Ignition trouble

[jake wells]

well my truck left me on the side of road it backfired and died no spark but the rotor is turning replaced the dist cap and rotor button because the old ones were crispy turned black and disintegrated. timing chain is fine it was replaced a month ago.

so far i have changed these parts.
new plugs
new wires
new dist cap
new ignition rotor

im about to narrow it down to either pick up coil ignition control module or ignition coil.

anyone know which part is most likely to fail first? kinda lost right now not a bit of spark! grrr but i have a new module i just picked up tonight so maybe i can't get to it in the next couple of days

 

[RetroC10Sport]

Module. Rare for the coil to go out and usually they will have a weak spark.

 

[jake wells]

thanks Retro but what about the backfire should it worry me or no.

 

[RetroC10Sport]

I had a module go out once on the highway and it backfired a few times and stalled. Didn't hurt anything but scared the ***** outta me.

 

[crazy4offroad]

As the ignition module dies some cylinders are dead but getting fuel dumped in them, then the raw fuel gets dumped into the exhaust where another cylinder or 2 may still be getting fire right before the module dies completely, resulting in backfire (cannon fire lol). Worst thing that can happen is ballooning of your muffler, or blown exhaust gaskets. I always keep a spare ignition module in the glove box, and the basic tools to change it with.

 

[jake wells]

As the ignition module dies some cylinders are dead but getting fuel dumped in them, then the raw fuel gets dumped into the exhaust where another cylinder or 2 may still be getting fire right before the module dies completely, resulting in backfire (cannon fire lol). Worst thing that can happen is ballooning of your muffler, or blown exhaust gaskets. I always keep a spare ignition module in the glove box, and the basic tools to change it with.

well i replaced the module it still didn't start then i replaced the pick up coil it still didn't start then i replaced the ignition coil and then it fired right up and ran better than it has ever ran.

i used ac delco brand ignition parts all the parts i replaced was stamped with GM 1-9-75

 

[RetroC10Sport]

rare for a coil to go bad, but it happens...

 

[HotRodPC]

Yep, Qute the Rarity there. You should have went and bought a lottery ticket. Also a tell tale sign when a coil goes out, it will shut off leaving you stranded, after it cools off, it will start up again, and when it gets good and warm, it'll shut off again.

Keep in mind, you can always Ohms test Ignition Modules and Coils to tell if they are bad or not.

So, now that you have that old Ignition Module that apparently was NOT the problem. Put that puppy in your glove box with a screwdriver and a 1/4 inch nutdriver. You ever get a no spark failure, and your rotor cap isn't broke, 9x out of 10 is the Ign module, and you'll have one with you.

 

[89Suburban]

**** Jake, sorry it was the last thing replaced but now look at it as those things you replaced is added insurance, lol. I heave everything replaced on mine except the pickup coil.

 

[jake wells]

Yep, Qute the Rarity there. You should have went and bought a lottery ticket. Also a tell tale sign when a coil goes out, it will shut off leaving you stranded, after it cools off, it will start up again, and when it gets good and warm, it'll shut off again.

Keep in mind, you can always Ohms test Ignition Modules and Coils to tell if they are bad or not.

So, now that you have that old Ignition Module that apparently was NOT the problem. Put that puppy in your glove box with a screwdriver and a 1/4 inch nutdriver. You ever get a no spark failure, and your rotor cap isn't broke, 9x out of 10 is the Ign module, and you'll have one with you.

they are in the glovebox keeping them for spares.

 

[jake wells]

**** Jake, sorry it was the last thing replaced but now look at it as those things you replaced is added insurance, lol. I heave everything replaced on mine except the pickup coil.

yeah and you know if you keep replacing parts eventually it will run
the parts were ok in price but the ignition coil was not cheap but i didn't want junk. duralast plug wires has left me stranded before including the ignition rotors which flat suck!

 

[HotRodPC]

yeah and you know if you keep replacing parts eventually it will run
the parts were ok in price but the ignition coil was not cheap but i didn't want junk. duralast plug wires has left me stranded before including the ignition rotors which flat suck!

Well buddy. Not Hounding or putting you down, but there is a difference in a parts changer and a mechanic. I'd have known for sure, cap, rotor in that dizzy, plugs and wires won't fix a no spark situation. Those parts are changed to correct a miss, but not a no spark. 1st thing I'd suspect is Ignition module, Ohms test it. It's good. Next thing, test the pick up coil, it's good, test the coil, there's your problem. Hit up your buddys, or go thru the garage, everyone can find a good HEI coil laying around, they're so common, bound to be one within reach somewhere. Be sure to trash that bad coil ASAP. Don't let it get mxed up with good ****. Or paint it with a stripe of spray paint to mark it bad. For sake of learhing. Get an ohms tester and test that coil, so now you'll know what a bad looks like in a test next time you come across a similar issue. MIght not need that info for 10-15 or even 20 years, but you won't forget when the time comes. All in all, you're stil ahead of the game though since you didn't pay a shop, and most likely, they'd have lied and said you needed BOTH Ign Module and Coil and took your head off.