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What is causing my misfiring while driving ?

Ok so I just received Rick E's electronic ignition kit and installed it today... It seems to have solved all the previous issues and also idles better now.
 
I feel like a traitor :D:p
...Hopefully the Mopar gods can forgive me :praying:

Overall I have faith in the points ignition system but I was just having weird unknown problems...

For $150 bucks I thought I'd give it a try. It seems very promising so far. I dont know exactly why this would fix it, but my best guess would be that an electronic ignition is less sensitive to issues with old wiring or voltage drop?

I'll keep this thread updated with any changes.
 
Well car has been running great since the last post but NOW just stalled out on me as I approached a stop light. Now it wont start. It cranked and fired once or twice right after dying but it wouldn't actually start.

The car kinda smelled hot, which is odd since I've taken some long drives before and it doesnt get hot. Maybe I'm imagining it.

For some reason I suspect fuel pump becuase right when It died the fuel filter was empty. But now after I've been cranking it on/off for the last 15 minutes the filter has slowly filled back up mostly... but still no start.

I just put 15 gallons in the tank about an hour ago (maybe 5 miles ago)

Its turning over and cranking, I suspect I have spark, but am not sure.

Any ideas for what to check? I just called the tow truck...
 
Pour a half ounce of gas down the carb throat. If it runs for 10 seconds you are not getting fuel
 
Ok I will try that.

I just installed this new elecgronic igntion, What does that feel like when it fails? Syptoms, etc.

I was driving along, smooth and plenty of power, when it just died at the stop light. It may have died right when I came to a stop OR it might have died when I was trying to take off from the light.... I cant remember... didnt expect this to happen so I wasnt paying a ton of attention.
 
Last edited:
Another thing to try as well is to look down the carb and move the throttle linkage to see if any gas is squirting out of the jets when pulling back the linkage. No fuel in the filter could indicate a bad filter or more a pump. Another issue could be an electrical connection vibrated loose while driving it since you installed the new kit - has happened to me having a bad bulkhead connection or poor ground.
 
Ron H said:
Another thing to try as well is to look down the carb and move the throttle linkage to see if any gas is squirting out of the jets when pulling back the linkage. No fuel in the filter could indicate a bad filter or more a pump. Another issue could be an electrical connection vibrated loose while driving it since you installed the new kit - has happened to me having a bad bulkhead connection or poor ground.
Click to expand...

Ok thanks,

I was jiggling wires and connections while I was waiting for the tow truck for an hour with no luck

I also did take the air filter off and notice that even with the fuel filter empty, my accelerator pump was still squirting gas when I pushed the linkage. I pumped it a few times and after that still nothing.

Also its one of those clear glass fuel filters and it is not clogged. I have it between the fuel pump and filter. Maybe my actual fuel pump is clogged badly(its before the filter)?

Also I noticed that since my gas tank is filled up ( it's in the rear quarter panel on a wagon ) that the gas pickup thing with sock seemed to be at the top of the gas fill level just floating there. I can see it when I look into the tank from the cap. I never noticed that before, just wanted to make sure that is normal. That pickup tube apparatus is supposed to kinda float in place? I imagine for gas gauge purposes?
 
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Ok so I poured some fuel down the carb and still nothing.

How can I verify my new electronic ignition is working properly, other that a simple spark test?
 
Ok so I have no spark ....

I wonder what happened with my electronic ignition? As far as I can see all wiring is undisturbed and intact.
 
Those darn Gremlins. Been at work again. Nothing worst than electrical problem. So you don't have point's. ECU box or maybe the blast resistor.
 
blue69runner said:
Those darn Gremlins. Been at work again. Nothing worst than electrical problem. So you don't have point's. ECU box or maybe the blast resistor.
Click to expand...
Thanks. This thread was mostly about another problem that an electronic ignition swap solved.

But then I broke down today, lol.

I just bought this Rick E hi-rev 7500 kit from him on ebay less than two months ago. He has good customer service from what I've heard so hopefully this will have a quick resolution.

I'd like to do a few more test before I call him tho, but the electronic ignition is new to me so I'm not sure how or what to test, other than spark
 
One more possible cause could be the
ignition switch. Just a thought. I had
one that was worn out display a few of
the symptoms you are describing.
Hope you get 'er figured out.
 
Confirming a no-spark; I’m not familiar with the system you have on; but typical meter tests include the ignition relay, ballast, and coil. In my case with my 1st gen mopar system ills I had installed years ago, was a bad ballast, another time it was the ECU, and the last time, after a long frustrating search, I found out the BH connection was bad even though I had a new engine harness in. In this case I had an engine run only with the key in the starting mode, let off the key to run position engine died. The ignition wire was loose even though it ‘looked’ tight. A bud cranked the motor while I held the harness tighter in the BH and started/ran fine. This prompted me to install a new BH as it was crappy old. When checking your connections assure they’re solid as if they look tight, they may not be. I assume your module requires a solid ground and you’ve checked this. You could contact the place you bought it from before you start with the meter testing to see if they have recommendations before you go through this. Just tossing out here as it can be any number of things requiring a sequence of checks.
 
So you bought an ignition system that did not come with test procedures? A simple test light can be your best friend when stranded along side the road. Coil positive to ground and negative to ground will speak volume about any system. One light either way and you have problems.
 
Ok so I called Rick E, the guy I bought this HiRev 7500 kit from. He walked me through some tests and we are fairly certain that the ECU failed so he has sent me a replacement that will be here Friday.

Sooo...

What can cause an ignition module/box to fail prematurely??? It was grounded very well and the install is super clean and neat, done well. Good connections everywhere. My alternator is fairly new too. The Bulkhead has been replaced with new connections.

Any reason this box would have failed other than bad luck??? I dont want it to happen again.
 
Evan Frucht said:
Ok so I called Rick E, the guy I bought this HiRev 7500 kit from. He walked me through some tests and we are fairly certain that the ECU failed so he has sent me a replacement that will be here Friday.

Sooo...

What can cause an ignition module/box to fail prematurely??? It was grounded very well and the install is super clean and neat, done well. Good connections everywhere. My alternator is fairly new too. The Bulkhead has been replaced with new connections.

Any reason this box would have failed other than bad luck??? I dont want it to happen again.
Click to expand...
Had one go out a few years ago and after doing the diagnostics to rule out other stuff put a new one in and been fine since. Obvious of course, make sure your connections are solid/tight, good ground...and wired correctly.
 
Well... thanks for all replies, this is all good info.

Turns out it was actually a bad ignition coil. The one I bought from Rick E with my kit simply just failed on me.

The test I did indicated either a bad ECU or igntion coil. The coil was showing 7 volts at the postive terminal so we did not suspect it.

After the new ECU came and still no start I did the test again (*** BTW the test I was performing was leave key in run, disconnect coil wire from distributor and hang about 1/2" from any good ground, then disconnect the two prong connector that runs from distributor to ECU. Then take the two prong lead coming out of the ECU and short those two pins... when you do that, if the coil wire arcs/sparks the ECU is good and the pickup in dist. likely failed, if NO arc/spark then the ECU or ignition coil is bad)

So basically I got the same results with both ECUs (no arcing from coil wire) and therefor the coil became highly suspect.

Turns out when I checked with the multimeter I got "O.L" for the secondary restance. Basically no connection, open loop/circuit.

Found an old spare coil, installed it and she fired right back up!
 
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