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My son recently bought a 78 chrysler cordoba with a 400 cid that has been slightly modified. The lean burn is long gone, but has run fine until a couple of days ago. We tried to start it tonight and we are not getting any spark to the plugs.
Where would be a good place to start troubleshooting? We have adaquate voltage and it seems to turn over just fine, plenty of gas getting it also.
Here is what we know has been modified: holley double pumper, edelbrock performer rpm manifold, headers, flowmast exhuast, tranny work, has a cam with a noticable lope to it, and a Proform electronic distributor conversion kit Jegs part #778-66993.
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2009 Flex limited, everything except navigation, and the cooler in the back armrest.
2002 Ford Ranger, 4.0l 4X4, lifted, 35" tires
1999 Ford F350 ex. cab, long box, 4X4, 6 speed, manual hubs,171k, build date 7-98
No spark to the plugs is pointing at the distributor and or ignition coil. I am not familiar with that electronic distributor but that is where I would start.
If I remeber correctly, there is a ceramic connector mounted on the firewall on the passenger side of the car. It should have 4 wires attached via spade plugs. I think these were called ballast resistors at the time.
They used to go bad all the time and would prevent the Mopars from starting. They weren't too expensive to replace. And they were pretty easy to replace. Usually held in place with 1 screw.
Good luck,
Marc
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2005 F-250 Supercab 4x4 Lariat long bed 6 speed, Vegistroke V3 WVO system, integrated brake controller, upfitter switches, TTM, South Texas Outfitters custom front end replacement, Whelen Liberty LED lightbar, Whelen Dominator LED front bar, hidden front strobes, rear LED's and strobes, Rhino liner, Whelen 200 watt siren, Havis Consolidator console, and other hidden goodies. Pictures are in "Shoebox" album. http://community.webshots.com/user/vtfireftr
We replaced the ignition coil last night, that didn't help any so the next thing we are going to is have teh ignition control module check and get a new ballast resistor also.
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2009 Flex limited, everything except navigation, and the cooler in the back armrest.
2002 Ford Ranger, 4.0l 4X4, lifted, 35" tires
1999 Ford F350 ex. cab, long box, 4X4, 6 speed, manual hubs,171k, build date 7-98
Those modules were terrible for a long time on both Mopar and Ford.
On our 78 + 80 Ford we would always carry an extra when I was a kid. Something changed in the electronics world and they got much better over night.
Maybe that is it?
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1996 F-250 extended cab long box five speed. Home made Tymar, 203 Stat, 60 gal in bed fuel cell, 315/75's, no muffler, ebpv welded open 3" to 3" DP, Babies. 290K, still chugging, and still smoking when cold.
UPDATED 1/1/09 Replace so far. 1 LUK flywheel+clutch, 2 thermostats, 2 set of brakes, 1 set of calipers, 5 CPS, 3 sets of tires, 2 Transfer pumps, 1 Injector modual, 1 Computer, 2 Alt, 2 sets of batteries, 1 Water pump, 6 Belts, 1 PS hose, 2 Sets ball joints, 2 set u-joints, 2 carrier bearing, 2 Speed sensors, 1 oil pres sender, 1 temp sender, 4 sets of e-break cables, 1 front fuel tank, 2 rear fuel tanks, 2 set of glow plugs, 7 Glow plug relays, Oil galley o-rings, Turbo pedistal o-rings, EBPV o-rings, 3 sets of Injector O-rings, 1 Vac-pump, 1 new carpet, 1 total paint job.Total $$$ in repairs v/s miles driven = 4.6 cents per mile. Add fuel to that it jumps to 16.5 cents per mile over the life of the truck.
We replaced the ignition coil last night, that didn't help any so the next thing we are going to is have teh ignition control module check and get a new ballast resistor also.
Hopefully you got the correct replacement coil...
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Rick.....
97 F 350 ...Lucky 13 "Most stuff's just stuck & needs hittin with a hammer"....
Quote:
Most people come here for the facts ...not a hug ...
No rich corithian leather, no power windows, no power locks. I went out the next morning to start it and it fired right up. Still going to check the module and ballast though.
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2009 Flex limited, everything except navigation, and the cooler in the back armrest.
2002 Ford Ranger, 4.0l 4X4, lifted, 35" tires
1999 Ford F350 ex. cab, long box, 4X4, 6 speed, manual hubs,171k, build date 7-98
... I swapped the ignition back to reliable points & did away with the electronic crap.
That's funny, I've had exactly the opposite result with every gas engine of the in-between vintage I've ever worked on: Once I replaced mechanical points with a solid-state electronic igniter, they never again needed tune-ups, timing/dwell adjustment or ignition repair. I also never suffered degraded performance due to sort-of needing new points, but not getting them, and was never haunted by an ignition system which sort-of works.
As for the original question, find the book for the ignition system which is actually in there. Even if I were an expert on antique Chrysler engines, it wouldn't matter because it's not Chrysler hardware.
One problem I have encountered with mid-vintage electronic distributors with a magnetic pickup: Installing the star wheel upside-down can wreak havoc. Now the sloped rising edge and the sharp falling edge are reversed, the electronics don't switch the coil properly or consistently and there's excessive stress & heat in the semiconductors.
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Douglas Campbell, P.E.
1986 Isuzu P'up, 177,673.8 miles.
- Hella headlights (highly recommended)
- DOT C-2 back end (also recommended)
- R-12 air conditioner converted to R-406a. Saved ozone and money
- 4.1:1 final drive converted to 3.4:1. Quieter, better mileage but it's a good thing I live in the flat Midwest.
- 9/22/2007, age 21: Still running well when reluctantly sent away for reincarnation, due to body & frame rust.
Last edited by drcampbell; 11-27-2008 at 02:08 AM.
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