So I've installed my engine, and I'm just trying to get it fired up with no luck so far. It's a 394, and I've tried two different distributor setups (one with points, the other with an electric ignition module.)

• The starter is cranking / turning over.
• Fuel is getting to the carb.
• I've connected a test light to the coil and it's flashing on + off.
• Doesn't seem to be any spark at the plugs.
• Battery is known good, starter is rebuilt.
• I'm at least 50% sure the dist is at TDC and the firing order is correct.
• Ground wire from Batt seems to get pretty hot.

What are the steps I can take to troubleshoot?

-Justin

 

Did you use the same cap on both distributors. If so, that is where I would start. It just needs compression, fuel and a spark to run. What is the test light you are connecting to the coil? A bad coil could be a possiblity. Check the point gap. If you do not have a dwell meter, set it to 16 thousandths. Has the engine been rebuilt?

 

Always consider the condenser when these problems arise.
I've had two bad out of the box at different times - pulled my hair out.

- Eric

 

Justin, 394s might be considered notorious for the ring on the crankshaft damper spinning after the rubber between the ring and damper gets hard. If it's the original you can bet after 40 years it is hard. What you need to do is make sure the #1 cylinder is at top dead center on the compression stroke and then look at the timing marks on the ring. I have a suspicion that sucker has spun on you and there is no telling where it is in relationship to piston position and stroke. If that checks out then your next item to check is the ballast resistor. If it is fried you can crank all day and nothing is going to happen. Of course it could be as simple as a faulty distributor cap. These days the reproductions seem to be a hit and miss proposition. I've found the most correct to original specifications to be those manufactured by Echlin.

Good luck.....let us know what happens.

Jim

 

Unless you know for a fact that one or both are good, don't overlook the possibility that both are bad.


Go back and make it 100%.


Is this a 12V test light on the primary side of the coil? IF you have the ignition hot wire to the + side of the coil and the distributor side to the – side of the coil it sounds like the point side is working. Hook your timing light to the coil wire and check to see if you have coil output. If not, you're looking at the coil or points/condenser. If you have coil output, move to the next paragraph.


If you have coil output but no spark at the plug wires, check the cap and rotor. Inspect the inside of the cap for cracks or carbon traces that could short the spark down to the distributor housing. Check the contact at the top of the cap. You wouldn't be the first guy to get bite by a missing contact in the top of the cap.

 

394 firing order is different from the later engines. Make sure you have the plug wires in the correct firing order. It should be cast into the intake manifold.

 

Run a jumper wire directly to the coil from the battery and see if it starts an runs. That will take all the variables out of the picture. Just remember to turn it off you must disconnect that wire.

 

Also snap the points or better yet put a multi meter on them and see if the points are hot, if hot, work to the cap and on to the wires. Even if the harmonic dampener is shot car may not run but you would get fire to the wires....Tedd

 

Great suggestions! I'll give 'er another go tonight or tomorrow morning.

Here is a diagram of how I have everything hooked up.

 

While cranking there should be direct 12v to coil. It appears you have that wire from starter solenoid before ballast resistor which would drop the voltage...

 

In the diagram it seems you are running thru the ballast resistor at all times which is wrong. During cranking you need the full 12 volts and in the run position you need to run thru the resistor so you don't fry up your points

 

Also you will have to disconnect the battery to turn the motor off.

 

This is a link to the wiring diagram for your car. What you need is a copy of the manual for your car which shows the given circuit in detail. It is sufficient to say you're going to have to redo it.


http://www.oldcarmanualproject.com/t...re5765-283.jpg

 

I'm bypassing the main ignition and using a remote starter. i.e. I haven't wired it up to the ignition yet. This is just to test fire it.

 

Just move the wire from the starter to the other side of the resistor and you should be good to go.

 

Once I'm ready to hook everything up to the dash ignition rather than how I have it now... I have the 62 manual, but it specifies a resistor wire instead of a resistor block. I'm assuming I just wire the block where the resistor goes in the diagram, correct?

 

That resistance wire is already in the factory harness but it is bypassed in the ignition switch during cranking. If you're putting a ballast resistor in addition to the wire that's integrated into the harness, you're dropping voltage to where the coil cannot fire.

You need 12VDC to the coil (+) in ignition switch "start" position, then when the ignition switch returns to "run" the internal contacts switch to the resistor wire to power the coil and points at about 7 volts DC.

If you're running an electronic distributor most require constant 12VDC to perform properly. Some, like a Mallory Unilite, want 7-9VDC to operate. Others, like a Pertronix, will operate on either 12V or resistance wire but work best on constant 12V.

 

Ok, a little progress tonight.

I did the following:

Removed the distributor and bumped the engine over to make sure I was at TDC. I stuck a piece of paper towel in the #1 cyl and it shot out at exactly the center timing mark.

ALSO: Bypassed the resistor block.

Found another really old but unused-looking distributor cap on my shelf. Unplugged all the spark plug wires and reconnected to the new(old) cap on the distributor that has the electric ignition (I have the "Breakerless SE" unit). Made sure the rotor was 'pointing' to the #1 cyl.

Found a cheap spark plug test light. I didn't test all cylinders but it did nothing on #1 and weakly lit on cylinder #3 and #5. (didn't check the other side of the engine.) It also weakly flashed on the plug wire that connects from the coil to the distributor.

Unfortunately I can't find my multimeter anywhere.

I'm assuming the coil may be the culprit?

The other thing I noticed is that the starter is not turning the engine 'evenly'. It definitely kind of struggles at some point. I do have all the paperwork on the engine and it was rebuilt 9,000 miles ago (although this was in the early 90's). I actually started this engine with no problems last year. Seemed to run fine, but didn't check compression, etc. The starter itself was rebuilt by a reputable shop a year ago.

To top it off the fuel line is squirting gas on the manifold I've disconnected that and am just spraying carb cleaner and sea foam in the carb.

Other next steps? Thanks everyone for all the advice.

 

Electronic things make me nervous.

If you've got a coil around, it's easy enough to swap, but in my experience, most of the time if a coil goes, it goes when it's hot, not cold. I'd consider throwing a set of points and condenser into the distributor to see if that fixes it. A quick test would be to pull the coil wire out of the distributor and lay it in a good position to get a good spark (about ½" from ground), give it a crank and see how the spark looks, then try disconnecting the Negative coil wire (to the distributor) and use a test wire to ground that terminal. With 12V connected to the coil (+), every time you touch the (-) wire to ground and then pull away again, you should get a good healthy spark from the big wire. If you don't then the problem is the coil. If you do, then the problem is the electronic doodad.

- Eric

 

Repair the fuel line and find a known good distributor.

 

Much more progress tonight!

Here's what I did:

• Bought a new Echelin (?) coil from NAPA
• Disconnected the leaky fuel line to carb and blew out the gas from the line
• Put my "Breakerless SE" ignition module + distributor back in the car
• Set my timing manually to exactly 7.5' BTDC
• Plugged the vacuum line on the distributor
• Sprayed starter fluid in the carb
• Bumped the engine over

It fired and ran for a few seconds. Holy crap it was loud and lots of smoke. No exhaust attached.

Next steps:

• Check my old coil and return the new one if it works
• Fix the fuel line (I think some of the threads in the carb are toast).
• Connect to the main ignition system (been using a switch to bump the solenoid)
• Get the exhaust installed!

Thanks everyone for the advice - I tried just about everything listed on this thread. It really helps to hear everyone's approach to solving a problem!