Help!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[PitterPats72]

OK Still have HEI problems. Have eliminated almost everything that could be the culprit.
Battery: is fully chgd- Took back to AutoZone they tested. 12.67 volt or so.
Got the slowturning over taken care of: timing was not right on dist.
have power to the dist from that wire I hooked up from the cab...accidently hit it on some metal on the truck and there were sparks. No damage .. truck still turns over.

So now what do I test or what may I have missed hooking up. It cranks but does not catch to turn over.

HELP!!!! I need the truck so I can go get the deck materials so I can add on before I go back to work Monday.

As always THANKS for all of your help,
Pat

[71GMC_3/4T]

I'd check that wire you raked to ground and see if it's still hot with the key on.
You might also want to put a test light on it and see if it's hot when the key is in start position. Some accessories shut off when the key is in start. If you can't get that to work, just run a wire directly from the battery + to the HEI "BATT" input. It should start then. If it doesn't, you might have something hosed in the HEI itself, or firing order / timing wrong.

[PitterPats72]

Will try all of those now.

thanks,
pat

[lux hauler]

If not find one.
Take the wire from the fuse box that's running this HEI, off of the distributor(unplug it). Test the voltage on that wire (with the ignition switch on) to make sure that you have 12 volts going to the dizzy(you should not have any power going through that wire with the switch off). If so, plug it back into the distributor making sure that you have it pluged into the right place (the side if the dizzy that says "bat"). Try to start it. If it doesn't start, re-check your plug wires to make sure that you have them running the way that they are supposed to go.
I'm guessing that if you have full power to the HEI that either your wires are wrong (you did replace the wires with HEI wires, right?) or you have the distributor 180 degrees off.

[PitterPats72]

Tested...12.51 volts.

I did get new plug wires. I hooked them up like the HEI diagram on page 66 of the Haynes Chevy & GMC truck repair manual. let me try to explain how. It as you look at this page the top is N , bottom is S. left is W and right is E. on the diagram in the middle of the dist they have like a boxed off bowtie, which I took for the "front" of the dist or the part that is labled "tach" & "bat" from left to right. Hope you get the picture. Also my vac is pointing toward # 6 or #8.
If we start at the SE or lower right corner which is just to the right of the side of the dist where it says "bat" and going counterclockwise i have #7, 5, 6, 3, 4, 8, 1, 2 with #1 pointing toward #1 on the intake manifold. #2 ends up next to the area marke "tach". Is that correct??

I can't figure out much more. All help is appreciated.

Thanks,
Pat

Thanks

[lux hauler]

ok......I don't know how the HEI wiring diagram goes. Lets assume that your wires are all in the right place according to that diagram.
Now, pull the number one plug (the front plug on the drivers side of the engine). Bring that piston to Top Dead Center on the compression stroke (put your finger over the spark plug hole and turn until you feel air pushing out around your finger.....kinda hard to do by yourself, huh?). Once you get the number one to TDC, pull the distributor cap off and look at where the little metal tab on the top is pointing. Is it located where it would be making contact with the number one spark plug? If not, you've more than likely found your problem. I would think that you'd have to move the dizzy if you changed the wires around.
Someone else might know more about how the HEI's are supposed to be wired. I ran my plug wires just like they were with the points dizzy.....much easier for me.

[truckster]

do you actually have spark? Forget the wiring and timing for a second, pull one of the wires, insert a screwdriver into the boot, and hold the shaft of the screwdrive about 1/4 inch from a good ground. Have someone crank the engine and look for a spark while it's cranking. If there's no spark, and you have 12v at the bat terminal, the coil might be bad. The coil sits in the top of the dist cap, and they sometimes go bad.

[lux hauler]

If her dizzy or wires aren't in the right place, she won't have spark to the plugs anyhow........right?

[Longhorn Man]

It'll get spark, just to the wrong plug at the wrong time.
You need to rewire the distributor back to the points fire order. If you stabbed the dizzy in, pointing in the same direction as the old one, but then run the plug wires according to the HEi in the book, that is your problem.
Try it.

[PitterPats72]

Guess what guys???? I changed the spark polug wiring to the configuration of a point dist and GUESS what:...it ran BUT also I couldn't get the dang thing to turn off... pulled the key and everything. I piulled a plug wire and then the battery cables (both) and it kept on running. Eventually I had to pull the T connector on the front of the carb. That was the weirdest thing, especially when I had the keys in my had and it's still running.

Any ideas now about the spark plug wiring????

So does that mean I nee to stab the dizzy in the other way, 180 deg around and then wire the dizzy like a HEI should be wired? Will I still have run on.

So I'm saying:
1. Take it back to TDC
2. Stab the dizzy in 180 deg the opposite way.
3. Wire as HEI should be wired.

Is that it?
Or can I just stab it in without going back to TDC and wire as an HEI?

Thanks,
Pat

[truckster]

Oh, yeah, I forgot to put this in my other post. Make sure you're holding the screwdriver by the handle and you're not grounded to the truck, or you might just find out what HEI stands for.

The spark should be there, period. If it's not, you're going to be chasing a ghost until you figure out why. Try the screwdriver test, and if you have spark, it's timing or firing order.

[Longhorn Man]

Leave the wires as they are. Who cares if it isn't wired like a later model vehicle?
Your run on is becouse the wire you plugged into the dizzy is hot at all times. You'l have to do the under dash boogie again and plug it into one of the IGN-UNFUSED terminals. If it is in one already, your harness is messed up.

[truckster]

Definitely. If it ran and didn't miss, and if you have clearance for all the wires, I'd leave it alone. Just find a 12v source on the ign circuit, like longhorn said. You're almost done!

[PitterPats72]

Yes it does run and cut off now...BUT something is draining the battery????

Tomorrow...why's the battery draining??? Might have to get professional help on that.

AGAIN, THANKS TO EVERYBODY who helped on this!!!! this board is great

Thanks again,
Pat