got a sparky question.... yet again

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kickywow

kickywow

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i have been trying to start after rewiring the whole ignition system within the engine compartment, i used to have weak spark but now i have very bright spark.... when it fires which is only when the key is initially turned, and the other time it likes to spark is when the key is turned back to off position.

it doesn't spark when cranking, but when intially turned on or back to off position i get on spark (got shocked today too! the car is fighting back).

if any of you wiser, more knowledgeable mopar enthusiasts could possibly shed some light on why the power only reaches distributor at those times.

the car is a 71 dodge dart swinger, upgraded to electronic ignition.

could it be ignition switch? bad wires behind the instrument cluster? i have (in the past) connected a wire from positive on the battery to positive on the coil and still recieved no spark while cranking. help me... if you can... i want to hear that big bad rumble of my 318 again8)

sorry for the long posts.
 
do you still have both ignition leads coming from the ignition switch hooked up? There's one for cranking and one for when the key is only in the "run" position. This is to provide hotter starting spark with the ballast resistor system that is stock.
 
when you cycle power on the coil it induces voltage in the coil. that parts normal. does it have 12 v on the coil positive termanal when you are cranking the moter over.if you do could be distributor or ignition modual or wireing
 
sweet thanks for all the answers im gonna start with these and work with it, i did not use a kit, i found a 4 prong plug in a junkyard, bought the 4 prong box from the shop, and wired it up, and recently re-wired it to make sure everything was right

and gold duster which two wires are you talking about... from the ignition switch? this sounds possible to me

i think i may just go buy new resistor they aren't that expensive...

if you think of anything else ill talk all the feedback
 
I dont know if you have a new distributor or not. But after checking whats already been said it could be a the pick up in the distributor. I had that same porblem in my 70 cuda and thats what it turned out to be.
 
What are you using for instructions or reference? Here's some stuff that may help:

MP instructions
Electrical Diagrams and info

So does this make one spark when the key is turned on, and one when turned off? The coil fires after first, positive voltage is supplied to the positive terminal, a ground is applied to the negative terminal to create a current flow, and build-up of a magnetic field in the primary, and then when the ground is taken away from the negative terminal, the magnetic field collapses, and induces a voltage in the secondary windings of the coil. Points used to create the ground, and then the breaking of that circuit is what created the spark. With electronic ignition, the distributor has a coil (the sensor, or pick-up), and when the reluctor comes close to it, the ignition module senses this, and breaks the circuit to the negative side of the coil, causing the spark.

Is there power on the correct terminal of the ignition module with the key in on and when in start? Is there power to the positive side of the coil in on and start. With points, this is usually around 9v. I'm assuming it is the same with electronic since it still uses the ballast. I've never had electronic ignition, so I'm guessing at all this. The ignition module creates the pulsing ground that makes the spark, and it isn't exactly a ground. It's what can be called a current sink. It's creating a path to ground through the emitter of a transistor, which usually have around a .7v drop across them or something. You may need a diode checker function of a digital meter, and I don't know if it would operate fast enough for you to see anything while cranking. You may be able to read a forward voltage with power to it on the terminal that goes to the negative side of the coil since the reluctor passing by the pick-up causes the module to break the ground, and it applies the current sink the rest of the time. I'm thinking you should read some kind of resistance in the pick-up in the distributor, too. These are the things I would check if I was troubleshooting. Here's the order I would use:
1. Wiring per the MP instructions above.
2. Check for voltage at module and coil in on and start.
3. Check for resistance in pick-up.
4. Check for ground at negative side of coil coming from ignition module.
 
thansk again guys i dont have time to work on it today but i do tomorrow, ill give these a shot
 
if it was the balast resistor it would spark wile the starter was engagd. you know it has power because it sparks when you turn it on.so it pionts to the module not getting trigerd by the distributor or bad module.
 
cudaman51 said:
if it was the balast resistor it would spark wile the starter was engagd. you know it has power because it sparks when you turn it on.so it pionts to the module not getting trigerd by the distributor or bad module.
Click to expand...

so cudaman51,

your saying it would be the module or the distributor causing this problem possibly, would it just be safe to go ahead and replace the module and maybe the ballast?
 
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