my B.I.L called and said his 1974 vette would not start,
he's in GA and IM in texas so I can't just drop by and fix it,
I rapidly diagnosed over the phone, his initial issue, the car would not run,
down to the fact that he had zero ignition spark ,
and traced it to a defective distributor, not being there I suggested he replace it ,
as he was not able to tell me what component had failed internally,
and pictures , he sent to my phone showed it was rather badly rusted internally and the springs weights and condenser were badly rusted.
he just purchased a new distributor from summit racing, and once he installed it and the corvette starts right up now,
but I had him checking the voltage from the alternator and its fluctuating between 9 volts and 13.7 volts,
the problem here as I'm not sure what he's testing and when,
the coil voltage normally drops to about 9 volts,
while the starters spinning the engine over,
but he's stating its doing it before the engine spins
this may be a lack of communication, between us,
this might be the alternator , voltage regulator,
or a defective battery or several other potential issues, but it requires testing
obviously this is a serious electrical issue and not being hands on it's not something I can easily trace, so I welcome your thoughts ?
I'm thinking there's a loose electrical ground, a defective battery or the alternators not working correctly,
I'm suggesting he start checking several things, like a defective battery plate, or loose electrical ground or battery cable connection
obviously troubleshooting over the phone when your not sure if the guys meter is set correctly,
or what he's testing or where he's probing is more difficult.
obviously having a decent timing light and multi meter helps a great deal.
as always start by checking the battery voltage and connections,
and what the alternator voltage is at idle and once its at at least 1100 rpm.
www.harborfreight.com
related links and threads (that contain a good deal of related info)
http://garage.grumpysperformance.com/index.php?threads/battery-or-alternator.10003/#post-43220
http://garage.grumpysperformance.com/index.php?threads/testing-an-alternator.3222/#post-46703
http://garage.grumpysperformance.com/index.php?threads/is-my-alt-dead.6964/#post-22890
http://forum.grumpysperformance.com/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=3222&p=8575&hilit=test+alternator#p8575
http://garage.grumpysperformance.com/index.php?threads/how-altenators-work.355/#post-492
he's in GA and IM in texas so I can't just drop by and fix it,
I rapidly diagnosed over the phone, his initial issue, the car would not run,
down to the fact that he had zero ignition spark ,
and traced it to a defective distributor, not being there I suggested he replace it ,
as he was not able to tell me what component had failed internally,
and pictures , he sent to my phone showed it was rather badly rusted internally and the springs weights and condenser were badly rusted.
he just purchased a new distributor from summit racing, and once he installed it and the corvette starts right up now,
but I had him checking the voltage from the alternator and its fluctuating between 9 volts and 13.7 volts,
the problem here as I'm not sure what he's testing and when,
the coil voltage normally drops to about 9 volts,
while the starters spinning the engine over,
but he's stating its doing it before the engine spins
this may be a lack of communication, between us,
this might be the alternator , voltage regulator,
or a defective battery or several other potential issues, but it requires testing
obviously this is a serious electrical issue and not being hands on it's not something I can easily trace, so I welcome your thoughts ?
I'm thinking there's a loose electrical ground, a defective battery or the alternators not working correctly,
I'm suggesting he start checking several things, like a defective battery plate, or loose electrical ground or battery cable connection
obviously troubleshooting over the phone when your not sure if the guys meter is set correctly,
or what he's testing or where he's probing is more difficult.
obviously having a decent timing light and multi meter helps a great deal.
as always start by checking the battery voltage and connections,
and what the alternator voltage is at idle and once its at at least 1100 rpm.
14 Function Digital Multimeter with Sound Level and Luminosity
Amazing deals on this 14 Function Digital Multimeter, Sound at Harbor Freight. Quality tools & low prices.
related links and threads (that contain a good deal of related info)
http://garage.grumpysperformance.com/index.php?threads/battery-or-alternator.10003/#post-43220
http://garage.grumpysperformance.com/index.php?threads/testing-an-alternator.3222/#post-46703
http://garage.grumpysperformance.com/index.php?threads/is-my-alt-dead.6964/#post-22890
http://forum.grumpysperformance.com/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=3222&p=8575&hilit=test+alternator#p8575
http://garage.grumpysperformance.com/index.php?threads/how-altenators-work.355/#post-492
trouble shooting & rebuilding HEI ignitions
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garage.grumpysperformance.com
testing an ignition coil
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garage.grumpysperformance.com
won,t spin or start
Thanks Brian, I just got in from wrenching... didn't see your note until now. THANKS I appreciate the offer. Soooo, I got this And the baddest-ass cable I could find. Red: before Black: after.
garage.grumpysperformance.com
Burning Out Chevy Hei Distributor Ignition Modules
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tracking down the problem getting the engine started
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garage.grumpysperformance.com
think logically don,t assume
I have an 82 with just under 80k on it. I was tooling down the road and power just went away. I was able to limp home feathering the throttle to keep it alive. Now in the garage for a while, its starts right up and but will not hold throttle. Goes up to 3k rpm and then loses power. Sounds great...
garage.grumpysperformance.com
multi-meters
http://www.ladyada.net/learn/multimeter/ http://www.multimeterwarehouse.com/usingamultimeter.htm http://www.wikihow.com/Use-a-Multimeter http://mechatronics.mech.northwestern.e ... meter.html viewtopic.php?f=80&t=728&p=9217#p9217...
garage.grumpysperformance.com
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