Running a DeLorean on Ford Ignition

[content22207]

Like I said, he reported at one point that an ice pick light was flashing on the negative side of the coil, in which case his ECU would of course have been fine. He also has reported the light glowing steady, in which case the ECU was not working (although the problem at that point could also have been caused by failure of distributor signals or power into the ECU). I don't really know what to expect -- I just want to be prepared for any contingency. I have spare distributors, but not spare ECU's -- or at least I didn't until I made a Bosch to Duraspark adapter....

Bill Robertson
#5939

[DCUK Martin]

Fair enough. Make sure to clean up the connectors on the ballast resistor and coil before fitting your non-oem amp.

[content22207]

I'm not starting with the ECU -- I'm starting with a timing light on the distributor lead wire (after splicing a solenoid trigger wire in the engine compartment).

Bill Robertson
#5939

[content22207]

I just returned from an ice cream run that included leaping into post fireworks traffic. Duraspark revs *PAST* 6,000 RPM no sweat.

Bill Robertson
#5939

[dmc6960]

Make sure the distributor cap is actually installed correctly and square...

I've recently done two caps which were an abnormal pain in the arse to fit on to the distributor. First one last year, took about an hour to get it to fit reaching under the venturi blindly. It should NOT have taken that long, I've done it in less than 5 minutes. Next one I did this year. However after an hour, all we were left with was a scuffed up cap, and a broken center button. So this time, I break out the spare cap I had from DMC with my Exhaust/Service kit (each came with a cap/rotor, so I had a spare). 1 minute and it was on perfect.

So what was the problem? A non-DMC vendor had supplied both caps. The seat on the caps were cut at a 45º angle, not square like the DMC one. Unless you completely remove all of the K-Jet stuff, there would be no way to squarely fit it onto the distributor. Last year I must have just gotten lucky. All tune-ups I assist with from now on must use DMC supplied parts.

[content22207]

Byrne's car is carbureted (his distributor is totally exposed).

Bill Robertson
#5939

[sean]

You said you don't know if his ignition ecu is bad, I have a good used one you guys can use to test with if you like.

[content22207]

The good news: Byrne's car is back on the road.

The bad news: his Bosch ignition module did not make the transition.
Nor did his Bosch spark plugs.
Nor did his .024" plug gaps.
Nor did his Bosch spark plug wires.
Nor did his Bosch blue coil.
Nor did his stock resistor grid.

Bill Robertson
#5939

[Bitsyncmaster]

The good news: Byrne's car is back on the road.

The bad news: his Bosch ignition module did not make the transition.
Nor did his Bosch spark plugs.
Nor did his .024" plug gaps.
Nor did his Bosch spark plug wires.
Nor did his Bosch blue coil.
Nor did his stock resistor grid.

Bill Robertson
#5939

So do you know what was the faulty component?

[Patrick C]

So do you know what was the faulty component?

Bosch, obviously.