Starting issue

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dustya_383

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Hey guys having a problem getting my stroker to fire up.
So I had car running but took off intake re sealed it etc. put it back together and it's not firing. I triple checked my timing making sure I was at tdc compression and rotor on dizzy was pointing at cylinder 1 .I have spark , I have fuel . This thing will not fire to save my life I've advanced timing a bit , retarded it a bit nothing sounds like it wants to fire but no dice. It back fires, and has a weird noise out exhaust I'm stuck now and exhausted my options and not sure what else to do any help would be great thanks guys
 
Did you pull the oil pump drive? If the engine gets turned over without it.Go back to step one.
 
You have spark,guessing on compression yes.Leaves fuel.You have a pump shot,from the squirters? Old school analog Msds,like a consistent 12 v.
 
I have fuel getting to carb I have msd box 12v tied in to ballast resistor wires all spliced together .
 
When dropping the dizzy back in,is the rotor pointing at #1 when at TDC ? You might be 180* out?Pull the dizzy,spin 180* and drop it back in.Good luck.
 
Nope , but before I pulled intake it would fire first time have yet to get timing set to what I want due to other issues vac leak and such is it possible for rotor to be pointing in right direction and still be 180 off??
 
Nope , but before I pulled intake it would fire first time have yet to get timing set to what I want due to other issues vac leak and such is it possible for rotor to be pointing in right direction and still be 180 off??
Yes it can still be 180* out.Where are you getting vacuum leaks?Also check fuel filters for dirt.Gotta go to work now.:D
 
the rotor can be pointing to kansas , it doesnt matter. get you a piston stop or make one. install in the number one hole, bring the engine up by hand until it stops. pull the cap and put the number one wire at the terminal the rotor is firing at. then wire it accordingly clockwise 18436572.




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Rotor Under Cap Spins:
Clockwise​
 
The short version of "below" is...................

Remove no1 plug, stick your finger in the hole, and bump the engine until you start to feel compression. Then watch the timing marks, and slowly rotate the crank until the timing marks come up NOT to TDC, but WHERE you want initial timing, be it 15 BTC, 20, whatever.

Then see if the rotor is JUST APPROACHING the no1 cap tower. Easy way is to mark the dist. rim below the cap tower so you can see with cap off. Rotate dist. until reluctor is centered in pickup coil, approach this "from retard" by rotating dist. CCW slowly.

START the engine!!

===========================================================================================================


The thing" about timing traditional V8 engines. This does NOT apply to some V6s (even/odd fire) and some 4 bangers.

"The book" shows how to insert the intermediate shaft, that is the drive gear/ oil pump drive, and if done properly, everything comes out "OK"

THE REASON it is originally done that way is

so the assembly line folk can wrench, repeat

so the plug wires "lay" nice

so the tune up guys "see" what they expect.

The TRUTH is you can close your eyes and drop the drive gear in ANYPLACE, plug the distributor in "any" old way, and and then bring the timing marks up on no1 ready to fire, and plug the no1 wire in wherever the rotor points, and it will run just fine.

If the vacuum can is off interfering with something, you can simply turn it where you want, bring no1 up to fire, and plug the no1 wire into where the rotor is pointing.

HERE IS the steps to setting up an engine dist.

1---It is important to realize, that when the cam timing marks are set "by the book" that is cam at 6 o'clock, crank at 12 o' clock, this is NOT no1 ready to fire, but rather no6 ready to fire.

So you either have to plug in the dist. pointing to no6, or rotate the engine 1 turn

2---After the cam is timed, with the timing marks on TDC, the "book" shows how to insert the intermediate shaft. if yours is incorrect and you want to correct it, you can simply use a large screwdriver and "walk" the gear up out of the helix and move it whichever way it needs

The gear on a small block should have the slot pointing nearly straight inline with the crank, just a tad to the driver side pointing at the front most manifold bolt

A B/RB gear the slot should be essentially inline with the crank

3---With this in place, now bring up the no1 cylinder ready to fire NOT on TDC but rather WHERE you want initial timing to be. There are two ways to do that

A---If either valve cover is off, bring the timing marks up to where you want initial time, IE 10BTC or so for a bone stocker, 15-20 for a "cam" or maybe even a little more for a real hot cam
Look at either the no1 or no6 valves. Whichever set of valves is CLOSED indicates which cylinder is ready to fire. If no 6 are closed, you can either plug the dist. in with rotor pointing to rear (no6) or rotate the crank one turn, and plug the dist in for no1 (rotor pointing forward)

B---If the valve covers are on, pull the no1 plug, stick your finger in the hole, and bump the engine around. When you START to feel compression, watch the timing marks, and bring them up to initial time, IE 10-12 BTC

Now plug the dist. in, rotor pointing forward, and put the vacuum can approximately where it should be.

I always mark the dist. upper rim directly under the no1 tower so I don't have to argue with teh cap.

Rotate the dist RETARD (cw for small block, ccw for B/RB) to "get the slack" out of the drive, then slowly ease the housing back advanced until

the points open if you are using points

or until the reluctor tip is centered in the pickup coil core.

This procedure should get you close enough that the engine will start and run with no fuss. Then of course just take your timing light and adjust from there

An aside.

I'm a HUGE believer in checking actual TDC with a piston stop, which you can make or buy

cca-4795.jpg


Small block intermediate shaft below. The slot lines up with the front left intake manifold bolt. You can walk the gear up and around with a screwdriver

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B, RB, 426 hemi:

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You definitely need a timing light. Used ones are almost free at garage sales. I got a new digital one off ebay for ~$35. Sounds like you set the distributor correctly since you said "TDC on compression". I assume you pulled the #1 plug and put your finger in the hole to feel for compression. Also, that your "#1" is indeed the fwd-most cylinder (driver's side). Note that #2 (passenger's) is not exactly in-line with #1. If the timing light flashes close or before TDC while cranking and no fire, try spraying some starter fluid down the carb.
 
Also, HOW are you checking for spark EXACTLY?

Jumpering the starter relay is NOT the same as using the key in "start" because the bypass circuit is not in use when you jumper the relay

Therefore a problem in the start/ bypass circuit won't "show up" (the brown wire, IGN2 to the coil+ side of the ballast) is only activated when twisting the key.
 
Also, HOW are you checking for spark EXACTLY?

Jumpering the starter relay is NOT the same as using the key in "start" because the bypass circuit is not in use when you jumper the relay

Therefore a problem in the start/ bypass circuit won't "show up" (the brown wire, IGN2 to the coil+ side of the ballast) is only activated when twisting the key.

Yes I was checking it thru relay. I will double check from actually turning key. IF there is no spark what would be the culprit?
 
You definitely need a timing light. Used ones are almost free at garage sales. I got a new digital one off ebay for ~$35. Sounds like you set the distributor correctly since you said "TDC on compression". I assume you pulled the #1 plug and put your finger in the hole to feel for compression. Also, that your "#1" is indeed the fwd-most cylinder (driver's side). Note that #2 (passenger's) is not exactly in-line with #1. If the timing light flashes close or before TDC while cranking and no fire, try spraying some starter fluid down the carb.

I have a timing light just have yet to get it on there. I have a feeling she's 180 out and maybe I'm on the wrong side of the compression stroke . I did the old stuff a piece of paper towel on plug whole and bump engine til it flew out trick then turn it back to zero and that would be tdc . Maybe I'm overlooking something very simple not sure ill play with it tomorrow after work see what happens
 
An aside..................It would be helpful if you downsized your photos so giant photos don't load with every post

On jumpering the relay. You need to understand how Mopar ignition works. The older Ferds/ GM which used an ignition bypass circuit did this at the starter relay/ solenoid. But Mopar does it IN THE ignition switch. Again, the brown wire serves only one function. I comes off the IGN switch, and is known as "IGN2" and is hot ONLY in start. It ONLY goes one place --from the ign switch, through the bulkhead connector, and to the coil + side of the ballast resistor.

Two things-----the "ignition run" circuit is COLD during cranking, so the ONLY source of ignition voltage USING THE KEY to crank is the brown bypass circuit

So if something is wrong with the "ign run" (IGN1) circuit, you will not have voltage in run, and the car will fire and die when cranked using the key

If something is wrong with the IGN2/ bypass circuit, the car will not start with the key, but you will get POOR spark if jumpering the starter relay, because you will be getting LOW ign voltage with key on/ and through the ballast resistor.
 
67Dart273's comment is correct. Besides IGN2 not coming out of the key switch correctly, it could get lost on the path thru your bulkhead connector. Connect a multimeter from coil+ to gnd. It should measure close to battery voltage (>8 V) while an assistant turns the key switch. You should also see bright flashes on your in-line spark tester.

Thanks for detailing how you determined TDC on compression. It is possible that the engine spun around another rev after you cut the starter, so you were actually off 180. I have usually turned one over by hand while feeling for pressure. On some engines you can do that by pulling on the fan belts. Otherwise, I use a remote switch and jog it, stopping as soon as I feel pressure, then manually rotate more to TDC.
 
Hey guys .so I did what 67dart273 said and set timing markers to where I wanted which was about 18degdrees.. Rotor on dizzy was off so I adjusted it , and she fired up. So that's good but now I can't get this thing to idle to save my life it will idle for a a few seconds then start to stutter an die then I have to hit accelerator to get it going then that process repeats and keeps repeating. Its like the carb just stops giving fuel and craps out til I give it gas . On top of that the engine will shoot up in rpm by itself and i have to bring throttle down , and then it stutters (this is what keeps repeating)I can't run it long enough to get a light on it to set timing. The vacuum gauge is all over the place , . Let me remind you I'm doing this by myself(trying to Adjust throttle watch vac gauge watch temp gauge, adjust dizzy and look at timing marks ) I really really need a hand. CITY IS COMING DOWN ON ME FOR MY CAR So I need it moving ASAP. Also. Another issue is I hear a ticking noise from inside the primaries very loud and no idea what it is or what's causing it . Thanks in advanced guys. And thanks for giving me tips on getting it started and this far.

PS SORRY ABOUT THE BIG PICS IN MY SIG ILL TRY YO MAKE EM SMALLER AS SOON AS I CAN
 
Tell ya what. Pick the ones you want, "right click and save as" then repost them
 

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Erratic idle sounds like a vacuum leak.
Have a friend help feather the gas petal to keep it running, and spray some starting fluid around the carb base, intake gasket and see what is going on.
 
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