agree that you should do a compression check. Also, do tell what the plugs from each cylinder look like in terms of color.

 

yep, original 302 ecm (the 165 wouldn't even start when I tried it last with the t-bird maf)

I was wondering at work today if it was something electronic. The ICM is maybe a year old, but I guess they can go bad quick sometimes. Another friend of mine told me tonight someone he knew had the same problem, and it was the ICM.

Guess I'll pick one up.

Anyone know what number is the correct one for these cars?

I heard here some of them look the same, but there's a certain model number it's supposed to have. The wrong one will still run, but not 100% effecient I guess? (or wears out faster as in my case?)

*no.1 plug is a little dark/sooty, but not bad i guess. I'll take a closer look at them tomorrow. didn't get to the compression test tonight, got home late.

reluctor fins and surrounding stuff is kinda rusty, I might do the pickup coil too. Pulses are nice and strong.

 

Don't worry about the pickup coil. All you have to do for that is use a DMM and flex the wires as you test the resistance of the coil. As long as the pulses are good, then it still works.

The module is an AC/Delco D1943A... This should supersede all older replacement part numbers.

 

ARe the reluctor fins supposed to line up when the crank is at 10* or 0* btdc and it's firing?

The insulation around one of the fins on the shaft is cracked, and there's a couple big cracks from the center moving out in the middle of the reluctor assembly. It isn't spinning on the shaft though (trying to turn by hand anyway.

My rotor has a little left to right movement. The guide piece in the rotor doesn't look bad, but the slot in the dist shaft looks a little wide. I'll see if I can squeeze it a tad.

I tried starting it with the new module ( a cheapo tru-tech while I wait for the ac-delco to arrive), but it barely ran, and the timing mark wasn't even within range of the block marks.

Right now I pulled the dist back out and was seeing if the fins line up and if I had the teeth lined up and if the rotor points towards the no. 1 cylinder while the crank is at 10*, or maybe it's zero 0*, or does it even matter.

It's close, so I'll try again.

 

Nope. Still tore up from the floor up.

Runs like it's missing on cylinder, then gets better, then worse, couple seconds at a time.

Had it at 11* when it just died, and a little puff of fuel vapor I think, came out of the back of the TB

I wonder if my pressure regulator diaphram is torn (would I even have fuel pressure?) and is causing a massive vaccum leak or something. I'll look into that.

Might pick up another ECM and EGR tomorrow off an 88 at the junkyard. (should get the EGR from a store I guess)

 

Depends on the regulator. Some leak externally when the diaphragm tears, others leak into the vac line (by design).