Ignition Trouble Shooting Help Please!

Howdy Everybody!

Since the D18 rebuild, things have been progressively improving.
$ are tight this summer so just little piddly (inexpensive) work.
Been daily driving for a couple months and running like a top. Driving to and from work are near the best parts of my day.
Came home Monday afternoon, parked as usual in the driveway.
Tuesday morning, fired right up (as usual) but running a touch rough. Let her warm up for 5ish mins to get my coffee and lunch, hopped in and no go, sputtery, missing, not sure I could get her out of the driveway. Drove the Honda to work…
Tuesday afternoon testing, got fuel got spark, changed the coil no difference (unknown if spare is “good”) 12 volts on ignition side of ballast resistor, 8 volts on the coil side. 8 volts on either side of the coil.
Wednesday afternoon, still no fire. Pulled the dist and installed a used pertronix I got from a member here. Fired right up! Had to twist the dist clockwise the limit to get it running smoothly.
Thursday morning, no fire…
Thursday afternoon, got her to fire up, shut her down and pulled the dist to re-clock a bit. Fired back up but a bit rough. Let her get a bit warm and shut down to plug in a vacuum gauge, would not fire back up.
It’s been wet here every night, not rain but heavy fog/humidity. But it’s been like that all summer.
Im thinking new points and condenser to see what’s next. Anybody have suggestions?
Thanks All!

 

Do you have a clear fuel filter and/or is the inside of the distributor cap wet? Sounds like therecis opportunity for a condensation issue of some sort.

 

Chasing your tail unless you set points and timing to FSM specification first.

Points must be cleaned or new. (A failed condenser will burn the points.)

But, yes, the distributor cap and rotor, and coil top, must be clean and dry, inside and out.

 

Any chance you left the ignition switch in the "on" position without the engine running? The Pertronix unit for the Dauntless (which I have also) is notorious for burning out if the switch is left that way with the motor off for more than a very short time - some would say a few seconds. They are great units, but that's one disadvantage to them.

 

I was thinking this may have been contributing as well but all clean and dry inside the dist.

I failed to mention that was part of Tuesday afternoon’s work, clean points, check plugs. Couldn’t verify timing as I couldn’t get it running!
Now that the points are out, the contacts don’t look quite right. I’ll compare them to new later today.

Although I try to be cognizant of turning the key off, I’m certain it has been left on for 5~ seconds in my head scratching errr trouble shooting.

 

Blood sacrifice was given, profane tongues were spoken, offerings were not accepted!
Tried to fire the pertronix first, no. Got new points and condenser (blue streak comes with a lifetime warranty, old set and receipt and they give you a new set!) still no.
Tomorrow, back to the start. Find TDC on #1, re stab the dist and start over.
Maybe get Mrs T to help me test the ignition switch first.

Thoughts?

Thanks All!

 

Static timing is a useful thing. Use a voltmeter or test lamp to see the points open or close.

Not sure why you want to remove and replace the distributor, if the Jeep was running recently and it has not been removed since.

 

You might check to make sure your ballast resistor connections aren’t loose or corroded.

 

When I got it to fire with the pertronix, I had to twist the dist to the limit to get it running smooth.
I re clocked it then to have room for adjustments. Since then it’s been out once more so just want to start again from the beginning to keep myself square.
I’m sure it’s plain that these troubleshooting skills are tools I haven’t used for a few decades.
Frustrating, but also rewarding (hopefully) when the problem is solved!

 

Would it be worth doing a test on the coil or trying a new one? i read in my service manual that a bad coil can work ok when cool but can fail when it gets hot.


I’m not very knowledgeable on this stuff so just disregard if needed

 

I have tried 2 different coils, but the spare was not “known good “ so if the original failed, the replacement is not certain.
They both ohm similarly, ~3 ohms pos to neg, 90k neg to dist.

 

Also don’t do like I did and use a coil with an internal resistor without bypassing the ballast resistor. I learned you don’t need both

 

I know you are all patiently waiting for an update, so here goes;
First, did you guys hear that big “pop”?
That was the sound of my head coming out of my a…!
Not really that bad, but if I get to learn something, a little poop behind my ears isn’t too high a price to pay.
So even though everything ohmed out, and I had volts where I was supposed to, I went back to the wiring diagram. For some reason, the wire from the ballast resistor and the coil caught my attention.
First thing this morning, I ohmed it again, .08 ohms. Close enough but still not convinced, started removing the wrapping in the wire bundle it was in and Whammo! Crusty insulation, corroded exposed copper. Made that repair and fired right up!
It’s up to temperature now, l am going to let it cool down a bit and re install a vacuum gauge and get it back to final timing.
Lesson learned for the future. Also moved re wiring up to the top of the list!

Thanks All for your help and advice!

 

I forgot to add, “No joy in Mudville”.
The state of CA is requiring that Mrs T’s Honda get a smog check.
So even though the little Firefly is running like a champ again, she sits in the driveway tomorrow so I can take the Honda to the shop…

 

Congrats on figuring that out!

The dome light I wired into my truck canopy stopped working a while back. Figuring it was a problem with a connector, I checked all of them with the multi-meter and they checked fine but still no voltage at the light. Feeling along the wire, I found a spot that felt stiffer than the rest. I shaved off the insulation to find this:


Completely corroded apart inside the insulation with no signs of insulation damage. It almost seems like there was contamination on the wires when the insulation was applied. It's fixed now, but that took well over an hour to track down.

 

Those types are near impossible to find usually.