[Dave66]

I have a 1971 Mustang with a 429 Cobra Jet engine. I just installed a Pertronix Ignitor 2 Billet Distributor, Pertronix FlameThrower 2 ignition coil, and the Pertronix 2001 Relay unit, along with new Ford Performance 9mm spark plug wires. The battery, spark plugs, starter, alternator, starter solenoid, and voltage regulator have also been replaced recently. I now have a no-start condition...

Here are the voltage readings I got with a multimeter tool:

• Voltage at battery - 12.7 volts
• Voltage (key on) at positive terminal on coil - 12.6 volts (using engine block or battery terminal for ground - no voltage reading when I tried to use the negative terminal on the coil for ground)
• I did confirm that there is no voltage to the coil with the key off
• I checked the ground at the ignitor plate inside the distributor (12.6 volts between battery positive and plate ground)
• I checked the ground at the negative coil terminal (only showed 11.6 volts between battery positive and coil negative for some reason)
• The Pertronix 2001 relay unit is grounded directly to the battery negative terminal and not the chassis - not sure if that matters or not, I have read some conflicting posts regarding the correct way to ground something like this relay
• I have not tested for spark at the plugs yet

Could I have a faulty ground at the coil?

Any guidance or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I am hoping that there is something simple that I have overlooked.

Thanks everyone

 

[The Mad Porter]

I have a 1971 Mustang with a 429 Cobra Jet engine. I just installed a Pertronix Ignitor 2 Billet Distributor, Pertronix FlameThrower 2 ignition coil, and the Pertronix 2001 Relay unit, along with new Ford Performance 9mm spark plug wires. The battery, spark plugs, starter, alternator, starter solenoid, and voltage regulator have also been replaced recently. I now have a no-start condition...

Here are the voltage readings I got with a multimeter tool:

• Voltage at battery - 12.7 volts
• Voltage (key on) at positive terminal on coil - 12.6 volts (using engine block or battery terminal for ground - no voltage reading when I tried to use the negative terminal on the coil for ground)
• I did confirm that there is no voltage to the coil with the key off
• I checked the ground at the ignitor plate inside the distributor (12.6 volts between battery positive and plate ground)
• I checked the ground at the negative coil terminal (only showed 11.6 volts between battery positive and coil negative for some reason)
• The Pertronix 2001 relay unit is grounded directly to the battery negative terminal and not the chassis - not sure if that matters or not, I have read some conflicting posts regarding the correct way to ground something like this relay
• I have not tested for spark at the plugs yet

Could I have a faulty ground at the coil?

Any guidance or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I am hoping that there is something simple that I have overlooked.

Thanks everyone

Points distributors have a short bare ground strap from the points to the dizzy body. Is this in place?
Do you have power to the pertronix when cranking?







Scotty J. "AKA" The "Mad Porter"
"EMC 2006" 3rd place finisher
Ported BBF iron head specialist & Aluminum heads from all sources.
Custom ground cams
See our products in the Vendor for sale section
Customized crate engines
ParklandAutoMachine.com
R-H-P.biz
"Parkland Performance Auto Machine" Formerly RHP
(253)-988-6648
Log in or sign up to view

 

[Dave66]

Points distributors have a short bare ground strap from the points to the dizzy body. Is this in place?
Do you have power to the pertronix when cranking?







Scotty J. "AKA" The "Mad Porter"
"EMC 2006" 3rd place finisher
Ported BBF iron head specialist & Aluminum heads from all sources.
Custom ground cams
See our products in the Vendor for sale section
Customized crate engines
ParklandAutoMachine.com
R-H-P.biz
"Parkland Performance Auto Machine" Formerly RHP
(253)-988-6648
Log in or sign up to view

This is a brand new distributor, there is a ground wire that goes from inside the distributor to the coil. I did check the wire inside the distributor and it appears to have good ground.

I have not checked coil voltage while cranking - I will get my wife to help me check that later today, and I will let you know what I get.

Thanks Scotty.

 

[ArnoldRC]

You're not 180" out are you?

 

[PSIG]

Testing for voltage is only a partial indication. Voltage drop is what you're looking for. Find a page or video that describes doing voltage-drop testing.

 

[The Mad Porter]

This is a brand new distributor, there is a ground wire that goes from inside the distributor to the coil. I did check the wire inside the distributor and it appears to have good ground.

I have not checked coil voltage while cranking - I will get my wife to help me check that later today, and I will let you know what I get.

Thanks Scotty.

My bad I didn't catch the actual Pertronix Dizzy part.

You must have power to the dizzy when cranking or a NS will occur.




Scotty J. "AKA" The "Mad Porter"
"EMC 2006" 3rd place finisher
Ported BBF iron head specialist & Aluminum heads from all sources.
Custom ground cams
See our products in the Vendor for sale section
Customized crate engines
ParklandAutoMachine.com
R-H-P.biz
"Parkland Performance Auto Machine" Formerly RHP
(253)-988-6648

 

[pedal2themetal45]

HI,
Don't know how much knowledge you have , but as stated by anrold are you sure you not 180* out of time??
Do you have the right TDC on the crank for distributor drop in at #1?? The crank turns twice (2) times to one turn of the distributor.. So TDC on the crank comes up twice and you need the right one for it to start..
When they talk 1 RPM = 1 Revolution that is at the distributor to obtain that the crank turns twice..

good luck take care be safe
tim

 

[ArnoldRC]

X2 on PSIG. DVOMs do a math problem whilst set to voltage. They read the voltage at both probes, and subtract one from the other. A lead placed on two points of source voltage would read zero...or 12-12=0. OR....if there's high resistance due to corrosion at a connection, it may read 1 or 2 volts or higher...indicating an issue...12-10=2 volts.... technically "dropped" in a connection that shouldn't be acting as a load.

 

[Dave66]

HI,
Don't know how much knowledge you have , but as stated by anrold are you sure you not 180* out of time??
Do you have the right TDC on the crank for distributor drop in at #1?? The crank turns twice (2) times to one turn of the distributor.. So TDC on the crank comes up twice and you need the right one for it to start..
When they talk 1 RPM = 1 Revolution that is at the distributor to obtain that the crank turns twice..

good luck take care be safe
tim

Unfortunately I got busy working around the house today and wasn't able to check anything else on the car, and I will be out of town most of the week - may be next weekend before I get a chance to dive back into this.

When I installed the new distributor, I made sure that the rotor and the #1 plug wire orientation were in the same position as they were on the old distributor - could it be that I screwed that up?

I also have the old battery cables that I replaced on my MasterCraft boat a few years ago before I sold it - they are good 2 gauge wires - just need to cut them to the correct lengths and put new ends on them - think I will replace all of my old cables just to make sure that I don't have any issues stemming from faulty cables.

Thanks again everybody - greatly appreciate your input!

 

[pedal2themetal45]

HI,
As long as when you pulled the old distributor it was orientated with the rotor pointing to the #1 wire. and the crank was at TDC, and you did not rotate the crank at all. before installing the new one you should be OK. and you have the firing order right.

good luck take care be safe
tim

 

[Dave66]

Quick update - and thanks to everyone who replied!
Not sure exactly what the fix was, but I did replace all the battery cables (2 gauge battery, starter, and block/body ground cables), relocated the coil to the passenger side block, replaced the coil lead wire (existing coil wire was too short), and made a slight adjustment to the timing - fired up and runs at higher rpm’s but won’t idle. Just need to get my wife or nephew to keep it running while I set the timing!
Appreciate everyone’s help and look forward to further assistance as I tend to mess things up when I start these projects!

 

[PSIG]

Just need to get my wife or nephew to keep it running while I set the timing!

Unless your distributor was checked on a distributor machine, you may not know exactly where the curve and advance limits are. With modded or unknown distributors, I prefer to set at the all-in rpm with vacuum disconnected, warm engine. That's revving until the advance stops adding, setting the max all-in point (much more important than idle timing). Then let it idle-down to target warm idle and verify your curb-idle advance value for future timing checks. While including family in the project is always cool, it's also a solo mission option that way.