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Ignition help please

Started by Calif240, November 25, 2010, 09:59:33 PM

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Calif240

Hey guys... I've got a 69 charger. The previous owner put a 72 340 in the car. I am having issues getting the car started. I have a brand new MSD digital distributor, coil and AL6, new plug wires, and a new alternator. The starter turns over, but is a little slow cranking. I can rarely get the engine to turn over. However, when it does, it runs strong, I'm trying to figure out the issue, but I'm at a loss after a completely new ignition system, plus I'm a novice at restoration and automotive repair... Can you guts recommend a few things to look at that may be causing issue?  Adjusting the timing doesn't seem to help.
Thanks
Indianapolis '69 Charger. RestoMod.

A383Wing

slow cranking could be caused by any or all of the following:

bad starter, bad battery, bad cable or ground connections, bad cables themselves..

slow turnover means either high resistance or low voltage...or both

Ghoste


Calif240

Checked plugs again, not getting spark to the plugs. Checked the coil and it seems to be ok, primary and secondary resistance are within factory spec for blaster 2. Could there be an electrical problem with the ignition switch? The wire from ignition switch to coil is giving about 9 or 10 volts on initial crank. I'm lost, as the system seems to check out and I've double checked wiring diagrams...! HELP!
Thank you
Indianapolis '69 Charger. RestoMod.

John_Kunkel


How is the MSD wired? Through the original ballast resistor or is the ballast eliminated?

The MSD system needs a power source that's hot in both Start and Run, the only way to accomplish this with the Mopar wiring is to tie the wires on both sides of the ballast together if the ballast is eliminated.
Pardon me but my karma just ran over your dogma.

Calif240

The ballast resistor has a single wire on the left, two on the right. One of the right wires goes to the + terminal on the coil. The coil has the balast wire and MSD red wire from distributor on positive. The negative coil terminal has only the orange wire from the MSD dist. The distributor has the red and orange, as well as a black that is grounded to the firewall... From what I can tell, I'm getting 12V from all sources, the ground seems good. However, during cranking, it drops from 11.4 V to under 1V then back up .... Thoughts?
Indianapolis '69 Charger. RestoMod.

A383Wing

My MSD instructions said to eliminate the ballast resistor

John_Kunkel


What makes the Mopar system different than others is the two separate ignition systems IGN1 and IGN2, one shuts off while cranking and one shuts off in RUN.

Best to just eliminate the ballast and tie the wires on both sides of it together.
Pardon me but my karma just ran over your dogma.

Cooter

When you say "Cranks over slow", This could be the Starter or Pos. Cable...Have you checked the starter? Are you still running the old, heavy, POS starter? You know, the ones that sounds like a dying cow? (Errrrrrr....errrrr....errrrr.....)
" I have spent thousands of dollars and countless hours researching what works and what doesn't and I'm willing to share"

Nacho-RT74

Quote from: A383Wing on November 26, 2010, 09:48:05 PM
My MSD instructions said to eliminate the ballast resistor

Quote from: John_Kunkel on November 27, 2010, 06:54:39 PM

What makes the Mopar system different than others is the two separate ignition systems IGN1 and IGN2, one shuts off while cranking and one shuts off in RUN.

Best to just eliminate the ballast and tie the wires on both sides of it together.

not really necesary... you can use the wire running to coil, what even low powered through ballast is just a trigger to turn on/off the MSD. Ballast won't even heat enough to be worried since won't find enough load going through

of course maybe better to eliminate it, but if you want to be able to get the original system back, ( for whatever reason ) on an easier step, you can keep it

the real power comes from the thick red wire
Venezuelan RT 74 400 4bbl, 727, 8.75 3.23 open. Now stroked with 440 crank and 3.55 SG. Here is the History and how is actually: http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,7603.0/all.html
http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,25060.0.html