Burning hei coils

[SleeperC1083]

Hi guys new to the group, I’m having a problem with hei coils burning up after upping my cr with smaller chamber heads (not saying that’s the cause it just started giving me this issue after the head swap) I’m not sure what the issue is I’m kind of stumped any help would be great not sure if I may need to add more grounds or what.

 

[DoubleDingo]

I'm leaning towards a grounding issue. Hopefully others chime in.

 

[DoubleDingo]

Did you reinstall the ground strap from the back of the head to the firewall?

 

[SleeperC1083]

Yea I’ve got the one from the head to the firewall, it’s just odd the way it acts because I could do a hellacious burnout and then a minute later I’ll be going down the road and it’ll just die (that’s what happened the first time it burnt out) and I’ll throw a new coil in it and it’ll be good for a couple hundred miles and do the same thing again so maybe it’s over powering should I put a 6al setup on it since it does have high compression?

 

[Rustisbest]

Make sure your putting stuff on in the right order.
Carbon brush/button first, then the insulating washer, then the coil.
There's a ground strap that goes under the coil at one of the hold down screws too. Seen em missing before.

 

[SleeperC1083]

Everything’s in the right order with dielectric grease etc I honestly think it’s the truck side of things because my power windows and turn signals were acting goofy, I plan on gutting it to be a street/strip truck so im most likely gonna go through the wiring on it and replace most of it. If anyone has a complete wiring diagram or hack on how to turn a Silverado into a strippo work truck that shows which wires to get rid of like a/c and cruise control that would be great.

 

[DoubleDingo]

I may be wrong, but I don't think the electrical system output is dictated by horsepower or torque

 

[SleeperC1083]

I don’t think so either but my mind works goofy sometimes and for some reason I’m thinking the spark plugs are drawing a **** ton of spark and over working the coil

 

[Ricko1966]

Your HEI coil should have 2 grounds,as pictured. The distributor body grounds through the distributor clamp through the block and you should have the engine block grounded either directly to the battery or frame. If you only have the 1 ground under the cap they burn up in short order. Make sure your distributor hold down is tight.what gap are you running on your plugs?

 

[SleeperC1083]

Thank you for the diagram I do not have that second ground strap it never had it to begin with even when it had the original 305 in it, it always had the one that connects to the coil that you screw down when you put the coil on , I will be sure to add that second one that goes to the ignition module wires. Also I have them gapped at .040. It’s a 355 with flattop pistons and 58cc aluminum heads

 

[SleeperC1083]

Also I’ve done 2 other head swaps with this same motor and have never ran into this issue

 

[PrairieDrifter]

Check wiring. Easy to pinch or cut a wire on a top end job.

 

[squaredeal91]

Yea I’ve got the one from the head to the firewall, it’s just odd the way it acts because I could do a hellacious burnout and then a minute later I’ll be going down the road and it’ll just die (that’s what happened the first time it burnt out) and I’ll throw a new coil in it and it’ll be good for a couple hundred miles and do the same thing again so maybe it’s over powering should I put a 6al setup on it since it does have high compression?

Someone I used to know had same issue with hei distributor. Never figured it out. Blamed grounds at first. Hope this gets figured out. What about the alternator possibly killing it?

 

[RanchWelder]

Aftermarket coils, distributors, or HIE modules or distributors and coils or weatherpack connectors, that do not say ACDelco or Delphi or OEM fail at an alarmimg rate?

Why?

It just makes me crazy?

OEM or fail? Say it isn't so...

Guess who makes them all?

Your General!

It's a scam!

Buy the best or go home with sand in your shorts!

 

[TotalyHucked]

First off, what brand coils are you running? If they're MSD, throw them in the garbage.