JordanTaylor

Hey guys,

So I am having a crank no spark issue with my 87 pickup with the 22r.

I am going to try to be as detailed as possible.

I determined I had no spark at the plugs OR the ignition coil due to the primary numbers being out of spec. I then purchased a new ignition coil and plugged it in and still nothing. I then decided that it must be the distributor and found a new one for a decent price so I just decided to pull the trigger and purchase it. Threw it in along with a new cap and rotor and still, nothing. I also set the air gap with some feeler gauges.

Next, I naturally assumed it was either a bad ground or the igniter. So I took the grounds off (one near the battery running to the fender wall and one going to the engine and cleaned them up and took the paint off for a clean connection.

Next I assumed it was the igniter as everything else was absolutely fine (I also changed the plugs and wires as they were cheap)

I went to go and find an igniter and the cheapest price I got quoted was 750$ and 6 weeks out.

Next, I read about people doing the GM HEI swap and saw how cheap it was so I decided to go for that.

It was simple enough, I mounted it down and ran a ground wire from the mounting hole to the a good ground spot.

Then I ran the distributor wires (red and white) to the "G" and "W" terminals.

I then used a test light and determined from the factory plug that the igniter/coil plugs into, that it is only getting 12v switched from one side so I threw a male spade lug in that side and ran two wires off of it, one to the "B" terminal and one to the "+" on the ignition coil. Then from the "C" terminal I ran a ground wire to the "-" on the ignition coil.

This is where I am stuck, I am getting 12v power to the "+" on the ignition coil and the "b" terminal on the ignition module which I believe is correct. BUT, I am also getting 12v to the "-" on the ignition coil AND the "C" terminal on the ignition module. Which I believe shouldn't be the case?

If anyone has absolutely any idea on where to start from here on or what I could check to see what could be an issue it would be greatly appreciated. Could this be anything related to the ignition switch? I am under the impression it wouldn't even crank with a bad ignition switch? Could this cause no spark?

Thank you for reading

JordanTaylor

bump - anyone have any ideas?

akwheeler

did you check to see if the rotor spins when the engine cranks?

JordanTaylor

Yes, the rotor is spinning.

mechkw

If you ran a ground wire from the minus on the HEI cap you essentially grounded out the entire HEI system. The Neg marking on the cap is for the tach, if you have one. The HEI is self grounding through the housing, so remove the ground wire and try it. You shouldn't have hurt the system. In the past I've purposely grounded the tach as an anti-theft measure. All you need to the HEI is the 1 wire. It also works better if you convert to the GM alternator. The extra voltage you get from the GM alternator really makes a difference in the way it performs. You can widen the gap on the spark plugs also to 45 thou