What did I do wrong here (HEI Conversion)

Darter6 said:

Resurrecting this thread.I read all 118 posts.Here is my story..
I like to try different things and learn from them. Recently I wanted to do the GM HEI set up. Why ? because I wanted to see for myself.
My test subject is a 318 LA in a 63 Belvedere. This all started when my Accel 8140 coil crapped out a few weeks ago.
Was still running the stock 1970 points distributor. I have done MSD, Pertronix, And good 'ol Ma Mopar electronic conversions,
So what the heck, go for the HEI.I watched several You Tube videos and found one well known poster that recommended using the Flame Thrower .32 coil.
Had to buy a new coil anyway so I bought 2. The FT .32 ohm and a cheap .7 as a backup.
As you have stated above the .32 ohm is NOT the proper one. Hard to start, when running pops and struggles to stay running and stalled allot.
I was using Summit's brand of HEI Module and noticed my tach was not working either. Oh boy.....
So reading all of the above posts I swapped out the FT coil for the .7 ohm no name brand coil.
Hit the key,fried right up (today it is 108 degrees in the desert. Yea !) ran it for awhile,idled nice, tach works, and revved well up to a static 4,000 rpm.
This week I hope to get it out and on the road for a test drive.
We will see if I made a huge mistake trying something new or if I should have stuck with Ma Mopar's equipment.
In closing, I have always been one to "Dare to be different" with the what the heck additude and give it a shot.
Thanks for your time guys !

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Canadian1968 said:

How did you choose to power your module and coil? Did you add a relay for the power feed ?

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zombezoo said:

Purchased:
Pertronix 44011 Flame-Thrower III Ignition Coil, 45,000 Volt 0.32 Ohm, 12 Volt, Black

HEI distributor mount

Delphi DS10071 Ignition Control Module

All brand new.

I removed the existing ballast resistor, tied ignition 1&2 together and wired to coil positive and hei module
Coil negative to hei module
Electronic distributor field wires to the other two terminals.

I did not increase the gap on the plugs yet (problem?)

Car started and ran great.

Started and stopped the car probably 30 times while getting other items setup. Idled car for at least 30 min on several occasions, no issues.

Today was first extended drive, made it about 40 min and car backfired and died on the road. No spark.

Coil has failed spectacularly. Crack across the wire end, sprayed it's oil out all over.

Coil and hei module apparently dead.

Swapped for original Mopar coil and spare hei module, car runs, just did that for 2 min to get back into the driveway.

Did I get the wrong coil?
Can bad hei module fry the coil?
Did the stock plug gap do this?


View attachment 1828112

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zombezoo said:

Purchased:
Pertronix 44011 Flame-Thrower III Ignition Coil, 45,000 Volt 0.32 Ohm, 12 Volt, Black

HEI distributor mount

Delphi DS10071 Ignition Control Module

All brand new.

I removed the existing ballast resistor, tied ignition 1&2 together and wired to coil positive and hei module
Coil negative to hei module
Electronic distributor field wires to the other two terminals.

I did not increase the gap on the plugs yet (problem?)

Car started and ran great.

Started and stopped the car probably 30 times while getting other items setup. Idled car for at least 30 min on several occasions, no issues.

Today was first extended drive, made it about 40 min and car backfired and died on the road. No spark.

Coil has failed spectacularly. Crack across the wire end, sprayed it's oil out all over.

Coil and hei module apparently dead.

Swapped for original Mopar coil and spare hei module, car runs, just did that for 2 min to get back into the driveway.

Did I get the wrong coil?
Can bad hei module fry the coil?
Did the stock plug gap do thi

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zombezoo said:

FYI, received 3 ohm coil this morning and the instructions state this coil is not recommended for 8 cyl applications. Seems that I need the 1.5 ohm version. I'm going to return this one and purchase the 1.5 ohm

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chrger1967 said:

I'm going almost the same thing. I have a pertronix II and I called them about what coil to use. First, they told me to use a 1.5-ohm coil, I bought one and called them again and was told I need a .06-ohm coil. So, I bought a 45111. I'm going to try using a relay to circumvent ballast resistor. Both are coming today, lets see what happens. Have you tried calling Pertronix and having them tell you what coil you need, maybe the ohms are too high?

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