No Spark Troubleshooting [Mopar Electronic Ignition with Ballast Resistor]
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 8 ก.ค. 2024
- This is a vintage ignition system but we are going to apply the same processes we use today to troubleshoot a no spark conditions on this system. All you need is a simple test light to follow along!
The truck being used is a 1978 Dodge Power Wagon W150
Control Testing Ignition Coils:
No Spark Diagnostics "Control Testing" Part 1 [an ScannerDanner Premium video] • No Spark Diagnostics "...
No Spark Diagnostics "Control Testing" Part 2 [an ScannerDanner Premium video] • No Spark Diagnostics "...
00:00 intro
00:47 what system we are working on
01:25 ignition coil voltage readings
02:20 thermal camera view
02:40 primary current flow
05:00 don't leave your key on!
06:40 what no ground on the ICM looks like
08:40 control testing with a test light
12:00 importance of the cranking bypass circuit
17:45 bypass circuit enabled vs disabled during cranking
19:05 what a faulty pickup coil looks like
20:38 pick-up coil bypass test
22:40 resistance test of the pick-up
24:40 me stabbing myself with a pin
25:00 pick-up coil output voltage test
27:35 why I don't like the voltmeter for coil negative control testing
31:20 flow chart for no spark diagnostics on this system
31:45 forum post for access to my flow chart www.scannerdanner.com/forum/s...
ScannerDanner Tools:
www.scannerdanner.com/tools.html
www.amazon.com/shop/scannerda...
For more information on this topic, I have written a “field manual” called Engine Performance Diagnostics which is available at www.scannerdanner.com as an eBook or paper book.
Want even more diagnostic training? Whether you are a DIY trying to fix your own car, someone looking to become an auto technician, or a current auto technician that wants to get more into diagnostics, subscribe to ScannerDanner Premium www.scannerdanner.com/join-sc... There is a 14 day free trial.
On ScannerDanner Premium I will bring you right into my classroom at Rosedale Technical College. You will find page for page lectures taken right from my book as well as exclusive classroom type case studies. What is so special about these classroom case studies? I pull live problem vehicles directly into my classroom and we troubleshoot them in real time, using and applying the theory and testing procedures we learn during the classroom lectures. There is no better on-line training of how to troubleshoot automotive electrical and electronics systems anywhere!
Disclaimer:
Due to factors beyond the control of ScannerDanner LLC, it cannot guarantee against unauthorized modifications of this information, or improper use of this information. ScannerDanner LLC assumes no liability for property damage or injury incurred as a result of any of the information contained in this video. ScannerDanner LLC recommends safe practices when working with power tools, automotive lifts, lifting tools, jack stands, electrical equipment, blunt instruments, chemicals, lubricants, or any other tools or equipment seen or implied in this video. Due to factors beyond the control of ScannerDanner LLC, no information contained in this video shall create any express or implied warranty or guarantee of any particular result. Any injury, damage or loss that may result from improper use of these tools, equipment, or the information contained in this video is the sole responsibility of the user and not ScannerDanner LLC. - ยานยนต์และพาหนะ
![Ignition System Testing - Primary Current [Audi A6 part 1 of 2]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/qRvWefjb0F4/mqdefault.jpg)
![Ignition System Testing - Primary Current [Audi A6 part 1 of 2]](/img/tr.png)
That Power Wagon is f-ing sick! I was in love the Simon & Simon Power wagon back in the 80's with the big wooden front bumper! Rock on DAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
thank you Fred!
My Dad always told me to never leave a vehicle in run while engine is off. In those days every vehicle had an "AUX" position for the ignition key, which would allow teenagers to get into all kind of trouble while listening to the radio with their girlfriends.
Im in my garage as we speak trying to figure out why my 64 Chrysler Newport that also has the 413 wedge has no start no spark. Out of frustration I took a break and amazingly ran across your tutorial video. A video explaining the how two's on the same engine is mind blowing. lol
After a week of stress I finally got my car started so thank you SO SO MUCH
Awesome! What was your issue?
Awesome Channel,I'm stumped I have a 1971 Scamp 440 ECU controller been thru all your test no spark all test from your video,the negative side of coil not pulsating,when turn over,light dim, but once you release key tries to turn over .any help would be great.thanks
Love watching videos on 70,80 and 90's vehicles! Great job!
I had a 76 power wagon 440. This video brings back good memories and diags i have all but forgotten
Back in the day though, you could easily diagnose the ignition module and pick one up at any part store or even Kmart. (Same for FORD) No vehicle specific or programming required. I'll take it over todays crap anytime. No new vehicles for me.
You make everything understandable! Thanks for your instructions! 😊
I remember working my dad's 1988 toyota hilux pick up with ballasts,condenser and points set up.timing light and dwell meter were paramount in those days.also I did fry a coil by leaving key on too long.Thanks Danner
Thanks Paul I am working on one right now, thank you
Great video, thanks!
Love this one!!! Mopar electrical diagnosis, you should make more of these with the Big 3 ,I find Chevy to be easiest to diagnose and Ford to be the most difficult . Thanks Paul for all you do !
Thanks for these videos of the older trucks! Love it! Nice Tin Grill BTW!! Keep these kinds of videos coming please.
In the day if we had an ignition problem on these systems we always made / added a ground wire from the module to the body. Hope you and your family had a Great Thanksgiving.
Спасибо.Очень хорошо изложена методика диагностирования системы зажигания.
I worked on a 70’s Dodge farm truck last summer. Showed the farmer very weak signal from distributor using my “old”vantage. Moved pickup a little closer and it started. Worn shaft. Then I had to rebuild his carb so it would idle. Farm trucks sit all year till harvest time. A real test for my memory. Always enjoy your videos.
Del
Great video Paul love that Old School Power Wagon worked on ALOT of them back in the day including A LOT of Breaker Points system.Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving and a safe one.God Bless!
I don't know what you're talking about half the time but I find it entertaining and learn a little bit more each time! I hope next time My Intermittent no start Celica stops when I'm at home I have a few more ways to work out whats happening!
I have some celica videos with ignition system issues on my sons 94. At least 3 different ones
Youre the man Paul
Awesome video! 2 years ago I working on a 440 and customer complaint was engine dies and won’t restart until it sits over night. I found the coil was failing when hot because the ballast resistors were bypassed allowing constant battery voltage in the run position. This video will definitively help the next time!
Thank you very helpful !!
Amazing reference video thank you.
Glad it was helpful!
Good stuff!
Excelent as always. 👌
With the exception of the height and color, that could be a Lil' Red Express Truck. I had a customer with a 1978 Chrysler Newport with a 400 engine. It had that lean burn system that was very troublesome. The thing backfired and blew the muffler off and then became a crank/no start. Turns out, the ballast resistor went bad and we were able to replace that and it started. By this time, the owner was fed up and traded the thing for a 1984 Mercury Grand Marquis and he drove that 6 years after that. I think 1978 was when Chrysler had to be bailed out the first time. Great video!
Very cool truck
I learned to keep a ballast resistor and a wrench in the glovebox for my Chrysler Newport with a 400. My buddy kept them in his 318 Plymouth Satellite too. I was getting ready to get two hardier resistors and make my own.
This video would've been very helpful years ago. I haven't worked on one of this style in 15 years. One of my friends is putting one of the 70's Mopars back together right now so I'll forward it to him.
Thank you!
A spark gap measurement device with increments of spark gap, as shown here, is just a few dollars but will let you know if you have a weak coil/spark signal and save a lot of headaches. Great video!😊
Thanks 👍
My teacher
ACCOMPLISHED Sir ScannerDanner
From Nick Ayivor from London England UK 🇬🇧
Great no spark diagnostic video! You should warn folks of the danger of cranking too much while attempting to start with regards to fuel build up in the intake & exhaust and the possibilities of backfire once spark is established.
Good vid that covered almost everything. One nasty gotcha on these distributor pickups with vacuum advance is the pickup wiring fatiguing inside the distributor. The one that bit me back in the day was a start stall, kinda like an open ballast resistor but didn't die quite as fast. Pickup ohmed out static but the vacuum advance was opening a break in the wiring.
Yup, I had the same issue with a few gm vehicles, the wiring inside the cap to the module would break
Nice truck
Hey thanks for the in-depth explanation ended up just being a bad ground on it my dad's been working on this for 2 weeks all it took was him to ask me and this TH-cam video to be found
Awesome! Glad you were able to find that bad ground using this video.
great video really enjoyed have tested many but still refreshers are so nice i have one of the old Alltest testers that check each part which make it easy you can even fire the coil
@27:15. Sometimes, people just like to listen to you! Thank you. Totally agree that Ma Mopar didn't finish designing the ignition module for robustness.
You two make the best videos ever! Love how you do the hands on testing step by step ...thanks guys truly enjoyed this one ....old school cool !!
Glad you enjoyed it! Thank you
Good info. 👍
Glad it was helpful! Thank you!
nice truck
On a side note, the later years Mopars had a dual pickup distributor. Start and run pickups in it. And the ignition module was a 4 pin. The start coil would fail and the truck would start after cranking and releasing the key. After dealing with that way too many times, I would just cobble a GM H.E.I. distributor together with a Dodge shaft and be done with all that nonsense lol.
Very smart man . Subscribed
Thanks and welcome
This was a great video! I have a 1978 D150 with a 360LA in it. A wire burned, so I took all of the wires off to the bulkhead and started over. I put an Accel coil and an orange box ICM. It has the black mopar VR and the two wire ballast. After rewiring it, I still have a couple of wires to add one being my electric fuel pump and choke. My battery was at 10 volts, and it would turn over but not start... a pretty weak attempt at starting! Tomorrow, I'm going to take a charged battery and try to turn it over, I'll see if that part changes. After getting the fueling going back to the engine, I'll go thru your flowchart with the test light. I don't really like chasing wires, but getting this truck stayed l started, and running was such an accomplishment... it needed an intake gasket because it was backfiring like crazy!
Let me know if you have any questions along the way!
Good test.
This is going to help me out a lot on my super bee because now I know what to look for
Awesome. If you get stuck, feel free to ask me any questions along the way
Great video thanks for share.
Thanks!
No problem! Thank you! What was your issue if I may ask?
You're the man you get right to the point and I like your common sense definitely going to subscribe and watch you from now on whenever I got Chrysler problems thank you brother
Welcome! What are you driving? Just curious
Will be helpful when my '85 Dodge has issues.
Engine looks clean danner. Hope to see you grow your channel. more regular folks will need to fix their own cars in the future...
Thank you!
That is a beautiful MoPar brother 😁
thank you!
My problem I literally just fixed on my 75 Powerwagon 440 was it would crank but no start....fuel was good but no spark....last thing i just switched out was the "brainbox" ....unplugged the harness....plugged in a new unit/hooked a good ground to it...hit the key and BOOM! fired right up for the 1st time in a month lol this video helped me out a ton :)
If you ever need electrical help on your Tin Grille, I am your guy and I love to help! Just get yourself a good incandescent test light for the future, that way I can walk you through tests okay?
@ScannerDanner many thanks....but luckly these old cars and trucks are pretty simple.....if theres fuel but no spark theres only a few things it could be....ballast resistor,voltage regulator,brainbox,coil,distributor,
Ignition switch,....it all checked out good and ok....other then the brainbox on fender....got it up and running like a champ again tho:)....I knew it had to be one of those things and did the process of alimentation till I found the culprit...but still figured Id watch your video and see what I could learn from it:)
Many thanks :)
Those systems were quite reliable in their day except for the dual ballast resister. They would burn out often. I tried mounting a few in an area under the hood that would be cooler, but it didn't help. We suggested to all of our customers that had Chryslers to carry a spare in the glove box in case it left them stranded. Easy enough to change and would usually fix a no start.
From what I heard its the dual resister system that was an issue. The later single ballast wasn't as bad. Was i told wrong? I keep a spare in the glove box just in case but no issues the last 2 years.
Back in the day, I worked for a trucking company that had a Hot Shot division. We had one old late 70s early 80s Dodge van with a 318 with over 350,000 miles with never a bolt turned on the engine. However, It was never dispatched without two ballast resistors in the glove box! It might run a year on one and next time 30 days. We ran it in all 48 states. The resistor was the only problem we ever had with it. When I left there 16 years later, it was still running.
I used to carry an extra ballast resistor and control module.
Wonder if a more modern power resistor with aluminum housing heat sink be an improvement over that ceramic style resistor?
@@Discretesignals Better yet, convert to GM style or a points - condenser distributor.
Magnetic pickup coil is 150-900 ohms to be good. My 78 was intermitent and took 6 years to finally catch it failed. Very informative video.
Thank you!
Sept 2023, great video, follow all steps and checks, and found no reluctor pulses. Adjusted the spacing much closer and voila car starts immediately
Sweet! Glad to help. Nice job on your part
Yes keep it as free us possible
Sweet ass truck had one I had
I cant thank you enough for this video. It’s absolutely fantastic. The electrical system has always baffled me (as I’m not all that knowledgeable about electronics.) And this video is exactly what I was needing.
As it turns out I’m also fixing up a 1978 Power wagon. It’s a 440 W200 Club Cab with a/c and a long bed. It’s always been my dream truck (thanks to my dad) and now that I have my own I can’t wait to hear it roar back to life.
Happy new year and thanks again for such a great video!
Great to hear! Thanks so much! I have another one that will help solidify this for you too
th-cam.com/video/1hWiqXFb-XM/w-d-xo.html hope you like it and will follow the engine build we are about to do with @JAMSIonline
Opening scene reminds me of TRUCKS! With Stacey David back when I was an armchair mechanic lol.
🤣 except for the truck fart noise Caleb put in there
You could have said it no better thanks my boy you explain that good appreciate that
Glad to help! Thank you
I've been a mechanic for about 25 years. I enjoy watching your videos somethings you show I've done and know how to do and somethings you show I learn something new from you. I've got a vehicle that's got me totally lost thought maybe you have seen it before or have any idea of something to check that I haven't done. It's an 2006 implala ss 5.3. It has a long crank time at times with first cycle of ignition and will start right up on second ignition cycle. It's got cam counts crank counts and rpm 60psi fuel pressure injector pulse and spark when it doesn't start new cam sensor and new computer wires been checked got power and ground and signals when doesn't start. No codes that would cause a no start. No theft codes. I'm lost on this one for sure
Leave your fuel psi gauge hooked up overnight and watch it during that first start the next day
@@ScannerDanner fuel pressure is solid 60psi. What I've noticed is if the camshaft stops where the voltage on cam sensor signal wire is high 11v. If I bump the engine over til the cam sensor signal wire is low voltage. 037v. Turn the key off for about 15 seconds to let ecm go to sleep turn key back on the cam sensor signal wire will now have 11v on it instead of the low voltage .037v like it was with key on before turning off. At this time it will not start less you release from crank position to run position then back to crank position with the ignition and it will fire right up like nothing was wrong with it. When it's spinning over and not starting the camshaft counts are counting the camshaft rpms are 0 and not increasing crankshaft counts are counting and rpms are increasing. When you let off from cranking and go back to cranking camshaft counts count and the rpms for the camshaft increase it start right up. Yesterday I made it not start 3 times in a row when putting the camshaft sensor signal on low voltage turn the key off for 15 seconds and try to start it won't start let it stop on the high voltage fire right up every time do tried 4 cam sensors now and a new computer rebuild
Years ago, I had a 77 Dodge 4X4 that I used for plowing snow at my transmission shop. One day I for some reason had the key on engine off and there was a strange buzzing sound from under the hood. I get to poking around when I realize that what I'm hearing is my ignition system is going crazy and if I had pulled the coil wire, I would have been bitten like a thousand bald faced hornets all at once. That happened a couple times over the years I owned that truck. I have never seen that happen on any other ignition system.
🔥
How did I not know of this channel?!
Thanks for the comment! Glad you found me 🙂
Did your learn to speak by watching Bill and Ted? Awesome diag man
🤣
Thanks for taking the time to make this detailed video! Lots of "us" out there that learn better by visual/audio.
Flowchart is a great idea!
Altho I'm not in the tin grill gang, I am in the Mopar club, with a 67 cuda, currently chasing elec gremlins lol.
I'd be happy to help you my friend. Thank you!
@@ScannerDanner thanks Dan, I've got a channel with videos of my psychosis lol. It's a granddaughter day today, so chk back later. Surprised theres no Chuck Liddell reference in the video?? Lol
@@4spdragtop lol I've heard I look like Chuck Liddell many times. Oh and my name is Paul Danner, but I get "Dan" a lot for obvious reasons. Enjoy your granddaughter day! I am a grandfather as well these days! She is 2 and is amazing! God bless
@@ScannerDanner Paul, will using a remote push button starter skew the tests in any way?
@@4spdragtop You've installed a push button for the crank circuit why? If you were missing power from the ignition switch, the run circuits could be affected too.
Also, there is a cranking bypass circuit for the ballast resistor that provide full system voltage to the coil during cranking. That must be working too.
I can hear Scotty Kilmer saying “you don’t need a big fancy spark testing tool” lol great video Paul hope you and the family had a great thanksgiving!
I enjoyed this video and it helped in many ways. Except it still didn't cover my issue with no spark on a 79 dodge D150. You went over everything except the Distributor cap which is where my problem was located. I really feel you should have covered everything from battery to spark plug.
The cap itself was your issue? This was about getting good strong spark at the ignition coil itself. I did not cover anything else on the secondary side after the coil intentionally as those are completely separate issues.
But point taken, thank you!
1983 dodge trucks with dual pickup coils in the distributor, if pickup coils are bad make sure the new pickup coils have the same color wires as original or it won't start... The local garage here had one and they gave NAPA the part number on the distributor and Napa sold them a new one and when they went to start it no spark, I ran into this in 1989 on a dodge truck with a 360 engine and bought 2 new pickup coils and put them in and NO SPARK, that's when I called the parts man and said the new ones had gray and black wires and my original ones had orange and black, and when I got the correct Pickup coils the truck started right up... LESSON LEARNED on my part and the Partsman's part....
yeah mopar stuff, ballast resistor was the weak link on my mopars , as far as a part going bad .
Good video. This will be a good reference to look at if I ever have any starting issues with my 70 Monte Carlo with a 396 big block that I removed the points distributor from and installed a Mallory Unilite electronic distributor many years ago. It's been so long ago that I don't even remember how it's hooked up or what components are in the system. I want to think there might be a ballest resister somewhere in the system that I had to install but I'm not sure.
Very useful video and a beautiful truck. My mopar has spark and starts decent but I'm losing 1 volt from the battery to the high side of the ballast. Wiring is pretty new and tried 2 ignition switches but still losing that volt
I believe you won't fix that. Are there any driveability issues you're having?
Engine is cool
Great video Paul. I miss the old school stuff. We still have alot of older cars down here in Arkansas . I changed alot of breaker points from people leaving key on burning the points closed .if the points was closed with key on.
What kind of timeline are we talking about here where starts to become dangerous to the points I wonder?
it depends if the points where closed once the engine stops. There is a chance they are open, in which case no damage will occur
that dual ballast is there so you have a start side and a run side. note there is about 5 iderations on mopar electrinic ignitions and the wiring is slightly different on each. the modules had 5 or 7 wires. it was common for one side to go out and it would fire but not run or it would only fire when you let off the key. if it was cranking fast enough it might start but usually not. one side is 5.5 ohm the other is 55. straight battery voltage will kill those ign modules. also the module case needs a good chassis ground as the early ones the case on the switching transister was actually the base connection. that also would kill the modules. if you touched that switching transister and get zapped you have a bad ground.
Not in this case my friend, one side of the ballast feeds low voltage to the ICM (5-pin) and the other side is for the ignition coil. I have heard the 4 pin ICM does not have the low voltage input and uses the single ballast. I really can't find a straight answer as to why we feed low voltage on the one leg of the 5 pin design.
But in both cases (single or dual ballast) the crank circuit bypasses the ballast on these. Thanks!
What books did you guys like to read to learn more about automotive diag or repair? I just finished popular mechanic's complete car manual and liked it for the simple stuff
👍👍
I wish you were my neighbor!😊
Trying to start this 77 d100 after 20 years.
I can help! Make sure you have an incandescent test light in your hand and are willing to do some testing and I can help. If you go on all of the FB pages all you get is a bunch of guesses
Im watching you video again and I have 11.4 volts to + and - sides of a new installed coil. You suspect the ECU. Its a new too?
Maybe I got a bad one. Heres a quick question…
Should the casing of transistor that sticks out of ECU light up a testlight? Mine does.
Thanks for responding!
@@gturner7 that sounds like a classic bad ground!!
@@gturner7 and no, it should not light a test light connected to battery ground
Ground is good at ecu housing,fender, firewall and engine.
I dont know why its so hard to buy a new ecu in California.
Next week, seatbelt retractor repair/replacement.
haha indeed!
Look at all the space under that hood
Well done Paul that was great. But what about ACC.
Accessory position? Totally fine, that circuit is not hot in that position
Nice video Danner any update on 86 Celica project
Not yet! We will be starting on it soon
I'm sure ur Einsteins great grandson!!
Hi sir, this is awesome stuff. Could you post a clear, slow rolling video of all the diagrams? Each branch of the flow-chart? Can't get into your site. Thanks!
Why can't you get into my site? Email support@scannerdanner.com and send us any errors you're seeing or problems your having and I'll help you.
Here is a quick test for U .. Disconnect the pick up plate wire & touch the exposed or male side to ground & it will make the coil spark.
I have that in here too. Thanks!
Believe it or not that was called the scratch test in a 1970's 'hotline news letter' from Chrysler Training back in the day
... late 70's those cars had a funky egr timer & we used to make car alarms w/them. I miss those days & the vehicles we worked on.
Brilliant explanation. “Electrics for Dummies”!
That crank bypass still supplies Voltage to “ECU” backfed THRU ballast.
But. I’ve heard the trigger coil in dist has a .5v bias on it.
What do you know about that?
I did scope test the pickup coil didn't I? I believe I remember the bias on this but didn't talk about it in this video as the intended audience was different.
GM used a 1v bias on there pickups back in the day too. Its just done for noise reasons. To pull the - reference off of battery ground.
Nice 78 Paul!!!
Could it be the FICM…? 😀☝️👊
Try a digital voltmeter with a voltage bar graph on the display, see if you like it
The ones I've seen are still not fast enough to be of any value.
@@ScannerDanner I look into it more, thank you, Gene Bowdish
@@ScannerDanner I am assuming 300 rpm starting times 4, 6, or 8 cylinder which could be as high as 2400 hertz, fun to do research on this
some only have 4 wires especially if you order the direct connection kit
I did a 1978 Dodge Truck back in 1986 that was a no crank and no lights, found out the alternator gauge in the dash was bad, put a new alternator gauge in the instrument panel and problem solved.... Dodge always had weird wiring setups to make their engines start and run or lights work....
How would you diagnose no spark under load at higher rpm on this system? I had that issue on my 85 d150 and turned out it was the ICM. Free rev in park wouldn't act up. When ran for a 30 mins or so it would just kill at 3500-4000 rpm until rpms dropped back down below 2000 but only when driving. It was very odd and thought fuel related at first but it seemed more of like an ignition kill. Replaced the icm out of suspect and it fixed it.
Also this is really good info that I will save for later. Would love to see more old school diag on these old trucks. 👍
I'd watch coil firing events with a lab scope under those conditions. Everything else would be too slow to catch it and be accurate enough to make a call. Thank you!
@@ScannerDanner sounds like a good idea. Usually the tell tale sign the icm is bad is usually the goo that flows out the back of them lol. But nah, thank you for your awesome diag skills 😎
I have a 1983 Dodge 318 engine that I had bored .030 and replaced the timing gears and I bought a performance cam. The cam came in a box that was opened. I am having trouble getting it running. If all 8 cylinders have compression, is the cam the right part?
Did it run before?
at 33:16 when you said no flicker, you could have no flicker but with steady light if you are cranking it, due to an open circuit of the ground controlled coil side, because the starter relay is sending 12v when cranking, so in other words when the light flickers and at the moment that it lights, it means it is not energizing the coil. So what happens when I release the key switch to the on position because the engine is already running, how does it send 12v to the coil if the starter relay is not cranking the engine anymore?
And second why is 1.5v at the ground side of the coil?
yes sir! We covered what the open ground or control wire would look like even though I didn't crank it over during that simulated bad ground condition. Why didn't I? Because it wouldn't have looked any different than what we have with just the key on.
Engine running, the ballast resistor is always in play. At times of low speeds the amount of time that the coil is energized is much longer than at higher RPM, so the ballast heats up and cools accordingly, which increases and decreases voltage to coil+
Thanks! Hope that makes sense
If your meter lead was on bat neg and you measure the voltage on coil +, you are measuring the voltage drop of the coil, the wiring to the ignition module and ground (chassis) back to bat neg. When you moved your lead to coil - you measured the voltage drop of the wiring to the module, chassis ground, and back to bat neg. What is the voltage drop across the resistor and the coil themselves? Can you figure out the coil resistance if you know the circuit amperage? You can also figure out the power the resistor is dissipating.
Technically you're seeing the voltage drop that occurred across the first resistor (the ballast). Of course what you see here will be a factor of both resistors (the coil being the second). There's actually a third one here too and that is the driver. It has not applied a full ground, so there is a resistor or current limiting circuit there too.
how would a old school simpson 260 dial meter work on the pulse checking?
Not sure.
99% of my problems with my Plymouths were the Ballast resister. Most of time if you don't screw around with the electronics. they are fine
working on a 81 dodge 150 318 no spark with dist and coil installed in engine . Took dist and coil off of truck bench tested and they worked reinstalled checked all connections they were good . but still no spark . this is not the original dodge system . Mechanic by passed dodge system and put in A Performance brand dist and coil . It worked 3 years on truck but wont now .take it off truck and bench test and it works .Any ideas
1. What is the set-up of this performance system that was installed? Ballast, no ballast, gm module, Chrysler module like my 78?
2. What does coil + and coil - look like with an old school incandescent test light when connected directly to battery ground, key on engine off and the engine cranking?
Back in the day, a bad ballist resistor would start and die when the key is released. It was a common problem.
Yes sir! Because during cranking the ballast is bypassed.
Will these testing processes also work for a 79 slant 6. The ignition system looks the same as what is on my 79 Massey swather with a 225 slant 6 . I keep having intermittent no start that's why I'm wondering if they functioned the same. Great videos I've learned alot from them thanks 👍👍👍
I'm pretty sure it is! Let me know what you find or if you have any questions.
@ScannerDanner did all the tests for the power side of the module. kept losing power intermittently followed the harness from ignition back to the engine module is mounted on a plate on side of the bell housing. After following the wiring under the floor of the operators platform I found a quick connection on the wire no reason for it but obviously from the factory all the other wiring was continuous except for the power wire from there I could reach the ignition with one hand and reach the connector with the other wiggled it while cranking and away it goes shut it off then wouldn't start wiggled the connection again while cranking and it started turned out the connector was loose and a bit rusty cleaned up and squeezed the connector tighter now have better voltage at end of wire and this is the best this swather has started in a number of years. Thanks again for posting this video on this type of ignition system 👍👍🚜💨💨
Even though this was an older video it still popped up in my feed at an appropriate time lol
I have 10 V on both sides of my coil and I’m pretty sure I have a ground issue with my box. I’m thinking of running a ground wire from the behind the box up to the core support more checking to do.
Next step. Key on, measure the voltage on the housing itself and compare to battery ground. If you have a bad ground, you will read 10v on that housing too! No need to work any harder than that! Ov = bad module
10v = bad ground.
Make sense?
@@ScannerDanner yes thanks for pointing me in the right direction
@@mattduke1181 anytime! Glad to help out this community of old mopar guys
Open with the box unplugged I still only have 10 V when I plug the box in I have like 9.69 V or something like that I have 10 or 11 going into the ballast resistor in as soon as I plug the one side of the ballast resistor and it goes 9.69 I’m at a super loss.
@@mattduke1181 sounds like you need an new ICM (box)
Can you do a thorough video of swapping a mopar engine control module to a GM HEI and removing the ballast resustor? Also thoughts on this mod?
I'm totally fine with that mod. The fact that the Mopar system energizes the coil primary circuit with just the key on is stupid! But I honestly do not think the GM 4 pin modules are any more reliable. Especially because they would all be made in China these days.
As far as a video goes, I won't be doing that mod to mine, so I can't really film it. I can help you if you have any questions though. Of the 4 pins, 2 of them are for the pick up coil and then you would have a direct 12v ignition positive source and coil negative for the other two pins. You can take the ignition positive feed that is being supplied to the ballast and use that as your direct ICM positive. You would also use that same circuit to power coil positive. This would be easier to do with a picture. Post to my forum www.scannerdanner.com an image of what you want to do, along with the suggested diagram and we can talk more about it there. It is free to join my forum.
Thank you!
😱👍👍👍👍👍👍👍