Left stranded

[PLUM 70]

Well I knew if I drove the car enough it would leave me stranded and it did, just not so funny when i,m leaving a nice local car show.  So I get it pushed off the very busy road and start looking under the hood. Well first thing I notice is that I failed to put the oil cap back on after adding 1/2qt. before I took it out. The car actually fires then dies. I am getting gas ( Please read below for the rest of the gas story ) I thought maybe I just flooded it, so I let it sit for 1/2 hour. NO change. I changed the ballast and still nothing. I jumped the ballast and still nothing.  I am thinking that maybe the ignition swith has failed?  It seemed to fire in the start position, but died in the run position. So I throw in the towel and had it towed on a flat bed to my shop, it's only about 5 miles. We start unloading the car and the driver says you know you got a fuel leak NO I DIDN"T KNOW I HAD A LEAK, I SURE AS HELL DIDN"T HAVE ONE UNTIL HE TOUCHED IT.  I was so angry at the guy I told him to just get off my property. The guy says he is real sorry but the company will not be covering it because the car is so old.  The tank was full $75.00 the hole is at the vary bottom of the tank and has managed to only drain about 1/2 tank in 24 hours. Any sugestions would be great. Thanks in advance

[MEK-Dangerfield]

If it fires in the start position, then it sure sounds like the ignition switch.

Without crawling underneath, you really don't know if the tow truck driver damaged your gas tank, or if good old rust has done it in. It could also be leaking from the sending unit gasket, which could be fixed.


   Mike

[Bullitt-]

When you jumped from the battery to the ballast resistor you eliminated all the wiring & the ignition switch before that point so the problem has to be after. Start with the obvious, look inside the distributor cap for broken rotor button, burnt or warn components, make sure the ECU is plugged in good,if you have a tach diconnect it,  ohm the coil. Do you have a spare ECU you could try?  Taking some readings with a multimeter to trace power thought the system you should be able to isolate the problem.

[PLUM 70]

Thanks for the clues guys I won't be able to check them until tonight, but I will report back. The tank is leaking from the veeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeery bottom I just got done cleaning that up.  I replaced the sending unit last year and I was so happy that I didn't need to drop the tank, Well now I need to drop the tank .

[rallyechall]

I had moisture under my cap, and I looked at the usual suspects before stumbling on the moisture. Don't let this little gem slip past you.

[PLUM 70]

Sorry for the long gap guys, salmon fishing has been way too good. I am looking for help diagnosing some possible electrical issues.  What should a good balast ohm out at. In my previous post I said that I changed the ballast and tried jumping the ballest out, but I was just starting from gound 1 again since it has been a month since I took the cover off my car.  The tank is dry so I can't try starting it until I replace the tank, but I figured that I should be able to find the starting problem with a meter. I am no electrical master, but I did manage to pull my entire cluster this winter and get it all put back to gether without to much of a headache. So what may seem simple to you might take a little extra explaining! YES you can call me one of the electrically challenged

[ShelbyDogg]

Pull your coil wire off from the center of the distributor and hold it close to ground to see if a spark jumps over. If it sparks, move on to the fuel system. For now, get a long piece of fuel hose and stick it in a gas can and hook the other end to your fuel pump.

If it doesn't spark, let us know.

Rob

[PLUM 70]

Ok will try that and report back. I was getting plenty of fuel into the carb when this problem started? maybe to much stuck float? Thanks for the quick reply.

[MEK-Dangerfield]

Do you have a 2 prong ballast resistor? If so, the reading should be 1.2 ohms or less.


  Mike

[PLUM 70]

YES I have plenty of spark.  What next?

[Bullitt-]

new fuel filter & some gas

[PLUM 70]

OK guys I just started the car it ran for about 5 seconds then stalled, this is normal for my car. Started it agin and it ran for about 5-8 seconds then stalled not normal.  I am getting fuel, I manually pulled the throttle linkage visually checked OK.  What next? should the center contact of my distributor be square? mine is all screwed up looking? Remember guys I left my oil filler cap off for about 2 miles just wanted to make that clear incase it jogs your memmory of any kind of vapor lock or something. 

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[Chryco Psycho]

did you check the gap in the dist ? possibly a bad pick up coil in the dist

[PLUM 70]

No!  please explain procedure and gap tollerance

[PLUM 70]

should I try to eliminate the ballast again with jumper? just see what happens or is it too hard on the coil?