changing distributor

[popsthebuilder]

(73 c20 350) I am attempting to change the distributor out. The distributor that is in now is an aftermarket Accel model with a performance control module mounted on the housing with numerous wires going from module to coil. The oem replacement only has one wire to hook to the coil. What should I do with the control module? Will the replacement distributor work with only the one wire? Also, I replaced the coil it states that it is to be used with external resistor. My manual says nothing about this. Is that the same thing as the control module? Forgive my ignorance. I'm not a mechanic, and don't claim to be. Any info/ insight would be helpful/ appreciated. Thanks in advance.

[bake74]

     Are you putting the point system back in ?  You should switch to a HEI distributor.
http://www.oldengine.org/unfaq/hei.htm

[popsthebuilder]

What are the benefits of the HEI over the conventional oem points distributor?

[DanInMichigan]

Points are mechanical and subject to wear.  They require more frequent maintenance than an HEI.  HEI probably has greater spark energy than a stock points setup.  Points can bounce at high rpm.  I've had HEI units well over 7000 rpm.

HEIs are simple to hook up.

Dan

[DanInMichigan]

I should mention I have an accel HEI in one of my vehicles.  The module in the distributor failed after 2 years of driving (probably 7000 miles).  When I changed the module out I noticed that the accel module felt and looked very cheap compared to the replacement module I got from autozone.

Dan

[bake74]

Points are mechanical and subject to wear.  They require more frequent maintenance than an HEI.  HEI probably has greater spark energy than a stock points setup.  Points can bounce at high rpm.  I've had HEI units well over 7000 rpm.

HEIs are simple to hook up.

Dan

     All of this is why HEI is better than points.  First thing I did in my 74 was switch mine to a HEI.

[popsthebuilder]

Maybe I should have considered that before. Now it's a little late. Earlier I replaced plugs, wires, coil, cap, rotor, and distributor. Checked, and set with a timing light. Surprisingly it was really close to 4 deg btdc, seeing as how the other distributor was tightened down at 30 btdc. Set it at 4 btdc, let engine warm up, ran it up and down the road a little, let it idle more, confirmed timing. Went to run some errands. Made a couple of stops, got back rollin and noticed she was startin to idle a littlle rough. Didn't think too much of it, kept driving. Started idling progressively worse to the point of dying in the middle of an intersection more than once. Managed to coast into a parking lot. Couldn't keep it running without giving it a lot of gas. Loosened distributor tried to advance timing to keep her running to no avail. She's currently sitting in said parking lot in a bad part of town chocked full of my power tools ripe for the pickin. I have no clue what the problem is. If I had done something wrong while replacing parts then the truck shouldn't have cranked in the first place, right? Help please!

[popsthebuilder]

If the coil wasn't wired correctly then it shouldn't have ran so well for over an hour, right?

[bake74]

       Your right, if when you installed the dist. If it was wrong it would not have worked.  Have you checked to make sure your getting gas ?
      You better go get your stuff out if it is in a bad part of town as you say.

[popsthebuilder]

pretty sure it's getting fuel. I could smell unburned gas when I was trying to crank it.

[bake74]

     At this point you are going to have to check out the dist., see if it firing at the spark plugs.  This will tell you if it is working.

[popsthebuilder]

Don't really have any electrical test equipment. All I have is a timing light. Can I use the light, or is there some trick or something. Do I need to purchase a multimeter or something. Not a mechanic, really not an electrician.

[ratdawger]

Maybe I should have considered that before. Now it's a little late. Earlier I replaced plugs, wires, coil, cap, rotor, and distributor. Checked, and set with a timing light. Surprisingly it was really close to 4 deg btdc, seeing as how the other distributor was tightened down at 30 btdc. Set it at 4 btdc, let engine warm up, ran it up and down the road a little, let it idle more, confirmed timing. Went to run some errands. Made a couple of stops, got back rollin and noticed she was startin to idle a littlle rough. Didn't think too much of it, kept driving. Started idling progressively worse to the point of dying in the middle of an intersection more than once. Managed to coast into a parking lot. Couldn't keep it running without giving it a lot of gas. Loosened distributor tried to advance timing to keep her running to no avail. She's currently sitting in said parking lot in a bad part of town chocked full of my power tools ripe for the pickin. I have no clue what the problem is. If I had done something wrong while replacing parts then the truck shouldn't have cranked in the first place, right? Help please!

I had the exact thing happen to me after I replaced my distributor in my Chevelle. Turned out to be a bad condenser.

[popsthebuilder]

Isn't the condenser an internal component on the dist.? Also, what about the external resistor? Were and what is this, and could this be the problem. I was thinking that I might be able to wire the coil directly to the battery. Thoughts?

[ratdawger]

Oops sorry reread your post. A condenser would be part distbutor with points, not HEI. I did have a module go out on me, but it went out all at once. Turned motor off then it would not fire at all. Seems to me that a module does only two things:It works or it doesn't, nothing in between. maybe check the wire connections to the module. Might just be something simple. Let us know what you find.