[pop d top]

I removed and replaced the HEI while working on my car and now get NO SPARK. There is a full 12V at the wire I had previously run when the ignition switch is in run. If I have my Voltmeter on the wire then "touch" the wire to the BATT terminal in the cap...voltage drops to less than a volt (I don't know if that's significant or a red herring). I swapped out the coil AND the module from another running HEI equipped car and the other car ran fine, but the "new" parts still had me spark free. Swapped everything back...no changes. I'm sure it's something stupid and simple that I'm overlooking...but I'm more than a bit frustrated and confused. Heeeeeelp!?!?

SKIP

 

[JWagner]

Sounds like a power supply problem rather than the HEI. Try putting a jumper direct from a +12v source to the HEI to test it out.

 

[pop d top]

That's what I was in the process of doing when I started checking things with my Vmeter and found I apparently had full power to the feed wire. I'll give it a try anyway and let you know what happens.

SKIP

 

[pop d top]

OK so mostly good news here...ran a wire directly from the +battery post to the BATT connector on the cap and Voila! engine fires! Obviously had to pull the wire to shut it back off.

So where do I go from here? The "IGN" terminal I used before from the fuse block does appear to pass 12V with the ignition key in run. It just gets sucked down to 1V when I actually connect it to the distributor. Help me understand. Any suggestions on how to make it work from the fuse block OR another place to tap an IGN circuit?

SKIP

 

[Ark68SS]

Originally posted by pop d top:
There is a full 12V at the wire I had previously run when the ignition switch is in run. If I have my Voltmeter on the wire then "touch" the wire to the BATT terminal in the cap...voltage drops to less than a volt (I don't know if that's significant or a red herring).
SKIP

To read the voltage at the wire, one lead is attached to the wire, and the other lead to a ground. If you attach one lead to one end of the wire, and the other lead to another end of the wire, you are reading voltage drop. Less than 1V is normal.

You may have a bad connection at the bulkhead connector on the firewall. Loosen the bolt in the connector & pull it apart and look for corrosion on the terminals, clean them up and put the connector back together & see what you get.

BL

 

[pop d top]

For that test I described, I had the black lead on the intake manifold and the red + lead on the connector on the feed wire, then with the Vmeter lead still touching the feed wire, I touched it's connector to the BATT terminal on the distributor cap.

I have a new engine wire harness, but the underdash harness hasn't been replaced yet. I guess it's easy enough to pull the two apart and check for corrosion.

Thanks,

SKIP