Won't start... could be the end.

[morethanstock66]

My truck has been reliable up until now, it is my DD. Last night and today it has been raining buckets here in DFW and the truck won't start.

-Whwn I first came down to leave for work, she started to kick, made a "psssshhh" noise and then I got some grey smoke coming from the carb inlet. No fire, just that one instance of smoke.

-Worried, I pulled the air filter and the smoke disapated. No burning, no melting, carb looked clean, like normal.

-I let her sit a few minutes and tried to leave again. Nothing since.

-I did not change anything since I parked her last night and she is getting NO fire.

-Starter spins

-Dist was dry as a bone

-I even tried only starter fluid, not even remotely the faintest sound of it kicking over.

Any help would be greatly appreciated as now I have no way to get around. Next step is posting in WIW section and selling. Can't afford losing my job

[chevy_mike]

You need three things for an engine to run, air, fuel, spark. Since you know you have air and using starter fluid (i.e. fuel) the problem has to be spark. You don't say if you have a points or HEI distributor so it's hard to tell you where to go but I would start troubleshooting the spark issue.

[morethanstock66]

I'm sorry, it is HEI, a new cap, control module, and coil as of middle of July- D.U.I. Plugs are a few months old, but were clean when I checked them acouple weeks ago. Plug wires are about 6 months old, but I did not see any cracks upon inspecting them.

[68c10owner]

Had a similar issue. turned out to be the pick up coil. Have to remove the distributor and pull the gear and remove the shaft to replace it. Might just be a bad module. Easy fix and had that happen as well.

[68gmsee]

I've had this problem before. Make sure you have 12VDC to distributor when ignition is turned on. If there's no spark, remove a spark plug cable from the top of the distributor and hold it close enough where you can see the spark (I can see the spark there better) and have somebody try to start the engine.

If there's no spark, then it's something in the distributor.

If you do see a spark on top then it's time to check static timing to make sure you didn't strip a timing gear or distributor gear.

1. Remove #1 spark plug and rotate engine until you feel compression and continue rotating until it's at complete top of cylinder. A piston stop helps but I use a wooden dowel to feel the piston going up.

2. Check harmonic balancer to see if it is lined up with TDC mark and distributor rotor pointing to #1 piston post.

[morethanstock66]

Originally Posted by 68c10owner

Had a similar issue. turned out to be the pick up coil. Have to remove the distributor and pull the gear and remove the shaft to replace it. Might just be a bad module. Easy fix and had that happen as well.

Thanks for the ideas, I really hate to think it is the pickup coil, I will test the module first and see if that can be it, I have burned some up before, but did not act like this, but electric gremlins are crafty lol.

[morethanstock66]

Originally Posted by 68gmsee

I've had this problem before. Make sure you have 12VDC to distributor when ignition is turned on. If there's no spark, remove a spark plug cable from the top of the distributor and hold it close enough where you can see the spark (I can see the spark there better) and have somebody try to start the engine.

If there's no spark, then it's something in the distributor.

If you do see a spark on top then it's time to check static timing to make sure you didn't strip a timing gear or distributor gear.

1. Remove #1 spark plug and rotate engine until you feel compression and continue rotating until it's at complete top of cylinder. A piston stop helps but I use a wooden dowel to feel the piston going up.

2. Check harmonic balancer to see if it is lined up with TDC mark and distributor rotor pointing to #1 piston post.

I didn't think to check 12v to the distributor itself, I may try that as well. Just weird it was all of a sudden the next day. I've checked and rechecked the timing lately as I swapped carbs recently. I doubt it is timing, but I will look at it again. Thank you for the ideas

[chevy_mike]

Make sure you are getting 12 volts in the key run position AND start position (likely will need someone to turn the key while you check). Ignition switch could be going bad (not uncommon) and you're not getting 12 volts at both points. You could always run a jumper wire from the battery to the 12 volt input on the distributor and see if it starts. Quick way to test that part.

[morethanstock66]

So it stopped raining, for now and I started to take apart the distributor. The distributor cap was clean, no cabon build up or anything. But look at this...



This is not carbon, this is tacky, grease maybe? Does not smell of oil or anything. It is only on this contact point, not the coil ball/point that comes through the cap.

[morethanstock66]

Ok, sorry for the late update, I was sick all weekend.

-Coil checks out, within specifications in terms of ohms.

-Control module tests good after repeated tests when hot.

-I cleaned up the cap and rotor really well to remove any kind of moisture or residue.

I will put it all back together this evening and test for a good 12v to the distributor, if not I will try and jump it to check the ignition switch as Chevy_mike described.

[morethanstock66]

I cleaned everything up, gave her a crank and she turned right over, I suppose a little moisture got in somehow, and now it must be dry. Thank y'all for all the help, truly. Sorry for being a bit melodramatic.

[chevy_mike]

Glad to hear you got it back running. Never a problem asking for help. We have all been there.

[Phildeez]

It's still a good idea to check that you have 12v going to your hei. I'm not sure on your truck but the original points set up on my '72 used a resistance wire to power the coil with about 8-9v.