I am still having a problem with the coil arcking at the + & - terminals and the coil wire. I have changed the wires to the 8.8mm and put on a accel coil. I tried the porclein resistor and it won't start with it.
When I did the original swap to the DSII the brn/pink wire was connected to a red ?resistor wire on the female side of the plug and came out on the male side as just the brn/pink ans was connected to the + on the old tfi coil, because the wires was bad on the female side I cut the red & brn/pink wire before i realised the red wire was a resistor wire.
I checked the voltage at the + side and it is 13volts running and the - side is 5/6. All the wires are hooked up correctly and initial timing set at 12.
I took it to a shop and they are not sure but I think they just don't want to work on it last time for them.
Before I start again, I was told the + wire to the coil has to be a hot wire in the run & start mode but not accessary?
Desperate need of help any ideas appreciated, really need this by Monday. Thanks
Arcing from the coil high voltage terminal to the +/- terminals indicates that the high voltage circuit has excessive resistance or is open circuited. To verify this, install a temporary jumper from the coil's high voltage terminal to ground (bailing wire will work, just don't touch it) and try starting it. If the arcing at the +/- terminals goes away while attempting to start, you have an a problem in the high voltage circuit, i.e. too large a spark plug gap, bad plug, bad cap, bad rotor, and/or bad plug wires (even new wires can be bad). If grounding the high voltage coil terminal does not eliminate the arcing at the coils +/- terminals, I do not understand what is happening but would first suspect a coil internal problem (try installing the old coil).
The red/light-green wire is the resistor wire coming from the ignition switch and is hot in start and running. The brown/pink wire also comes from the ignition switch and is hot in start only. The brown/pink wire bypasses the resistor wire and provides full battery voltage to the coil during starting when the battery voltage is pulled down by the starter. On the Duraspark ignition system, both of these wires should be connected to the + terminal of the coil. If the resistor wire is damaged, it can be replaced with a standard copper wire with a series connected resistor (about 1.1 to 1.4 ohms). If this is a early Pinto, the resistor bypass wire is also red/light-green (not brown/pink) and comes from the starter relay solenoid instead of the ignition switch.
You mentioned using an TFI coil. If this is a TFI ignition system, the wire colors are different and the resistor is in the negative circuit to the coil.
If the above does not solve the problem(s), please provide the type and year ignition system being used and the year Pinto.
I finally got every thing checked and traced to the dizzy, according to the book when you drop it in at TDC and the rotor is pointing to #1 you turn (by hand) the engine a little to get the pick up coil to line up so it is in static time. This is what I did, however the rotor is not exactly lined up with the #1 post. I have attached photos of what I have done is this right. I can get it to run and by adjusting the dizzy normaly I can get it to 10-12 deg. However the arcking has went away until the coil wire gets close to (//)
Your photo attachment did not seem to work. Also your last sentence was cut off. Maybe it is my computer. Could you try your photo and question again.
Since you were able to get it running and you are able to set the timing, it sounds like you got the distributor installed correctly. I do not believe the rotor needs to be perfectly aligned with the cap post. As the vacuum advance/retard operates, it changes the rotor-cap spark alignment some.
I guess they are to big, sorry, any way the coil wire is still arking if it gets near metal.
If you look close at a engine running in the dark, you can usually see a neat light show depending on humidity. If your engine does not miss under high load wide open throttle operation, I would suspect it is good enough. For a severe check, tie off or tape the coil wire to a metal ground for this test. If it does miss, I would double check everything mentioned earlier in this thread.
On the rotor to cap alignment concern, you can try moving it a gear tooth to see if the alignment gets better. I have had problems with distributor caps with aluminum terminals when the aluminum gets corroded. Aluminum oxide makes a good insulator.
;D I would like to thank everyone for their help, I finnally got it. It was a wrong rotor. After I finally got to look at one I realised the problem. Seems the parts stores can't figure out the difference between a 79 2.8l and a 70 ford truck with a 390V8. 4 wrong ones from the parts store actually 2 wrong and 2 in the wrong box. Live and learn.
However I would like to say the help I got on here was great!! The 3 Master ASE ::) certifed mechanics I took it to had some ideas on the problem, Blown engine, timing gears and wiring harness fried (and best for last) the transmission was shot and needed to be replaced. The (tranny one was a Ford Dealership) the other 2 was reputable shops. Thanks again! :fastcar:
Quote from: oldman on January 30, 2007, 12:14:24 PM
However I would like to say the help I got on here was great!! The 3 Master ASE ::) certified mechanics I took it to had some ideas on the problem, Blown engine, timing gears and wiring harness fried (and best for last) the transmission was shot and needed to be replaced. The (tranny one was a Ford Dealership) the other 2 was reputable shops. Thanks again! :fastcar:
No offense to the fine ASE Certified folks here but, in a FEW cases that I've seen, ASE tells me you study good but know nothing.
In my occupation, they are also forcing certification and 23 years of experience means nothing anymore.
/Hijack
Yep I'm certified, as well as certifiable. The ASE classes teach you the basics & general mechanics, but there is NO substitute for "hands on" experience. Am I a good mechanic? Depends on what kind of car I'm working on. If I know the car well (like my Pinto), oh HECK yeah. But give me a GM & watch me scratch my head.
Why is an "all new car" usually so hard to get fixed? Because even the most senior guy in the shop has never seen the systems, much less tried to troubleshoot them! /end Hijack