318 Wont Start!

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J

jeffduster

Duster
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ok the other day i was working on my car (74 duster 318)cause it seemed like it had a lag or something in it and when it idle its was horable. so i replaced the spark plug wires the spark plugs and the cap and the rotor ran good for about a week and started doing the same thing it felt like i was driving a tank cause it was really really slow i had it floored and it wasnt going anywhere. so now i went to go look at it and the distriputor cap wasnt on all the way so i tryed to put it on i could hook one side but not the other. i made sure there were no wires going into it but it was on the way it was suppose to but still nothing its not getting any spark because it will try to turn over but nothing.... and if it sounds like i dont know what im doing it is because i dont this is my first mopar but im a fast learner...
thanks
Jeff duster
 
Jeff, first get that cap on correctly. Sometimes it just takes a tweak one way or the other and it'll drop the rest of the way on. Then you need to try to start it. If it start you are fine. If not, you need to learn the circuit and follow the voltage. Check back when you get the cap on.
 
Jim Lusk said:
Jeff, first get that cap on correctly. Sometimes it just takes a tweak one way or the other and it'll drop the rest of the way on. Then you need to try to start it. If it start you are fine. If not, you need to learn the circuit and follow the voltage. Check back when you get the cap on.
Click to expand...


Check timing After you get the dist cap on tight,

timing chains do wear out,:(

ballast resistors do too. ;)
 
Start simple here, I had the same prob, would not start, I figured no spark. Have someone hold the carb open for you and try starting it! Mine would not even "burp" or "fire" untill I tried this and it fired right up! Had to clean the carb up and she fires right now.....good luck!
 
Try to isolate your problem; first I'd check spark:
1. spark from dist to spark plugs?
2. from coil to dist?

If there is spark at the spark plug --> you may have carb related problem = no gasoline.

If there is no spark --> you have to check your ignition system:
- plugs
- wires
- dist
- coil
- ignition module
- ballast resistor

And check your ground - from battery - engine - body.

Start working systematically and isolate the problem, then it's easier to suggest what to change/fix. Good luck and keep us posted!
 
If the motor was running with out the cap being held down properly ,there is a chance it broke the rotor. easy to check just pull the cap and look ...be sure that cap is held in place properly...
 
You can also look at the pickup and the reluctor, 9 chances out of 10 if you don't have spark and you did then the pickup is 90% the fault, this is very overlooked and one of the faults of the factory chrysler ign. is that the pickup will loosen up and move and even though the engine runs the reluctor could still be hitting the pickup. If it is the reluctor and the pickup should be replaced, or in your case change the distributor, other wise the distributor has to come apart to be repaired. Just some more thoughts.


BJR Racing
 
Once I had the same problem. My rotor and cap weren't matched up even though I bought them at the same place. I guess the gap between them was defective, but once I tried again, my 318 never ran so good! I guess that warping or defects in manufacturing can occur in parts like this, and you should not get discouraged. I can tell you that the rewards to owning and driving Mopars far surpass any risks or problems! - Notorious318
 
one more thing you might wont to look at, remove the cap and have someone try
to start the car, to make sure that the rotor is going around. I just bought a ramcharger real cheep because it wouldn't start. come to find out the distributor
was seized and the drive blade was seared off.but the engine would still try to fire on the one cylinder that the distributor was stuck one.
 
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