Start stall Start stall

[joef89]

so recently i just put in my motor that i had pulled to rebuild. after getting everything together we try to start it and it fires up runs for a few then dies. after that we just turn the key and it wont start.
we tried to replace the balist resistor but that doesnt help 

back feed the coil and it starts up and runs
when we turn the key were only getting 3 volts to the coil when in run position ( like i said replaced the resistor)
tried an new coil still same thing

any one have any ideas??

[burdar]

The week link in the electrical system is the bulkhead connector.  The first thing I'd do is dissconnect the wiring from the main bulkhead connector and make sure all the wires are free from any corrosion.  Use some dielectric grease when reconnecting the terminals. 

[joef89]

well tried that no luck

[Bullitt-]

Check voltage coming into the ballast resistor, should be 12V, if not there's a poor connection somewhere.

[joef89]

Check voltage coming into the ballast resistor, should be 12V, if not there's a poor connection somewhere.

12 going in. turn the key and it drops to 3

[Chryco Psycho]

connector at the bottom of the column ?

[burdar]

Yep, check the connection at the column.  The large blue wire on mine was melted at the connector.  It was bypassed years ago.

[Bullitt-]

I will assume you have the original style 4-prong ballast, on the input side there are two sets of wires brown & green. One gets power only during start the other gets power in the run position, they would always be 12V, on the output side you will see dropped voltage because that's what the ballast does.

If your not getting 12V, battery voltage, on the input side there is a bad connection somewhere, can even be the ignition switch but I would suspect a poor connection with all that's gone on removing/installing the motor.

[joef89]

well checked the connectors nothing was bad. about ready to rip out all the wiring and start from scratch

[Chryco Psycho]

well start tracing power , see where you have 12v to , do you have 12v in the blue wire at the ballast when unplugged / if so the coil may be putting too much load on the circuit or the ballast is bad .
If you have 12v into the ballast & 8v or so out with the coil disconnected then the circuit is ok & the ballast is good then the coil could still be the problem or the ground through the ECU , make sure the ecu is grounded properly .
 if the blue wire doesn't feed 12v to the ballast when unplugged then your issue is the bulkhead connector or the steering column plug or resistance inside the start switch .
 Do some testing a let us know what you find out

[joef89]

well i feel like an idiot. when i took out my motor i must have unplugged the connectors to the resistor when i plugged them back in i plugged them in how the connectors were supposed to be however the people who we bought the car from didnt wire it correct and they wired one of the plugs backwards. as i began pulling things out i noticed that one of the plastic prongs on the connector was snapped off so i thought that they had to snap it off to make the plug fit (started thinking like my inner idiot )
 low and behold it worked 
So i hear a spark jumping and i find that the rotor on the distributor was bent so it was tearing apart the cap.....

[Bullitt-]

   WTG   Good Figurin