Ignition

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View attachment 29316
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All three of the factory ignition diagrams for 1980
 
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Pull the coil wire off of the cap and set it on the cowl. Put the key in the run position, disconnect the ECU from the distributor and tap the exposed pin on a clean ground. This should fire the coil and you should see a healthy spark on the cowl.

If it sparks then the problem is wiring or the mag pickup in the distributor.
 
Duke5A said:
Pull the coil wire off of the cap and set it on the cowl. Put the key in the run position, disconnect the ECU from the distributor and tap the exposed pin on a clean ground. This should fire the coil and you should see a healthy spark on the cowl.

If it sparks then the problem is wiring or the mag pickup in the distributor.
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Ok cool thank you i will try that tomorrow as i have already packed stuff back up for the day lol
 
Ok if there is rust on the distributor shaft in between the reluctor and shaft will that cause the pick up to not pick up a signal?
 
Mn mopar said:
Ok if there is rust on the distributor shaft in between the reluctor and shaft will that cause the pick up to not pick up a signal?
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Did you get spark trying what I recommended in the previous post? Yes, a crusty reluctor wheel will cause no spark, but so will a bad mag pickup or improperly set gap.
 
Duke5A said:
Did you get spark trying what I recommended in the previous post? Yes, a crusty reluctor wheel will cause no spark, but so will a bad mag pickup or improperly set gap.
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Yes i did, the pick up is new and the gap is set to .010 i believe what it recommends
 
Spray the interior, exterior of distributor, cap, wires, everything liberally at re-assembly with WD-40. Got to keep ignition clean and dry.
 
Mn mopar said:
Yes i did, the pick up is new and the gap is set to .010 i believe what it recommends
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That's good news. It's between the reluctor, mag pickup and the wiring back to the ECU now. Pull the distributor out now and clean that reluctor wheel. Spin it by hand and you should be able to feel it catch for a split second every time one of the point on the reluctor passes the mag pickup.
 
Duke5A said:
That's good news. It's between the reluctor, mag pickup and the wiring back to the ECU now. Pull the distributor out now and clean that reluctor wheel. Spin it by hand and you should be able to feel it catch for a split second every time one of the point on the reluctor passes the mag pickup.
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And if it dont my pick up is bad even though its new?
 
Bad parts aren't real common, but being electrical you probably cant return it. Can you check continuity with an ohm meter and verify its good and grounding?
 
Ok so when i do that coil test i get no spark when cranking but when i turn the key to the off position i get a spark, now would that mean i have a power wire shorting to ground? Only reason i ask is because everything else checks out all my wires ohm out properly, it should seriously not be this difficult grrrrr
 
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