Moparts
nerves shot part 2, help guys!!
Posted By: mopower440
nerves shot part 2, help guys!! - 05/12/12 10:55 PM
Those that have not read the first post here it is
https://board.moparts.org/ubbthreads/show...rue#Post7184797anyways, i pulled a set of plugs off the shelf that was used in this car for a small time and changed out for different ones, they are good and never fouled, i put them in and still nothing! It wont even try to hit. It is indeed firing. I can take one of the plugs that i pulled out of the engine and stick it in one of the wires and she fires.. I dont know what else to do to get it started..Is there any way to get all of the gas out of the cylinders so i can start again with a brand new set of plugs?
Posted By: mopower440
Re: nerves shot part 2, help guys!! - 05/12/12 11:25 PM
ya, just tried again, i pulled the number one plug wire off and stuck one of the fouled plugs i took out of the engine into the wire and had the wife crank it over and it fired the plug, blue spark, but it refuses to hit, even with a shot of starting fluid. carb does spray when i hit the accelerator..
The thing ran perfect when i parked it, doesnt make sense..
Posted By: roadrunninMark
Re: nerves shot part 2, help guys!! - 05/13/12 12:12 AM
What material is the cap and rotor and how old is it? If it is a cheap cap and rotor (contact pieces made from aluminum instead of brass/copper) they will wear to a point and then just not want to run anymore and will show like things are normal (as the resistance of the plug in the cylinder is too much). Try replacing with a new cap and rotor made of good material from a good manufacturer, not one at pep boys and such. Plugs gapped correctly? As stupid as this question is but are the plug wires fully on the plug after you put them back in?
Posted By: mopower440
Re: nerves shot part 2, help guys!! - 05/13/12 12:19 AM
ya, the wires are on the plugs fully. The cap and rotor are not very old, the engine doesnt have any more than 2000 miles on it since i built it 8 years ago. Dont drive it much. I usually pull it out every now and then and wash it and drive it around for the day.
Posted By: mark7171
Re: nerves shot part 2, help guys!! - 05/13/12 01:00 AM
If you are sure about the timing and distributor slot on the mark, and one plug out sparks against the side while cranking with no start, look at the carb. Make sure it is not pouring fuel down the manifold.
Can you tell if it is ignition or Fuel?
Posted By: mopower440
Re: nerves shot part 2, help guys!! - 05/13/12 01:14 AM
no, thats the problem, both seem to be working fine!! I just dont get it...fuel, air, and fire normally equall BOOM! This is weird. unless the spark just is not strong enough..it is blue like it should be..If it has indeed fouled the plugs again are they ruined or can i take a torch to them and get them red hot and make them work again?
Posted By: mark7171
Re: nerves shot part 2, help guys!! - 05/13/12 01:19 AM
What type is this build. Why keep replacing plugs if they are new. What is fouling them fuel ? Let them dry out and reuse, I clean old plugs with fuel. Is the piston wacking them cause they are down to far, that would show damage. What cranking compression are you getting?
Posted By: mopower440
Re: nerves shot part 2, help guys!! - 05/13/12 02:14 AM
Its 9.4:1 compression, and no the pistons are not hitting the plugs. I built this thing 8 years ago and its been fine. The last time it flooded out and refused to start i had to replace the plugs, then it started. Ive already pulled and dried these plugs, still wont start..
Posted By: mark7171
Re: nerves shot part 2, help guys!! - 05/13/12 02:23 AM
Let us suppose you have carb off, 160 cranking compression on the gauge.
The carb is new or rebuilt and returned to base settings.
Fuel is in the bowls and near the correct height.
The ign ground is to the block and solid.
The power + source is coming from both column harness wires. One from the keyon source wire, and one from the cranking source wire.
Base timing is 30 mechically forced or 16 base mechanical with 10-12 from the vacuum pod. Still a good 30 for cold start up.
These facts true it should run. always. What is different?
Posted By: mopower440
Re: nerves shot part 2, help guys!! - 05/13/12 02:32 AM
ha, everything is very close, just my timing is slightly different and it has 180 psi cranking pressure. Timing is 18 initial and 32 total. Has a MP 284/484 cam installed 4 degrees advanced. stock intake and 452 heads. hooker fenderwell headers, thermoquad built by me to demonsizzlers specs. Been the same for the last 8 years since i built it and only has about 2000 miles on the build..
Posted By: mark7171
Re: nerves shot part 2, help guys!! - 05/13/12 02:37 AM
18 at crank wont run well, may not light with that psi ,not without a vacuum pod supply another 10-12.
30 mechanically force will not crank and need a starter retard.
Usually.
My oppinion.
Posted By: mopower440
Re: nerves shot part 2, help guys!! - 05/13/12 02:43 AM
not understanding what you mean. I played with the timing for a long time to figure where in liked to be. If i advance the initial much more it cranks over real slow when hot..
Posted By: mark7171
Re: nerves shot part 2, help guys!! - 05/13/12 02:44 AM
That is why it should be vacuum supplied from a manifold vacuum source. Never had a pod at manifold vacuum not pull off at WOT causing detonation while driving.
You need a good 28-30 at start to idle right.
Hot start is challenging to get right. You will need a starter retard, and a vacuum pod. Learn how to tune the pod.
Posted By: mopower440
Re: nerves shot part 2, help guys!! - 05/13/12 02:46 AM
what is the difference in it advancing it by vacuum or mechanically when trying to start?
The last time it did this from setting too long the only thing that finally got it started was a new set of plugs. Could flooding it actually ruin the plugs? Pulling them and drying them out didnt fix it..
Posted By: mark7171
Re: nerves shot part 2, help guys!! - 05/13/12 02:49 AM
It is not starting / running because there is not enough initial timing being supplied. The fuel doesnot have enough lead time to burn at crank. It is doubtfull there is anything wrong with your plugs.
Posted By: mopower440
Re: nerves shot part 2, help guys!! - 05/13/12 02:53 AM
well, its always started and ran fine like it is, only time it pulls this crap is when i dont start it for 6 months or more..
anyhow, if i plug up the vacuum advance, how will i know if its right or advancing too much while cranking?
Posted By: mark7171
Re: nerves shot part 2, help guys!! - 05/13/12 02:56 AM
Mechaniclly set at 30 or locked out will not allow for the 20 or so it likes at about 2000 rpm WOT. Your initial and total sound good for wide open throttle. Now set the start up and cruise timing.
Also will not crank at locked mechanical 30,or might crank weak costing ignition energy.
I cannot set my 440 rpm package at 18 and 34 total mechanical with a Msd billet distruibutor and expect it to start without cranking the hell out of it. It needs the proper settings for the vacuuum hei system to drive around well.
Posted By: mopower440
Re: nerves shot part 2, help guys!! - 05/13/12 03:17 AM
ok but how do i set it for starting when it wont run?
Posted By: mark7171
Re: nerves shot part 2, help guys!! - 05/13/12 03:18 AM
Have your wife crank the key. You turn the distributor, advancing the timing until it starts then back it off. See if that helps.
You know which way is advance, correct? Clockwise on a 440.
What is your stall or is it 4 speed?
Here
Posted By: mopower440
Re: nerves shot part 2, help guys!! - 05/13/12 03:29 AM
Its 3500 stall. Off hand i dont remember which way i need to turn the distributor to advance it...been a while since ive been into this thing..lol..
Posted By: mark7171
Re: nerves shot part 2, help guys!! - 05/13/12 03:31 AM
Clockwise.
Read my edit. mark it so you can return it.
The 3500 stall is why it tolerated driving around with low inital and no vacuum advance.
What is your ignition set up? Can you wire in a stock Hei that autozone sells with a vacuum advance pod?
If you do not want the trouble contact Don at 4secondsflat.com. he will send you a built HEI that is perfect.
Posted By: mopower440
Re: nerves shot part 2, help guys!! - 05/13/12 03:41 AM
dont know what the autozone one is you speak of, what i have is the stock electronic ignition setup. has the ecu box mounted on firewall and has the coil on the intake and has the ballast resistor. stock setup. I just dont have the vacuum advance hooked up..dont remember why but it didnt act right or something..there was a reason i just dont remember..like i said, ive gotten out of it for a good while, thats why shes been sitting.. Its always wanted a lot of fuel to start after sitting a week or so, lots of pumps of the gas pedal. But if it sets for 6 months or so, it wont start..
Posted By: mark7171
Re: nerves shot part 2, help guys!! - 05/13/12 03:51 AM
You have the vacuum advance system, but you chose not to hook it up? It is my oppinion of 30 years wrenching that it is necessary for a driving car.
Are you playing around with me.
Attach the hose and suck on it see if the diaphram leaks. A allen wrench adjusts the vacuum advance . Do it through the tit. If the diaphram is good hook it up to manifold vacuum. With your mechanical curve set, it should be able to adjust close enough if not right on.
Posted By: mopower440
Re: nerves shot part 2, help guys!! - 05/13/12 04:01 AM
no, not playing..when hooked up it made it act crazy i just cant remember what it was.. i know when the engine was completely stock and it was hooked up it made the car buck under a light cruise..I didnt think the higher compression and bigger cam liked it hooked up.
Posted By: mark7171
Re: nerves shot part 2, help guys!! - 05/13/12 04:14 AM
A car on a dirt track for racing, like your picture is one thing. This sounds like a driven nice day car, which would mean a vacuum advance system is needed a the build levelyour talking. However you have worked around it for so long.
Bucking no. It will increase advance from manifold vacuum and smooth out part throttle driving. Then fall away to the mechanical curve for WOT sprints.
there could be more to your problem but that is a red light for me.
Posted By: Dougsmopars
Re: nerves shot part 2, help guys!! - 05/13/12 04:20 AM
I have the same cam. Holley Street dominator with 750 Quick fuel carb. MP dizzy with chrome box. I have the initial set at 20 degrees with a total of 38 all in by 2000. Cold one pump of gas pedal and it fires. If you have an MP distributor set your initial as much as it will take with out a hard hot start. The mechanical advance is adjustable to limit total advance and summit sells a nice little kit with degree paddels to set the total. In my case the motor loves 20 initial so with 20 initial i needed to limit mechanicial to 18 degrees. Set the 18 paddel in slot and adjusted it. Car starts right up cold or hot and no ping at wide open throttle.Do not use manifold vacunm for advance. Use the ported vac like it was designed with.
Posted By: mark7171
Re: nerves shot part 2, help guys!! - 05/13/12 04:30 AM
Quote:
I have the same cam. Holley Street dominator with 750 Quick fuel carb. MP dizzy with chrome box. I have the initial set at 20 degrees with a total of 38 all in by 2000. Cold one pump of gas pedal and it fires. If you have an MP distributor set your initial as much as it will take with out a hard hot start. The mechanical advance is adjustable to limit total advance and summit sells a nice little kit with degree paddels to set the total. In my case the motor loves 20 initial so with 20 initial i needed to limit mechanicial to 18 degrees. Set the 18 paddel in slot and adjusted it. Car starts right up cold or hot and no ping at wide open throttle.Do not use manifold vacunm for advance. Use the ported vac like it was designed with.
Sure it starts hot at 20 intial , What starter do you have, Battery CCA? There is something you arent saying.
My 440 will stop cranking hot around 18. After a 45 minute ride it needs a 10 degree retard to crank. Best setting with my manual 4speed is 18+18 for 36 total mechanical and 12 vacuum advance in stock MP HEI distributor with MSD 6al box and msd retard. 600 CCA diehard battery.
Yeah all in by 2000. Why bother. Have a vacuum advance at least.
Good luck threw you some pearls do not quit.
Posted By: Wicked49670dart
Re: nerves shot part 2, help guys!! - 05/13/12 06:45 AM
What type of coil do you have? Check the voltage at the pos and neg side of the coil with key on and while cranking and report back! What color ECU box do you have? Let me know Matt...
Posted By: mark7171
Re: nerves shot part 2, help guys!! - 05/13/12 02:02 PM
There is alot here, but we said that the ignition is solid. Meaning corretly wired and fully functioning.
Improper coil voltage would be a problem though. Based on information the tune sounded like the problem.
Use a scan tool that reads timing in degrees on any new performance vehicle. At idle the timing is around 40.
Posted By: mopower440
Re: nerves shot part 2, help guys!! - 05/13/12 04:36 PM
in 'run' i have 4.5 volts at the coil, if i bypass the ballast and run a jumper i have 7 volts at the coil, at the ballast i have 10 volts, and the battery has 12.5 volts..i dont know if thats not enough juice at the coil but thats the way its always been and runs just fine, just a b..ch to start after it sets for a while..I tried using 2 jumper wires straight from pos and neg at the coil to the pos and neg at the battery and cranked it, it wont fire the plugs like this for some reason.. unhooked the jumpers and tried cranking it again normally and they fire..
Posted By: mark7171
Re: nerves shot part 2, help guys!! - 05/13/12 04:39 PM
Shoot for 9 at the coil with that ignition. You have a problem. Is the resistor ballast shot?
Posted By: fourgearsavoy
Re: nerves shot part 2, help guys!! - 05/13/12 04:57 PM
If your timing is correct and the ignition is up to par the plugs will clean themselves
I never had any good Champion plugs so I would start with Denso,NGK, or Accell plugs.Some swear by Autolites
I like Denso Iridium plugs,they never foul with MSD and Firecore ignition components and they don't wear out.
I have also seen this type of problem with the cam timing off the mark
If you have anyone local to you with a 440 try the ignition system off their car and see if there is and difference,or you could also just try another carb
Sometimes you have to know what it isn't
Gus
Posted By: Wicked49670dart
Re: nerves shot part 2, help guys!! - 05/13/12 05:01 PM
What type of coil and ecu box do you have? Take a test light ground the lead to a good ground, probe the other lead to the neg side of the coil and crank the engine and see if the test flickers with wire connected orginally, the volts are too low 4.5/7.
Posted By: mark7171
Re: nerves shot part 2, help guys!! - 05/13/12 06:28 PM
plug brand is supersition.
Posted By: Ronnman
Re: nerves shot part 2, help guys!! - 05/13/12 06:30 PM
Quote:
I tried using 2 jumper wires straight from pos and neg at the coil to the pos and neg at the battery and cranked it, it wont fire the plugs like this for some reason.
If you ran the two jumpers as stated above, you prevented the breaking of the circuit on the negative post of the coil. Hence, no break, no spark! Retry the jumper pos battery post to pos terminal of coil. Negative battery post to the coil holding bracket or one of the bolts, not the NEGATIVE COIL TERMINAL. 4.5 volts at the coil is low. Give it another try with the setup I mentioned.
Ron
Posted By: Dougsmopars
Re: nerves shot part 2, help guys!! - 05/13/12 08:23 PM
Stock mopar starter. 600 cranking amp battery. Cam likes 20 degrees initial timing. I'd never run manifold vacunm. The ignition system was designed for ported vac to advance. For 35 years i've allways given as much initial as it would take with out a hard hot start. Most people will stick with 38 or 39 total. Car starts great and runs super. Not messing with what allways worked for me. Initial will change depending on cam used. My GTX runs the big Luniti Voodoo cam 513/533 and likes 21 initial 38 total. A stock cam won't like that much initial timing.
Posted By: mopower440
Re: nerves shot part 2, help guys!! - 05/13/12 08:52 PM
Quote:
Quote:
I tried using 2 jumper wires straight from pos and neg at the coil to the pos and neg at the battery and cranked it, it wont fire the plugs like this for some reason.
If you ran the two jumpers as stated above, you prevented the breaking of the circuit on the negative post of the coil. Hence, no break, no spark! Retry the jumper pos battery post to pos terminal of coil. Negative battery post to the coil holding bracket or one of the bolts, not the NEGATIVE COIL TERMINAL. 4.5 volts at the coil is low. Give it another try with the setup I mentioned.
Ron
ok, when i jumper the + from the coil to the + on the battery can i leave the original wire thats hooked to the + side of the coil hooked up?
also, i have a stock coil, parts house ECU and NGK plugs, i also have another chrome ecu i tried, still nothing
Posted By: Ronnman
Re: nerves shot part 2, help guys!! - 05/13/12 09:36 PM
I would disconnect the existing wire to the coil positive and wrap it in tape to prevent grounding out. Then jump to battery positive and try to start.
Ron
Posted By: mopower440
Re: nerves shot part 2, help guys!! - 05/13/12 10:40 PM
weird!!! So i put a jumper from pos battery to pos on coil, then a jumper from neg battery to coil bracket bolt, pulled number one plug wire off and stuck a spare plug in it and layed it on the block, turned key to run and jumped the 2 lugs on the fenderwell relay to turn it over, yes its sparking, so reconected number one plug wire and crank and crank, still nothing, wont even try to hit..so for the heck of it, i dug a spare coil off the shelf and hooked it up, again disconnected number one wire and stuck spare plug in to verify spark and jumped the lugs on the fenderwell, yup, it sparked but this time the engine tried to fire up!! Oh boy, i hooked number one plug wire back up and jumped in the car and cranked and it hit again, jumped out and gave it a shot of carb cleaner and it started and died, gave her another shot of carb cleaner and cranked and she started up and running good! Dont really understand why, both coils seemed to fire the plug the same but the other one wouldnt start the car..but shes running awesome now! There is 5.8 volts at the coil with the car idling..
Posted By: Ronnman
Re: nerves shot part 2, help guys!! - 05/13/12 11:21 PM
Good deal! Glad you got it worked out.
Ron
Posted By: Fat_Mike
Re: nerves shot part 2, help guys!! - 05/13/12 11:50 PM
I find myself wondering if you had a bad coil, or just a bad connection to the coil. Doesn't much matter...you got it running.
Posted By: Ronnman
Re: nerves shot part 2, help guys!! - 05/14/12 12:10 AM
When things settle down, you need to determine why you have lower than normal voltage at the coil. How confident are you in your meter accuracy? If you think it's reading a few volts low, you may be OK. When my car is running I think I am getting 8-9 volts to the pos terminal of the coil and about 14.5 at the battery. Do you have an ohm meter? If you do you can disconnect the battery and check resistance from the battery positive connector through the starter relay terminal, through the bulkhead connector, and through all connectors to see if you have any poor connections out to the coil.
Ron
Posted By: fourgearsavoy
Re: nerves shot part 2, help guys!! - 05/14/12 12:23 AM
Quote:
plug brand is supersition.
No, no it's not. There are some plugs that are just made better than others.This is something i have learned in over 30 years in the trade
Gus
Posted By: draginmopars
Re: nerves shot part 2, help guys!! - 05/14/12 01:09 AM
Quote:
weird!!! So i put a jumper from pos battery to pos on coil, then a jumper from neg battery to coil bracket bolt, pulled number one plug wire off and stuck a spare plug in it and layed it on the block, turned key to run and jumped the 2 lugs on the fenderwell relay to turn it over, yes its sparking, so reconected number one plug wire and crank and crank, still nothing, wont even try to hit..so for the heck of it, i dug a spare coil off the shelf and hooked it up, again disconnected number one wire and stuck spare plug in to verify spark and jumped the lugs on the fenderwell, yup, it sparked but this time the engine tried to fire up!! Oh boy, i hooked number one plug wire back up and jumped in the car and cranked and it hit again, jumped out and gave it a shot of carb cleaner and it started and died, gave her another shot of carb cleaner and cranked and she started up and running good! Dont really understand why, both coils seemed to fire the plug the same but the other one wouldnt start the car..but shes running awesome now! There is 5.8 volts at the coil with the car idling..
if you want to OHMS the coils,
heres some specs.
0.75 - 0.81 (+ to -) posts
10,000 - 11,000 post to coil terminal
Posted By: Dcuda69
Re: nerves shot part 2, help guys!! - 05/14/12 01:20 AM
Quote:
Quote:
plug brand is supersition.
No, no it's not. There are some plugs that are just made better than others.This is something i have learned in over 30 years in the trade
Gus
Posted By: mark7171
Re: nerves shot part 2, help guys!! - 05/14/12 02:41 AM
Nice one. Give those nerves a rest.
Arguing with me is not getting this guys car on the road. I have no brand loyalty until somebody pays me to use there product. A champion is as good as a autolite or NKG. Quit paying the parts guy $5/hr to throw the sparkplug cartons at the shelf. Give him some real money to spend on drink or women.
Only 18 degrees total at idle my start for you, but you will have to evacuate the garage in seconds or face extinction. Give it some time to burn the fuel. To the timed port like it was designed...Was it designed for a 1/2 inch of lift?
4 gear you are a good wrench many times I read your posts and realize you are no fool.
Posted By: mopower440
Re: nerves shot part 2, help guys!! - 05/15/12 01:15 AM
Quote:
18 at crank wont run well, may not light with that psi ,not without a vacuum pod supply another 10-12.
30 mechanically force will not crank and need a starter retard.
Usually.
My oppinion.
ok help me understand why hooking up the vacuum advance will help in starting..ok, It doesnt like much more than 16 degrees initial timing because it cranks real slow when hot, so if i hooked up the vacuum advance, its going to advance it even more so it would crank even slower or not crank at all, so why would i hook it up? Whats the difference in setting the initial to 30 BTC and it not wanting to turn over hot and setting it to 16 initial and using 14 vacuum which still makes it 30..? Not being smart, just dont understand and want to learn..
Posted By: VL21
Re: nerves shot part 2, help guys!! - 05/15/12 01:19 AM
There is no vacuum when it is not running...the vacuum will come in once it starts, if it starts.
Posted By: mopower440
Re: nerves shot part 2, help guys!! - 05/15/12 02:20 AM
so how can it aid in starting easier then? You were saying that my initial of 18 isnt good enough to get her started easy and i needed to hook the vacuum advance up to get it to start easier?
Posted By: VL21
Re: nerves shot part 2, help guys!! - 05/15/12 03:26 AM
You have 3 kinds of timing events,
1. Initial, what the markers at the crank say
2. Mechanical, what happens after things start turning, this is is the mechanical advance mechanism in the distributor
3. Vacuum, the canister. Once the engine is running, hopefully making some vacuum, this will give the motor the final dose of advance. Some advance cans can be adjusted by using a allen wrench through the nipple where the vac hose goes on.
If you use a ported vacuum source, it will only get the vacuum signal when the throttle blades reach a certain point.
If using manifold vacuum, the distributor will see full vacuum advance basically all the time.
You cannot run excessive amounts of initial, or the starter is going to have a hard time cranking it over, the electrical load among other things will cause hard start.
Not knowing your engine, I would try 10-14 initial, check the mechanical, and this is where some degree of magic comes in, with springs and weights,usually try to get it in by 3000, depends on gears,trans,weight, eventually you will get it, and the vacuum all in total I am only guessing you will want to shoot for 36-40.
Mash the pedal, the vacuum drops out.
Vacuum advance will help gas mileage, mechanical has to be limited to avoid "knock", pre-ignition.
Hope this makes some sense to you.
Another thing, about the surging thing, some MP distributors had a problem with the indexing of the reluctor wheel, and I think under vacuum it played hell with timing.
Posted By: VL21
Re: nerves shot part 2, help guys!! - 05/15/12 03:36 AM
Quote:
so how can it aid in starting easier then? You were saying that my initial of 18 isnt good enough to get her started easy and i needed to hook the vacuum advance up to get it to start easier?
Now that you have it running, if you want to see how this works, set your initial timing to some point where it will run.
Shut it off. Advance the dist some more, then try to crank it. It will crank hard.
Turn it back the other way, it will crank easier.
There is a happy place there somewhere.
Drag only engines running high rpm only use fixed or mechanical only distributors, and that is one reason why the aftermarket makes the high torque starters.
Posted By: mark7171
Re: nerves shot part 2, help guys!! - 05/15/12 04:57 AM
Let me eplain the best i can. First a engine requires a curve for WOT and a curve for cruise and idle. A new camaro has 1/2 of lift stock an will have about 40 degrees advance at idle for clean complete burn. Set the old mopar to idle mechanical to 18 and you find after a 45min trip it wont crank leaving the parking lot. Let alone 20+ . Unless you have a 1000cca battery, large gauge short starter wires, etc. Even then a hi TQ starter is needed. The way to copy the curve is to crank at 16 add 12-14 degrees of vacuum advance from manifold that kicks on at the first sputter of lighting. presto 30 degrees clean nice easy cranking , complete idle burn. This drops away instantly for Wide open throttle power sprints. Your mechanical 16+20 alone or whatever, is for WOT operation, more is needed for part throttle smooth power transition and driveability. Provided from said vacuum pod. Try it, you will like it. There are ways of working without but it is best way in my oppinion.
Good luck,Hope all is clear. For more theory contact don at 4secondsflat.com. Then he will school you.
I do not wish to challenge anybody in pissing contest. Just help you. You should not spend anymore plugs, enough. Be the Jedi knight fix your car enjoy the force of a mopar big block. PEACE.
Posted By: kilroy
Re: nerves shot part 2, help guys!! - 05/17/12 01:29 AM
Im not here to argue whether or not you need to hook the vacuum advance up or not. I think your timing choice should work fine, youll get it figure out the optimum for you once you figure this coil fo-pa out.
I really think you have a bad hook up at the coil or somewhere to the coil.
try this coil test like someone was explaining it simple and quick.
Your motor should at least try to fire even if the damn thing was retard, it would just run very sour with bad timing numbers. I know you had spark to the coil when you were testing but something was amiss with the coil hook up.
Posted By: kilroy
Re: nerves shot part 2, help guys!! - 05/17/12 02:28 AM
I really think you are fighting a really low voltage at the coil also. you should have at least 7 volts at the coil with a ballast and closer to 9. During start/crank cycle you should also see full voltage, or near 12volts when cranking the motor over, then when you let off the start it should be near 7-9 with key on.
When you had it jumped to battery and it tried to start, more than the coil, it was probably because it was seeing enough voltage to light; which leads me back to the coil being wired right or wrong.