Gotta a problem, seems to be electrical

We were on the "Gone Roddin" tour this weekend, I was driving the support truck and Stace was driving her Camaro. We had a fabulous time as always, surrounded by a great bunch of people all the way. Although I wasn't that busy with the support truck this year compared to last year (Thanks Homer) we unfortunatelyt did have a car in the trailer for half of the run, infact it was our own car. The Camaro up and died in mid flight and it has fired since.

So here's a recap of what took place:

No problem from Toronto to Sarnia or Sarnia to Bracebridge. In Bracebridge the car wouldn't turn over but would start with a boost no problem. We (a bunch of us) got to analyzing the situation. The volt meter came out, the battery had 13 volts, we were getting juice out of the alternator but the sucker wouldn't rollover over on its own. Off we went in the morning thinking it was only a battery and we'd get one in Bancroft when we got there at lunch, we didn't make it that far and the car died.
The battery, an Optima, was boiling so as discussed the night before we figured it was a battery. Put the booster pack back on it and it would rollover. Into Dorset we went to get a battery, installed it and it turned over although maybe a little sluggish and nothing, we had no spark. The test lights and multi-meters came out. One of the guys (thanks Greg) pulled off his coil so we could try it out and nothing, still no spark. We have a Mallory Electronic distibutor with an external coil. It getting lots of fuel, just no spark.

Need some help from all you experts out there. Any ideas what to check next?


Just like to say thanks for everyone that got there heads and hands under the hood on Saturday night and Sunday, we appreciate it!

The most important trouble shooting step would be to start with good clean solid grounds.

I was reading your post and had some questions...when your battery was boiling did you check the alt charging rate, if your alt was overcharging you could have damageded the pickup or ignitor in your electronic ignition.. I am guessing at this pont you may have two problems...one the the alt may be overcharging...caused the battery to boil over...and damaged the ignitor or module in the distributor to fail.. if you have voltage to the dist ignitor then I would suspect the module to have failed..you may have to either contact mallory for a test prodedure to test the module or just rplace it...I would also check the alt output when you get it running to make sure you don't fry that module again.....

Jamie you did something just to get Stacey in the truck with you. You just missed her so much.
Gomer

I would have to agree with Fatchuck. I think it is the module. There never is any warning when the modules go, just like a coil. I have learned over the years that I always pack a spare module and a coil in my car. They take up very little space and hell, are they ever a life saver.
Good luck and keep us posted.
George.

Thanks guys, much appreciated.

I was looking through my Summit catalog last night and I see they sell the modules and a protection device that protects from voltage spikes. Written in the specs for the Mallory distributor they actually recommend using one of their protection devices, kinda wish I knew about this before hand but I guess thats all part of this hobby. I can get the module for about $90 USD and the protector for about $40 USD so not too bad, just wonder what the price will be at the speed shops around here.

Thanks again for the diagnosis and I'll keep you posted after I get the parts.

Gomer, I mean Homer, you may have hit the nail on the head. It was pretty quiet in there all by myself.

Jamie,
I'm still suspect of the disconnect switch. When you get some of this sorted out, please check the switch or better yet run the cable directly to the starter and try that. It may be that the resistance in the disconnect started all of this.

N2RODDINI think Rochie might be right . If your disconnect switch is at the battery positive side and gets loose your alternator will spike and will cause damage to the modual . When you get it running keep a voltmeter across the switch and if you see the needle move just a little bit ,the switch is bad .Most of these switches if they are the switched type 3" in diameter are rated for 400 amps . With a hot engine you can draw as much as 800 amps . Keep this in mind and good luck.
Bob

Rochie/Bob, I will check the switch. The battery cables were changed just prior to the trip so maybe the switch is the problem area. Thanks guys.

Jamie,
If you want a disconnect to deter thieves, put one in the wire that goes to the start terminal of the starter. Hide in a place of your choosing. A bunch lower voltage/amp and easier to do AND NO START!!!

And make sure you run a seperate ground to your starter. Don't rely on it being bolted to your bellhousing for a ground.

Hi ,Jamie ,have you checked your ballast resistor,wire to see if you have voltage to the coil? These were on going problem in the late 60's -early 70's
Chyco's and GM's .We always carried a spare .
John.

Well I got the car running today. Change the module in the distributor and put in an inline surge protector as well. Still need to do a few checks though.
Now I gotta figure out why my tranny decided to puke out 2 litres of fluid all over the floor while we were away. I decided to fill it back up today and run the car to operating temperature, guess I'll see if it does it again. Very strange we've never had a problem with the tranny at all, never leaked either. Any suggestions what might cause this?

Tranny leak

JamieMaybe while diddling around the distributor you may had pulled the dipstick tube up a bit causing it to leak .The torque converter will sometimes leak down and cause the oil to rise higher than the seal .Another spot to check is the speedo seal.
Bob

Thanks Bob, I checked the dipstick tube and it seemed fine. The more I ask around the more it seems related to the fact that we turned the car over so much trying to get it to fire that pressure built up in the tranny and the only way to release the pressure was for it to comeout of the vent tube on the upper right sid eof the tranny. Seems logical to me. I haven't driven the car much since we fixed the module but we haven't had a leak since.