I was heading to Eldersburg, Maryland last night to the Home Depot cruise spot and my car just cut off like a light switch. I had just pulled away from a stop sign and half way through the intersection it died.
The engine cranks fine and there is plenty of fuel. It’s definitely an ignition problem. I have a 396 with an HEI Excel distributor with the coil pack in the cap. I checked the rotor last night and it’s fine. This is my daily driver and I’ve had no indication of any electrical problems until last night. I’m going to check all the electrical connections to make sure I have proper ground and 12 volt power. Anything else I should check? Someone mentioned that possibly the coil pack went bad.

Thanks for any help,
Bubba


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ACES member #04788
Maryland Chevelle Club member #075
Maryland Automotive Modelers Association
Have you ever noticed that those instruments designed to detect intelligent life in the universe are all pointed AWAY from Earth???
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Mine did that to me a while back and the ignition module in the distributor died.

Update:

I still have no spark from the distributor. I’ve changed the rotor, cap and ignition module. I have power to the battery side of the cap. The rotor is turning with the motor. What else should I check?

Help,
Bubba


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ACES member #04788
Maryland Chevelle Club member #075
Maryland Automotive Modelers Association
Have you ever noticed that those instruments designed to detect intelligent life in the universe are all pointed AWAY from Earth???
http://www.chevelles.com/showroom/Bubbas396.jpg

Hi Bubba

Well your down to the coil now. If you have a tach and it's shorted that will cut you off also. Good luck

Jim

After all the other checks it sounds like the coil is fried. Put a meter on it and set it on ohms and check the resistance on the coil. If it reads open theres your problem..

Jim / Randy,

Thanks for the replies. I replaced the coil which I referred to as the ignition module. I guess it’s really a coil pack. I don’t have a conventional coil mounted anywhere. If the tach (old Sun tack) is shorted out can I unplug the tach wire from the distributor and see if it runs?

Over


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ACES member #04788
Maryland Chevelle Club member #075
Maryland Automotive Modelers Association
Have you ever noticed that those instruments designed to detect intelligent life in the universe are all pointed AWAY from Earth???
http://www.chevelles.com/showroom/Bubbas396.jpg

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by RandyB:
After all the other checks it sounds like the coil is fried. Put a meter on it and set it on ohms and check the resistance on the coil. If it reads open theres your problem..<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Randy,

One more thing. I checked the old coil pack (after I bought a new one) with a continuity tester and the coil has continuity. Does this mean that it’s not open?

Thanks,
Bubba



------------------
ACES member #04788
Maryland Chevelle Club member #075
Maryland Automotive Modelers Association
Have you ever noticed that those instruments designed to detect intelligent life in the universe are all pointed AWAY from Earth???
http://www.chevelles.com/showroom/Bubbas396.jpg

Bubba396,
Check the module, it is located under the rotor, bolted to the bottom of the dist. This same thing happened to me and that was the problem. Also disconnect the tach from the dist. and that will rule out the tach. Good Luck!

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Nathan Brandt
The more cubes the better!!!
70 SS 396 4spd under restoration
71 SS 454 clone 8.8 1/8 on pump gas and 8" slicks
60' 1.949 & 77 MPH
Team Chevelle # 1143
ACES # 5391
My 71 SS 454 clone (http://www.chevelles.com/showroom/nate71.jpg)

[This message has been edited by Nate (edited 08-12-2002).]

Nate,

The real problem here is I was looking for points when I removed the distributor cap (I’ve been locked up in a time capsule). I just learned the difference between the coil and a module. I think I have everything in perspective now. Thanks for the info.

Bubba


------------------
ACES member #04788
Maryland Chevelle Club member #075
Maryland Automotive Modelers Association
Have you ever noticed that those instruments designed to detect intelligent life in the universe are all pointed AWAY from Earth???
http://www.chevelles.com/showroom/Bubbas396.jpg

Final update:

It was the module. The car is running.

I'm a little wiser today than I was yesterday.

Thanks for all the help,
Bubba

------------------
ACES member #04788
Maryland Chevelle Club member #075
Maryland Automotive Modelers Association
Have you ever noticed that those instruments designed to detect intelligent life in the universe are all pointed AWAY from Earth???
http://www.chevelles.com/showroom/Bubbas396.jpg