Hey Guys, I have an problem. While driving my car at any given time and for no given reason, my car will just die completely and i will be free rolling down the street. I immediately slap it into neutral and start it right back up without even having to pump the gas. I did noticed a few times that i kinda heard a vacuum noise right when it shut off. It also doesnt matter if im on the throttle or braking or sitting at the light. This makes me feel like it might be something electrical but i honestly have no clue. Maybe you guys can at least just point me in the right direction

 

Stock points type ignition?

 

I'm guessing you've upgraded to HEI.
Replace the module...common item.

 

Yes it has a HEI distributor. I am pretty novice when it comes to motors. Is the module located under the cap? Forgive my ignorance............lol

 

I also forgot to mention that last night while i was driving it i noticed that the rpm on my tach drop everytime it would stall out. one time it backfired.

 

yeah either the module or the coil is going bad. the module is under the rotor in the distributor, couple screws no biggie to change out.

 

Change both the coil and module. If one fails, the other is not far behind. Use "ACDelco" or "Standard" parts (both available through rockauto.com) and PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE make sure you put heat sink compound (like what's between your CPU and Fan on your computer) on the bottom of the module. DO NOT use dielectric grease. That will make the module retain heat instead of bleeding out to the distributor body. The heat sink compound (available at radio shack or fry's electronics) is critical. Let us know if you need more help. Good luck!

 

You fellas are awesome. I will order those two components now. I will let you know how it turns out.

Thanks

 

Or you don't have a full 12v going to it. Resistance will increase as the engine compartment heats up. Somewhere around 8v the HEI will drop out. Is the resistor wire attached to it for power or has it been replaced with a dedicated 12v source?

 

I am not sure about the resistor wire. I will have to check when i get home. I have had the car since August with no problem and then last week this just started happening. I hope it is something as simple as replacing the resistor wire. thanks

 

Wow, I learn something every day! I had no idea the increased resistance could overheat the module, but that makes sense.

As far as the 12v to the coil, I removed the factory harness from the firewall, unwrapped it, traced the resistance wire to the end, removed it, and replaced it with a 10ga wire with a packard blade connector at the end. Once I rewrapped it, it looked stock to me.

 

Soooo, does it run any better with 12v?

 

I traced the cables back from the distributor and i got a dedicated 12 v from the bat to the ignition controller unit. I am using the streefire system. from there i have dedicated wire to the coil and distributor. below are some pics of the wiring and the coil. somethign tells me that my coil connector leads are not supposed to look like that.

 

I have a question guys.......... Should i have an ignition module inside my distributor if i have the streetfire ignition system? Here is what i have

 

Looks like someone cobbled up a StreetFire amplifier to work with the HEI pickup.

Nothing wrong with it in theory, but makes it a bit tough to troubleshoot, especially since your problem occurs randomly.

At this point, my vote would be to just replace the whole thing. You could try going over all connections carefully (everything must be soldered), then, if the problem persists, changing the pickup, then, if the problem persists, changing something else (probably the amp), etc., but I think you'd do better to just drop in a working points or HEI distributor and be done with the whole issue.

- Eric

 

http://www.street-fire.com/pdf/5520.pdf

 

Thanks, George.

Looks like a clear troubleshooting guide in there.
He can short the magnetic pickup wires (Green and Purple) to rule out problems with the pickup, and the rest of it is pretty straightforward.

- Eric

 

Does it do this when it gets to a certain temperature? I have seen pickups in the disty quit working when they get to normal operating temp...

 

Thanks for the input guys....

MD.... I think your right. The proper way would be to just drop in a HEI distributor and be done.

Trip. Thas the guide i used to help me trace the setup.

Rob....It happens very very randomly. My car generally runs right at 190 degrees. i wish i could narrowit down more then that. I will look around for a hei Dizzy.

Thanks guys.

 

What HEI dizzy would you guys recommend that i can use with my current streetfire controller unit. Dont need nothing super fancy.

 

The only part in your distributor now that has to do with making a spark is the pickup.
If you are just going to swap parts, then why not get a new pickup and put that in, rather than a whole distributor?

My thought was to put in a different distributor and eliminate the whole system there, since you don't know which part is bad. You've got a randomly occurring momentary intermittent, which, if it is the way you describe it, will be nearly impossible to find.

The next question is, Why do you want to have the StreetFire amplifier in the first place?
Is this a racing engine? Do you rev unusually high? Do you need a rev limiter?

Maybe it's time you told us a little bit more about your engine. You waited until Post 14 to tell us that you had an aftermarket ignition and not HEI - what else should we know that you haven't told us?

If this is a more or less stock motor, then go get a junk yard distributor and put it in so you can drive your car safely, and troubleshoot the rest of this at your leisure. Either that or take a chance on a new pickup. If the pickup doesn't do it, you can replace the stock module and eliminate the aftermarket one without having to change the actual distributor.
If it were me, I'd drop in another distributor if I could get one for $5 or $10, and if not, I'd buy a pickup and module, change the pickup, and carry the module in the glove compartment, so that I could fix it when it really fails, which it will sooner or later.

Oh, final question - Are you running an HEI coil or a separate coil? OEM or aftermarket?

- Eric

 

Sorry about that MD, this is all foriegn to me.lol

This is by no means a race motor and I am not partial to keeping the streetfire system. It just happen to be on the car when i got it. It currently is using a accel super hei coil and cap. I take it that if i swap to and old distributor i am going to have to get a regular coil correct.

Once again thanks for all the input. You guys have definately pointed me down the right path.

 

Others may have personal experience with this coil, but I don't think there would be a problem - as far as I know, any HEI coli should work in the HEI system.

Since you've got most of the HEI parts already, I'd recommend getting a standard HEI module and installing it, eliminating the StreetFire module, and seeing if that solves the problem. If not, then you can change the pickup, and if that doesn't do it, the coil.

OR you can get a used HEI distributor from the junk yard or a member here, and just replace the whole darn thing and be done with it.

- Eric