Help! Stuck on side of road, no spark
 

Driving down the road and suddenly my truck died. It started back up but died again a mile later. Checked spark and I have none. Any ideas where to look first? Thanks!

Re: Help! Stuck on side of road, no spark
 

Other than a loose wire to to hei or something. No idea, but wish you luck.

Re: Help! Stuck on side of road, no spark
 

Points or HEI?

Start by checking that you have a good connection at the coil-I once had a truck that the nut that held down the ring terminal on the coil had came loose. It was running fine, hit a bump and it cut off, started right back up, hit a bump, it cut off. That's when I found the loose nut, tightened it and it was fine ever since. If you are not getting spark on any 8 then coil/wire connections is where I'd start.

Re: Help! Stuck on side of road, no spark
 

HEI, I ran a hot wire from the batt to the coil no luck. I'm guessing my coil went bad?

Re: Help! Stuck on side of road, no spark
 

Waiting on a row truck now. $150 to go 14 miles!

Re: Help! Stuck on side of road, no spark
 

HEI probably the module went bad.

Re: Help! Stuck on side of road, no spark
 

Would that be the "coil" on top of cap? Do they work intermittently before dying?

Re: Help! Stuck on side of road, no spark
 

I noticed my tach isn't moving as I crank, I assume that would also indicate a bad coil?

Re: Help! Stuck on side of road, no spark
 

No, the HEI control module is this:

https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/i...gDlaxnW9kJRO1c

Re: Help! Stuck on side of road, no spark
 

I haven't seen that in my truck, is it under the rotor?

Re: Help! Stuck on side of road, no spark
 

Yes it is under the rotor button.

Re: Help! Stuck on side of road, no spark
 

yes it is under your rotor.

Re: Help! Stuck on side of road, no spark
 

Thanks, just looked at a diagram. I think I'll replace the coil and module, sucks sitting on the side of the road!

Re: Help! Stuck on side of road, no spark
 

My vote is on the module. I have also had the rotor burn a hole and ground through the shaft. Once in a great while the pick coil is the problem.

Re: Help! Stuck on side of road, no spark
 

Also make sure you have all ground straps. Sometimes the metal one is missed. Will work for a while, but eventually kill module and/or coil. Also check truck ground straps. Should be motor to cab, cab to frame, and motor to frame.

It's @ 1:10 in video.

Re: Help! Stuck on side of road, no spark
 

Went through this myself a few months ago. Driving along the highway from Lubbock to San Angelo, and truck died.

In my case, it was the coil, but it could also be the ignition module. I now carry a spare coil and module in my tool bag! Neither are hard to replace, but if ignition module, will probably need to pull the distributor.

Here's a recent thread that may be of help:

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s....php?p=6795237

When mine went, there was a backfire out of the carb. Once I got the truck home (good samaritan towed me 115 miles or so), I replaced the coil and it started right up. Took longer to drive to the parts store and pick up the new coil than it did putting it in.

Then I discovered the effect of the backfire that happened as it died. The intake manifold seal on the rear of the motor blew out. Be sure to check for oil leaks once you replace the module or coil!

Re: Help! Stuck on side of road, no spark
 

Thanks all! Got it towed home, pulled the coil and sure enough it was dead. All fixed now! Thanks again!

Re: Help! Stuck on side of road, no spark
 

One plus, I saved a gallon of gas!

Re: Help! Stuck on side of road, no spark
 

I'm really hoping it's fixed! This morning it died three times, I got it to start the first two but no luck on the third. I always thought a coil would just die, not work again. I hope it's not the module working intermittently. It did start right up after I installed the new coil, actually started better than normal so hopefully it was the coil! Thanks again everyone!

Re: Help! Stuck on side of road, no spark
 

Sometimes they die when they are hot and when cool they work

Re: Help! Stuck on side of road, no spark
 

67 chevyredneck wish I knew of those corrected caps sooner, I just replaced cap, rotor, wires and plugs a couple weeks ago. That sucker would have made it so much nicer running my plug wires! I wonder how many guys have come across one of those and tried to wire it like a regular cap, would take some time before you realized it's not a regular cap! I also wish I had replaced my coil when I replaced my cap! Would have saved me some $. Change your coils when you change your cap, I'm my case it would have saved me a $150 tow bill and hours sitting on the side of the road.

Re: Help! Stuck on side of road, no spark
 

All my module failures have been all at once get in and no start. Not a hard thing to replace. Good luck hope it's fixed;)

Re: Help! Stuck on side of road, no spark
 

Put an extra module in your glovebox and if it turns out that was it you have it ready to go.

Re: Help! Stuck on side of road, no spark
 

You can also run an msd 6 and do away with the stock HEI module all together. I have bought several at swap meets over the years for $10-$20 and they all worked! The sellers always say "good luck figuring out that rat nest of wire!" or something like it. I forget to tell them that you can go to men's website and download a wiring diagram for an application. I even used one of the msd's on a 91 Acura Integra I swapped a B16 VTEC (yo!) into as a commuter since the the car was obd1 and the engine was obd2 I didn't want to pay $300 for a jdm obd1 distributor (wasn't available in U.S.) and a guy gave me one for free that had a bad ignitor.