Curt Chambers
Well-Known Member
Tried to fire up my 73 Charger Rallye, 440, 4 speed today and it wouldn't start. This is my first attempt at starting the car after a complete restoration, so any number of things could be going on.
But there is definitely no spark so let's start with that. I have an FSM, but its troubleshooting section assumes I have the factory test unit available, which I don't. So using a voltmeter, I have 10 .5 volts at the coil with the ignition in the run position. Is that too low? It's a brand new battery and I verified 12.5 volts going to the ignition switch. There was a 1v drop going through the switch and another 1v drop at the bulkhead connector in the engine bay, for a total of 2v drop at the ballast resistor. The troubleshooting steps I found on the web all said that it should be within 1v of the battery voltage.
Would it be safe to run a wire directly from the battery to the ballast resistor to test this, to see if it at least momentarily tries to start?
Is there a way to test the ECU without the factory tool? All I could find was to make sure it is well grounded, which it is.
Thanks
Curt
But there is definitely no spark so let's start with that. I have an FSM, but its troubleshooting section assumes I have the factory test unit available, which I don't. So using a voltmeter, I have 10 .5 volts at the coil with the ignition in the run position. Is that too low? It's a brand new battery and I verified 12.5 volts going to the ignition switch. There was a 1v drop going through the switch and another 1v drop at the bulkhead connector in the engine bay, for a total of 2v drop at the ballast resistor. The troubleshooting steps I found on the web all said that it should be within 1v of the battery voltage.
Would it be safe to run a wire directly from the battery to the ballast resistor to test this, to see if it at least momentarily tries to start?
Is there a way to test the ECU without the factory tool? All I could find was to make sure it is well grounded, which it is.
Thanks
Curt