so i was exiting the freeway to work and i heard a pop in the engine. it wasn't as loud as a back fire, it was more of a muffled pop and some black smoke came out of the tail pipe. the car died and i coasted to the side of the road where the car would not start. all it would do i sound like i was turning on the car but it wouldn't catch and fire. the engine doesn't shake at all like its taking in gas. any suggestions or tips? before that, the car was running fine on the freeway, no pinging or knocking.
Coil is bad. Try that also check to make sure the distributer has not sheered the pin. Take the cap off and twist the rotor. It should not turn without the engine running
Did we ever get this car timed properly? We're you on the gas when this happened? A car with retarded timing has a tendency to pop thru the carb under acceleration.
Do you have an HEI? The module gets hot and "poof" no ignition. I had to throw mine away and go MSD. Mine would cool off, run fine and then same thing. No problems once the MSD was in. Rick
how can i test the coil? crank it with the number one plug out and look for spark? the rotor should stay firmly in place right? no wiggle?
I was able to get it timed correctly. At 2 1/2* with the advance plugged. i was slowing down because i was on an off ramp getting ready to take off onto the street. what does pop through the carb mean? once i was on level ground it wouldnt turn over, just kept cranking.
i do have a points eliminator from accel. is this what youre referring to? after the car cooled, it still didnt want to catch.
Did we acertain whats missing in this equation? Lets get back to the basics here. We need spark fuel timing and compression to make an engine run. Whats missing?
A car needs 4 things to run- It needs fuel It need fire- (spark) It needs timing And lastly it needs compression If one of those things is missing, the car wont start. It'll just sit there cranking. Look down the carb and pull the linkage back. Is there gas squirting? If so, we can assume its getting gas. Next, check for spark. Pull a spark plug wire off one of the spark plugs. Stick a screwdriver inthe boot. Rest it up against the valve cover. Have someone crank the engine and see if there is any spark. You should see a little arc coming off the screwdriver to the valve cover (or whatever metal piece the screwdriver is resting against) If it doesnt have spark, we've found the missing link. If it does, read on.. Next lets check for timing. The chain may have jumped. There are alot of different methods, but this is mine- Get a wine bottle cork. Remove the #1 spark plug. Take the cork and stick it in the hole. Next, "bump" the engine with the key. Just turn the key enough to just turn the engine over a little. The belts should move only a couple inches of your doing it right. Keep bumping the engine till the cork shoots out of the hole. That means both valves are closed and the engine in on its compression stroke. Once the cork shoots outs, the line on the balancer should be pretty close to the timing tab. Move it manually to the 2* mark where you set your timing. Remove the cap. The rotor should be pointing to the #1 spark plug wire. If so, the timing should be close enough to at least fire the engine. As far as compression, you'll need a compression tester and it becomes a little more involved...
could i turn the balancer manually with a socket and see if everything lines up? rotor pointed at 1, 1 piston all the way at the top? or having the cork shoot out is essential in dertermining that all is working well.
The cork ensures that both valves are closed and the #1 piston is on its compression stroke. You can use your thumb and have a friend bump the engine over for you. I tend to work alone, so I have to come up with methods that work when I'm by myself
Quick way to test the spark by yourself: Get a length of wire, undo the ground ( - ) from your coil, hook the neg coil terminal directly to the battery negative. Same thing for the positive but dont hook it up to the battery. Take the coil wire out and position the terminal about 1/8" from anything metal that is bolted to the engine. Now swipe the positive wire across the pos. battery terminal ( DO NOT HOLD THE WIRE ON THE BATTERY TERMINAL FOR MORE THAN A FRACTION OF A SECOND-YOU CAN FRY THE COIL!! ) When the wire leaves the batt terminal, you should get a spark.:Smarty: Whole process should take you no more than 5-10 minutes max, probably finding the wire will take longest!:error: Good Luck!! Robert
First test I would have done is to remove the distributor cap, turn the rotor, and see if the distributor shaft was still connected to the distributor gear, or had the roll pin that holds the gear to the shaft, sheared? High volume oil pumps can make for shearing of the pin. Regards, Milton
has anyone had trouble with the accel points eliminator? could this be a factor in the car not wanting to fire? or would it still fire but un satisfactorily...?
Your Accell points eliminator may be the problem or as someone else suggested the timing may have jumped.
