240 not firing on 1 and 3

[wickedinhere]

I got my motor fired up today and it was running real ruff so i started pulling plugs and found that #1 and 3 cylinders werent firing. I swapped plugs and wires and they were good so thats not the problem. The truck ran fine before i pulled it to clean it and put new gaskets. I also upgraded to a pertronix points eliminator and coil with new rotor and cap. The plugs are wet with fuel just no spark i have no idea what it could be. I made sure the firing order was right and it was maybe the timing needs to be adjusted the only problem is the timing mark pointed is missing.

[scott123]

Re set your static timing, Make sure you're not 180 out.

You dont need a timing pointer necessarily, pull the #1 Plug. Rotate the crank until the #1 intake valve is closing and watch through the spark plug hole. Set it at TDC. Make a mark on the balancer straight out from a bolt or seam. Use a kids protractor and mark the point where your timing should be set say 10 deg BTDC.

Set the crank at your new timing mark and pull the cap from the distr. It should be hitting #1

Time the car off of the same seam you set for TDC.

[wickedinhere]

I didnt pull the dissy but i might need to to make sure. I just did a compression check and had 160 on both cylinders, i also pulled the plug wires on 1 and 3 on the dizzy while it was running and there was no fire jumping from the wire to the dizzy. The other 4 plug wires were sparking when i pulled them. I wonder if the cap could be the problem?

[wickedinhere]

Re set your static timing, Make sure you're not 180 out.

You dont need a timing pointer necessarily, pull the #1 Plug. Rotate the crank until the #1 intake valve is closing and watch through the spark plug hole. Set it at TDC. Make a mark on the balancer straight out from a bolt or seam. Use a kids protractor and mark the point where your timing should be set say 10 deg BTDC.

Set the crank at your new timing mark and pull the cap from the distr. It should be hitting #1

Time the car off of the same seam you set for TDC.

Good info i will try it and see what happens
Thanks

[wickedinhere]

I checked it and its correct. I checked my voltage at the coil and i am getting 7 volts i should be getting 12 volts because i ran a wire directly from the ignition switch to the coil. I went ahead and ran a wire directly from the battery to the coil and i am still getting 7 volts its seems like a ground problem i think the low voltage is causing my problem.

[fordman]

if the wires have no spark i would suspect the dist cap as being bad.

[wickedinhere]

Well i got figured out, The piece that goes on the shaft under the rotor with the magnets is the problem i moved it one notch over and the dead cylinders came to life but 2 others died. I tried this many times with the same results. I tried calling pertronix back but they were closed.

[rjewkes]

i wonder if they sold you one with a maggnet set for a four cylinder or just a few bad magnets?

[wickedinhere]

I used a washer and checked to make sure it had 6 magnets. i guess 2 of them are weak i am gonna call pertronix back today and see what they say.

[wickedinhere]

Well 2 of the magnets on the wheel were installed backwards so i pulled it apart swapped the magnets around and now were firing on all 6 cylinders. I just love working on brand new stuff that i paid top dollar for.

[Lar4t9r]

Well 2 of the magnets on the wheel were installed backwards so i pulled it apart swapped the magnets around and now were firing on all 6 cylinders. I just love working on brand new stuff that i paid top dollar for.

Quality sure has suffered in recent times. It's a shame...think of all the wasted time trouble shooting, when the problem turns out to be a new part!

[wickedinhere]

I know what you mean i spent all day chasing the problem that i didnt cause. I make sure to double check anything i do so 99% of the time its right. Whats really makes me mad is that i had to call pertronix 3 times before i got someone that would really listen instead of telling me to check voltage and grounds.

[convincor]

had that same problem with the last Pertronix i installed. Found that if I adjusted the air gap a little closer than what they spec'd all was fine.