HEI coil failure (a nod to KenH) [message #253971] |
Tue, 01 July 2014 09:59 |
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Matt Colie
Messages: 8547 Registered: March 2007 Location: S.E. Michigan
Karma: 7
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Yesterday, I was doing some these days rare paying work, and my wife called.
There was a 26' GMC stopped on the shoulder of the local interstate and it was clear that they were having difficulty. I abandon what I was doing and got in the car and pulled up behind their coach.
John and I discussed things for just a moment and He mentioned that he could not easily check for spark because of both the noise and shake of the passing trucks. He also mentioned that it just shutdown. No studder, not slow loss of power....
We opened the air intake and it was obvious that fuel was not the issue. Now with two of us, he cranked the engine and I held a plug wire (on a screwdriver) near a cylinder head cover and there was nothing....
He had an ignition module in spares. He screwed that in. Still Nothing.....
We got in my car an ran about a couple miles to the nearby parts store and he bought both a coil and a module.
When the new coil was in place and things closed up. A twist of the key and the right sounds came out.
As a side note, by the time the existing coil was removed, they had been stopped for over an hour and the removed coil was still very warm. This was also a relatively new distributor.
Matt
Matt & Mary Colie - Chaumière -'73 Glacier 23 - Members GMCMI, GMCGL, GMCES
Electronically Controlled Quiet Engine Cooling Fan with OE Rear Drum Brakes with Applied Control Arms
SE Michigan - Near DTW - Twixt A2 and Detroit
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Re: HEI coil failure (a nod to KenH) [message #253972 is a reply to message #253971] |
Tue, 01 July 2014 10:13 |
roy1
Messages: 2126 Registered: July 2004 Location: Minden nevada
Karma: 6
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John broke down in the right place with you close by.We should all be so lucky. Did the coil have the necessary ground strap in place? The reason I ask is they will run for little while with out it before they burn out. At least that was my experience when the dang thing fell out as I replaced a defective one.
Roy Keen
Minden,NV
76 X Glenbrook
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Re: HEI coil failure (a nod to KenH) [message #254006 is a reply to message #253972] |
Tue, 01 July 2014 16:27 |
jhb1
Messages: 303 Registered: February 2004
Karma: 0
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roy1 wrote on Tue, 01 July 2014 11:13John broke down in the right place with you close by.We should all be so lucky. Did the coil have the necessary ground strap in place? The reason I ask is they will run for little while with out it before they burn out. At least that was my experience when the dang thing fell out as I replaced a defective one.
Yup it was a new distributor I bought from JimB 2 years ago along with new plugs and wires this year
John H. Bell
77 Royale; QuadBag,Manny OneTon,Honda EV4010, FITech
Montreal Qc.
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Re: HEI coil failure (a nod to KenH) [message #254043 is a reply to message #254006] |
Tue, 01 July 2014 22:05 |
Ken Burton
Messages: 10030 Registered: January 2004 Location: Hebron, Indiana
Karma: 10
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I have seen 4 bad coils on four different GMC's. For that reason I carry an OEM AC Delco coil as a spare. I used it once and loaned it out three different times.
Ken Burton - N9KB
76 Palm Beach
Hebron, Indiana
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Re: HEI coil failure (a nod to KenH) [message #254088 is a reply to message #253971] |
Wed, 02 July 2014 08:08 |
rjw
Messages: 697 Registered: September 2005
Karma: 4
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Matt Colie wrote on Tue, 01 July 2014 10:59Yesterday, I was doing some these days rare paying work, and my wife called.
There was a 26' GMC stopped on the shoulder of the local interstate and it was clear that they were having difficulty. I abandon what I was doing and got in the car and pulled up behind their coach.
John and I discussed things for just a moment and He mentioned that he could not easily check for spark because of both the noise and shake of the passing trucks. He also mentioned that it just shutdown. No studder, not slow loss of power....
We opened the air intake and it was obvious that fuel was not the issue. Now with two of us, he cranked the engine and I held a plug wire (on a screwdriver) near a cylinder head cover and there was nothing....
He had an ignition module in spares. He screwed that in. Still Nothing.....
We got in my car an ran about a couple miles to the nearby parts store and he bought both a coil and a module.
When the new coil was in place and things closed up. A twist of the key and the right sounds came out.
As a side note, by the time the existing coil was removed, they had been stopped for over an hour and the removed coil was still very warm. This was also a relatively new distributor.
Matt
I've experienced sudden and complete power failures 5 times since buying my GMC in 1998. All related to the distributor.
First time was in Summer 2001, when the engine died after burning coolant destroyed the distributor and spark plug wires. I had to be towed 125 miles to Buskirk's in Sandusky, Michigan for repairs. Probable cause was a chipmunk or other critter's nest on the super hot intake manifold exhaust crossover catching fire. It burned through one of the heater hoses (pinhole leak) and ignited the resulting coolant spray. I was very fortune that I was able to extinguish the fire with a large foam fire extinguisher with minimal damage other than the distributor and cruise control.
http://www.palmbeachgmc.com/fire.html
The next time was Fall of 2006, on my way to Berrien Springs, Michigan for the GMCMI convention. Motor quit on I94, but I was able to coast into a conveniently placed rest area that was under reconstruction. Missing electrode in my new (replaced after the 2001 fire) Springfield Ignition distributor cover caused a hole to be burned through the rotor and that ended up killing the module. I wondered why my engine had been running sort of rough for a while as it was running on only 7 cylinders. My spare module, distributor cover and rotor fixed the issue and I was able to continue on to the GMCMI rally only a few hours late. Thanks to Emery Stora for suggesting the module was bad.
Third time was November 2010 on my way home from a customer's plant, my new motor with only 8,302 miles suddenly make a large bang and died. I coasted to a stop at mile marker 123 on Southbound I75. After being towed to a Walmart for the night, I consulted with KenH and he asked if the distributor was turning. I found out that it wasn't. Problem caused by the bronze distributor gear wearing out and that killed the engine. I had coach towed to my driveway (nearest qualified service facility) and replaced the gear with a new hardened steel gear from CompCams the following spring.
Forth time was Fall of 2012 while on my way back from the GMCMI convention in Amana, Iowa. While on I80 the engine died. I swapped modules. That didn't fix problem. I then swapped distributor covers and that seemed to fix the problem. At least for a while.
On a nice spring day the following year, it died again with wife and cat in the coach outside of Savannah, GA. I coasted to a stop next to a weigh station on I95. With passengers looking on, I was able to diagnose the problem all by myself. It was caused by a bad connector in my "new" Springfield computer controlled distributor (installed the previous summer). Replaced the distributor with a spare and was able to get going again without further incident. The shut down on I80 was also caused by the bad connector.
These days I carry a complete spare distributor and spare modules, a rotor, cover and plug wires. In addition I have a module tester and timing light on board. To keep fuel delivery from being an issue, I also have a spare fuel pump, filters and computer for the fuel injection system. I want to be able to fix most things myself on the road.
Richard
76 Palm Beach
SE Michigan
www.PalmBeachGMC.com
Roller Cam 455, TBI+EBL, 3.42 FD, 4 Bag, Macerator, Lenzi (brakes, vacuum system, front end stuff), Manny Tranny, vacuum step, Tankless + OEM water heaters.
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Re: HEI coil failure (a nod to KenH) [message #254089 is a reply to message #253971] |
Wed, 02 July 2014 09:19 |
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WD0AFQ
Messages: 7111 Registered: November 2004 Location: Dexter, Mo.
Karma: 207
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Mine has not died five times like yours Richard, but I carry the same spare parts. They take up no room and ease my mind. Having a complete spare distributor and governor is worth the corner they take up under my refer.
Dan
3 In Stainless Exhaust Headers
One Ton All Discs/Reaction Arm
355 FD/Quad Bag/Alum Radiator Manny Tran/New eng.
Holley EFI/10 Tire Air Monitoring System
Solarized Coach/Upgraded Windows
Satelite TV/On Demand Hot Water/3Way Refer
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