Technical Lost my spark

I tried to start my 51 Dodge truck today and in going down the line of what's wrong I found that I lost my spark. I am not familiar with a distributor where there is no oil. I assume I can pop a cover off the top and there will be some sort of coil pack but I would like some advice first. Help!

 

that big black thing on top of the cap is the coil

 

The coil is under that black cap.

 

And make sure that the plug that goes up and into the module is good and tight. Could be that simple.

 

Check to see if you're getting 12v to the distributor. These photos may help:

 

I've had numerous graphite buttons that go from the coil to the rotor break on HEI on thr last couple years. Could be something simple. Really they are pretty simple to begin with...

 

My Son recently repaired his barbers 56 Chevy that has the same HEI. Turns out who ever wired it used one of the extra acc fused terminal from the fuse panel. It blew the fuse.

 

There are many distributor rotors that burn through under the center coil contact blade causing a short to ground through the distributor shaft. Check this after you verify power to distributor as Moriarity suggests.

 

I'd start with the rotor. They work fine one moment and literally the next don't.

 

I had this happen to an OT car with electronic ignition. It turned out to be the wires inside of the distributor and under the coil pac were old and brittle and had broken and not making contact. Easy fix if this is the case for you.
My car would suddenly lose power while driving or start up. You can tell an electrical issue from a fuel issue while driving.
It's a very sharp loss of power as if you turned out the lights.

 

Don't they make a pill for that now?



sorry, looks like the other guys have you pretty well covered for getting the ignition figured out.

 

It’s a wonder Morairity and Jim have not said you need one of these.

 

The truck had been sitting in a cold garage for a month before this happened.

 

Mouse built a house ?

Chevy HEI is pretty reliable till it’s not .

module is the usual culprit

after cap and rotor .

the coils are pretty resilient and reliable

could be the little wires that connect inside the cap or body of the distributor .

 

It was also common for the wires to break at the pickup coil. Those wires have to bend every time the vacuum advance moves. Give those two wires a gentle tug and see if they break off.

 

How many carry extra points? Why are we even talking about hei here?

 

Any recommendations for a quality replacement kit?

 

High Energy Ignition conversion thread, this is neat, https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/more-ignition-talk-small-body-hei.1274572/





First time ... HEI user ? ? ?

 

^^^^
all mention above ,
Let us know witch it was ,
If 12v present , more likely
Module or burnt rotor .

Module will go bad with out any warning.

 

Self contained- No power wire needed. Properly maintained, will provide years of trouble free service.

 

As fare as HEI systems go the GM unit is pretty good.... The only thing that people forget to do is when they replace the control unit they forget to coat the base of it with dielectric silcone grease... It keeps it cool...

 

I’ve worked on many of these things, and I personally like them. But……they don’t fit the HAMB timeframe…..I’m a little surprised this thread is still here…….

 

The best way to test the condition of an HEI distributor is with a flotation test*. Remove the complete distributor from the engine and take to a nearby body of water like a pond or lake. Maybe a deep river will work. Your kitchen sink is not good enough.

Take the distributor in your right hand, and will a full forward motion, throw it to the middle of the water. The test won't work at the edge of the water.

Can you still see the distributor floating on top of the water? If yes, the distributor is no good. If you cannot see the distributor, it was operational.

*flotation test procedure taught by Bruce Lancaster.

 

Isn't that how they decided if someone was a witch? in a Monty Python movie?

 

We extort and pilfer, we filch and sack
Drink up me hearties, yo ho
Maraud and embezzle and even hijack
Drink up me hearties, yo ho
Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate's life for me

 

I’m guessing the movie borrowed the idea from history

 

Why all the hate for GM HEI !?
Sense the Introduction in 70s having own 30 plus GM HEIs & fleet repair maybe only had / seen 5 failures in some way not related to cap & rotor maintenance,
Only complaint big & bulky,
Several times I have test fire engine on the Ground by just dropping in HEI and Supplying 12vs

 

No hate. Just a matter of era correctness.