Ignition Issues

[Freshmeat]

As ya'll know, I was having ignition problems with the white wagon (1990 stock EFI 302). I was told by pretty much everyone it was the distributor going out, so I picked up another distributor and it still won't fire properly.

However, if I leave it KOEO and twist the distributor counterclockwise until the module wiring harness presses against the alternator bracket support bar I can hear the fuel pump kick on.

Any ideas?

I have a feeling I'll be getting another Chilton/Haynes manual tomorrow... after I pick up a battery charger tonight. Been cranking the fawk out of that motor. hehehe.

Help would be appreciated.

[turbo2256b]

Bad wire or connection possibly.

[Freshmeat]

If I just press on the harness, though, it doesn't do it. If I tug on the plug wires, it doesn't do it. If I disconnect the harness and pull on that, it doesn't do it.

I'm stumped.

[turbo2256b]

Check the wires the harness pulls on when you rotate the distributor. Follow them to the firewall if needed. Hook up a ground wire from the distributor to the block. I have seen that stop a few.

[88grandmarq]

wait, I am confused

you say there is an ignition problem, then you say the fuel pump relay is cutting on/off. which is it ?
and what do you mean by "not firing correctly"? weak spark, random spark?

[Freshmeat]

Running on an idea from SteveS from CVN (that the pump will come on whenever the rotor meets a contact) I went and played with the distributor some more. At full retard I could get it semi-running, so I adjusted it a tooth and it cranked up (after readjusting because I skipped a tooth). I have it set at 10* BTDC.

This problem is solved, but it is still stalling out a lot. Any ideas? I'm about to go get new plugs and wires because the wires look bad and new plugs never hurt.

No bad engine codes are coming back; only system okay or whatever it is.

[gadget73]

Does it idle too low? Maybe the IAC isn't working properly. Really bad plugs/wires will also make it run like crap. Change cap and rotor too.

[Freshmeat]

New cap and rotor. Picked up some new plugs and wires (and Seafoamed it in the parking lot) which led to this (copied from the girly site):

May need to rename this thread.

I drove it to the parts store and noticed a faint miss, even while doing 35-40. At the parts store I ran some Seafoam through the brake booster hose to hopefully clean up the valves and whatnot.
On the way home the miss started getting noticeably stronger until it was actually bucking, then died 1/4 mile from my house (thankfully I made it up the overpass and was able to coast down). I pushed it the last 1/4 mile. Flip flops are not good for pushing.

It'll start, but it runs like a Saints lineman and dies unless I stay on the throttle. I was able to drive it a very short stint while keeping the accelerator pedal floored (before anyone starts in about how that's careless and can blow the motor, keep in mind I have 3 302s sitting in my garage), but it kept clacking almost like the bottom end was falling out (but not the loud sound of a rod knock).

That's where I am. I'm getting a compression tester tomorrow. Anyone have any ideas?

[DuceAnAHalf]

[85crownHPP]

have you checked the EGR for cloggedness?

[Freshmeat]

I'm pretty sure this is more than an EGR could do.

It'll start and run but it acts like it's hardly firing on most cylinders. Gonna run a compression test. I have a feeling the timing chain keeps jumping around. Most likely the original equipment.

[gadget73]

Do you have a temperature guage in the car? Sounds almost like its getting massively hot and spark knocking really heavily. Does the motor seem really hot or anything when it does this? Have you checked the fuel pressure when it starts screwing up? I know you said you checked it but was that when it was running normal or when it was barely staying running?

[turbo2256b]

Running on an idea from SteveS from CVN (that the pump will come on whenever the rotor meets a contact) I went and played with the distributor some more. At full retard I could get it semi-running, so I adjusted it a tooth and it cranked up (after readjusting because I skipped a tooth). I have it set at 10* BTDC.

This problem is solved, but it is still stalling out a lot. Any ideas? I'm about to go get new plugs and wires because the wires look bad and new plugs never hurt.

No bad engine codes are coming back; only system okay or whatever it is.

If you pulled the dist moved it a tooth adjusted the timing and it ran better. At least for a while. Sounds like its a timing chain. You might be able to check for that by pulling back and forth on the fan belt and watching to see if the damper moves left and right easly before it "catches".

[Freshmeat]

No slack in the timing- I tried that Tuesday night (but I'll check it out again once I know the found problems are resolved)...

Well... I tested a few things. It's showing to not have grounding issues from motor to battery, motor to firewall, and firewall to chassis. That's good.

The bad is when I tested the wires on the coil. The both came up as 11.85v which is good enough... but I noticed something funky about the one on the right... it didn't seem to get the reading easily. I poked into the wire further back and wiggled the wire at the plug and the voltage was jumping all over the place. Looks like the connectors are bad. I'm gonna try to get a new plug but if I can't I'll find a good used one and take it from there. I'll be repairing any problems I find along the way and I consider this to be a problem. Considering the intermittent nature of this, I'm willing to bet this is playing at least some part in the failure.

Once I get the new connector, plugs, and wires installed I'll update you all.

Any new ideas are more than welcome. I appreciate the help I've received so far.

I'm not thinking clogged cats because when it runs it'll rip the tires loose off the line. It certainly has power when it's not acting up and I've never seen plugged cats cause such random problems while being fine in between.

[gadget73]

I'm inclined to agree about the cats. They wont make it spit and sputter like you're describing. It would just choke the motor down so it has no power. The crap wire on the ignition coil seems like a definite possible.