Thread: Electrical Problem??? Help Needed!!!

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Going nuts trying to figure out what went wrong... The engine has been running perfect. All of the sudden a few days ago The engine started to cut out as I was driving. It would cut out for just a second and then be fine after that. I didn't think much of it at the time. The car was fine the rest of the day. Then the next day I took the car out to test a new front stabilizer bar. The engine started normal and ran fine for the first few minutes then started to cut out again, worse this time. The car would start to cut out and stall, then it would come back to life. Luckily I was close to home because this time the condition did not go away. I figured maybe I have a loose conection or maybe a bad batch of gas.

Over the next two days I have been pulling what's left of my hair out trying to determine the problem. Here is what I have checked so far. Starting from the basics: The car is getting plenty of fuel and a generous spark. I checked the timing and that is dead on. I checked the compression, that is perfect as well. I got a fresh gallon of gas and ran off of that to see if it was bad fuel. Thinking that possibly the coil was going bad, I replaced it along with a new resistor.

The engine cranks fine and attempts to start and sometimes will run for a few seconds, but will shut right down. It definetly seems to me that I have some type of electrical issue. (maybe the ignition switch?)

What could cause a perfectly running engine to all of the sudden cease to function out of the blue. Especially when all the basics seem to be in place. Air, Fuel, Ignition...

Sounds simple right?

Any Ideas?

My setup is simple, nothing special: Stock 1973, 302 ford. Mallory Dual Point distibutor. Blaster 2 coil. Edelbrock aluminum intake and Edelbrock 1406, 600cfm carb.

To eliminate the ignition switch direct wire from battery to your coil and see if it still has the problem. Check out those point to see if their burnt also. I'd get rid of those double trouble duel point system and go with electronic, but that's your choice.
Also check the points wires in you dist. to make sure that one isn't grounding out against the dist. body.
Good luck

I'll try eliminating the ignition switch as stated. I have always had good luck with dual point units. Just to make sure it wasn't a problem with the distributor I dropped in a brand new unit that I had installed in my other SBF. No change.
Thanks...

Check/replace the hot wire running to your distributor.

thanks for all the help. Turned out to be the distributor. Dropped in a single point unit and it fired right up.

thanks...

bart