Runs like crap with "timing wire" connected.

Spectator DragR

Spectator DragR

Member
Truck quit on me yesterday while cruising down the road. Pulled the coil wire from the cap, turned key on and I got a spark, turned key to crank and got another spark. There was only that one spark when first trying to crank. Pulled the distributor and found the pickup coil retainer broken. Was wedged in there making the dist shaft difficult to rotate. Pickup coil checked good. Put a new retainer on it. Everything rotated smoothly. Started it up and it was barely running, popping out the exhaust... like it was running on only 1 or 2 cylinders. When it quit smoke came from the air filter. I unplugged the brown "timing wire" under the dash (like when setting the timing) and it started up and ran smooth. Had to drive it home that way. Turned it off at home, plugged up the timing wire and it does the same crazy thing.

What do you think?
 
KDBL1TY

KDBL1TY

Member
Re: Runs like crap with "timing wire" connected.

Sounds like you need a good tune up. Was there any arcing in the cap. I would start by checking the timing. Our trucks love to eat ignition components.
 
cloneman315

cloneman315

Active member
Re: Runs like crap with "timing wire" connected.

stock dist are junk!!I I posted up some posts a while back replace it with the simple one from autozone,it will make the truck even idle better,Ty0331 that is not the way to be on your first post to someone,man take it easy a little.
Wadesboro, NC i am in charlotte if you want help and get stuck bring it down there are a bunch of us that will get it.
 
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cloneman315

cloneman315

Active member
Re: Runs like crap with "timing wire" connected.

go **** yourself!!! go back to the honda boards!! How many of them 4.3s were in these trucks?the heat and age kills them they short out inside,ask the people that have changed them and has fixed there problems.do you really think you are going to last long on here acting like that?are you serious?I hope this is a joke!!!

cloneman315 means my shit is probably faster and nicer than yours,and im sure I forgot more than you know about these trucks!
 
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derrick1972

derrick1972

New member
Re: Runs like crap with "timing wire" connected.

That was a rather rude response. It is people like you on this board that make newer people feel they cant ask questions from people that know. TY0331
 
WyoSyclone

WyoSyclone

Active member
Re: Runs like crap with "timing wire" connected.

Ty0331 said:
Really? I suppose this is your opinion based on your experience. Here's my experience: I've run 4.3's in several various S/T-series a cumulative 500+K miles over an 18 year duration. I have had one pick-up coil failure in that period that left me stranded. So my opinion of this part, with this kind of reliability, is that it is far from being "junk". And my guess is that the 10's of millions of GM owners that rely on this part to get them where they're going everyday probably would agree with me.

(BTW, WTF is a "cloneman315"? Inquisitive minds want to know).
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Wow, what a rude f'ing poster! Brian is a respected and well-liked person here on the forums..... maybe go crawl back under your rock and come back out when you're in a better mood Ty0331.
 
cloneman315

cloneman315

Active member
Re: Runs like crap with "timing wire" connected.

Rob and Guys, it almost has to be a joke lol who even does that after the 2 post.
 
WyoSyclone

WyoSyclone

Active member
Re: Runs like crap with "timing wire" connected.

Ty0331 said:
If the OP put the gear on backwards,
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Uh, squeeze me, but isn't this impossible....if the dizzy gear was on backwards/upside down it wouldn't engage the cam.... it's an offset gear....

if the dizzy hold-down bolt was loose the dizzy could have rotated when things got bound up, causing the housing to rotate, timing to change.
 
B

BoostedGMC

Guest
Re: Runs like crap with "timing wire" connected.

Ty0331 said:
Really? I suppose this is your opinion based on your experience. Here's my experience: I've run 4.3's in several various S/T-series a cumulative 500+K miles over an 18 year duration. I have had one pick-up coil failure in that period that left me stranded. So my opinion of this part, with this kind of reliability, is that it is far from being "junk". And my guess is that the 10's of millions of GM owners that rely on this part to get them where they're going everyday probably would agree with me.

(BTW, WTF is a "cloneman315"? Inquisitive minds want to know).

But back to the subject: Even your Autozone part won't run correctly if the base timing is off by 27.6º. Good of you to help the OP with his problem by offering opinion, instead of figuring out what could be the root cause. If the OP put the gear on backwards, but didn't re-time it with a light, it could well run the way he's describing it does.
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I just put an autozone distributor in my truck and it ran soooo much better.
 
MRKING

MRKING

New Parts for Old Trucks
Re: Runs like crap with "timing wire" connected.

Id say you dropped the dist in a few teeth off .Find tdc and reset it . If your stock dist has alot of miles , it might be worth getting another so you only have to do this once .
 
Spectator DragR

Spectator DragR

Member
Re: Runs like crap with "timing wire" connected.

I went back the next day with the correct tools to remove the dist and pickup coil. Actually bought a new pickup coil (which had 2 new retainers) before pulling the dist. Anyway, I set the timing with a timing light with wire disconnected. Everything was fine until I turned it off, connected the timing wire and restarted. Then it barely runs at all. Another thing- I start it with the wire disconnected and it runs smoothly. I connect the wire while its running and it still runs smoothly. I'm thinking the control module was damaged when things shorted out inside the dist. Doesn't the control module set the timing until a certain rpm is met... then the ECM controls the timing???
 
cloneman315

cloneman315

Active member
Re: Runs like crap with "timing wire" connected.

do yourself a favor,take back the picklup and change that dist with a autozone one,it might no be the problem but the tin shield gets loose and shorts out inside.
 
WyoSyclone

WyoSyclone

Active member
Re: Runs like crap with "timing wire" connected.

Ty0331 said:
Go read my post again. Nowhere does it say "upside down".

The OP said he "changed the retainer". That can't be done without removing the distributor, and removing the gear. So I'm taking a stab as to what may be wrong. I wasn't there. But I've done enough of this crap to take a pretty good guess as to what it could be to fit the symptoms as disclosed.

He says it runs fine with the timing wire disconnected. So why does it need a new distributor??? The set-timing wire affects timing. And that all he's changing to make it run crappy, or well.

The gear has 13 teeth. The pin lines up perfectly with one tooth on one side, and directly between two teeth on the opposite side. If the gear is put back on 180º from it's origional position, and the distributor is then re-inserted in the engine and lined up exactly where it was before it was removed, the base timing will be off 27.69º. (crankshaft). The distributor will have to be rotated 13.8º to re-establish the correct base timing.

The thing is more than likely out of time. So put a light on it and time it. Then deci8de if it needs a new distributor. Sheesh.
Click to expand...

I apologize... hadn't thought about it from that angle (no pun intended)....
 
EcSy#2671

EcSy#2671

Si vis pacem, para bellum
Re: Runs like crap with "timing wire" connected.

Also an autozone dist with a ignition module in it, covered under a lifetime warranty. That makes me happy.
 
R

red typhoon

Member
Re: Runs like crap with "timing wire" connected.

i had the same problem change the pickup coil nooo change the cap noooo change the module nooo then i change the cables noooo last i change the coil yessssss .but the reason i thought it wasent the coil is the it was new. so just because it new, dosent mean it good.....
 
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