Update on my Ignition Module failure!

[WFO]

Deleted because somehow this ended up a double post.

 

[Goldie Driver]

Put a points distributor in it. That will run forever. You'll need to adjust them once in awhile though.

LOL- EMP prof, too. Can't say that about my HEI. Can you still buy dwell meters, though ?

 

[YakkoWarner]

LOL- EMP prof, too. Can't say that about my HEI. Can you still buy dwell meters, though ?

I grabbed an old Sears tach/dwell/voltage tester from a thrift store last year for the whopping sum of $4.00. Some wires were chewed up but new wire and clips on the end and it works great.

 

[Matt69olds]

People think I'm nuts for this but a solid source for real GM parts is the boneyard. I have pulled modules from parts cars and gotten a long life from them.

Nope, you’re not nuts!!! I do the same thing. Unfortunately, my supply has almost vanished, and they aren’t in salvage yards anymore.

I’d rather have a good used 20 year old Delco module than the crap they are selling at the stores today.

 

[cadillac_al]

I was lucky to buy a few $50 Skip White distributors before he quit selling them. They are over 10 years old now and still work great. I would still try some different chinese distributors that are on the market if I needed one.

 

[Gpaw44]

It had been mentioned several time in this thread that the supply of old parts is about depleted! Do you remember the Car Allowance Rebate System, or CARS—known nationwide as “Cash for Clunkers”—did to 677,081 vehicles in the summer of 2009? Here is where we lost alot of good parts to the crushers.
Remember when Chrysler filed for bankruptcy on April 30, 2009, with General Motors filing a month later. This is about the time Auto makers begin outsourcing parts to foreign countries for chaper labor hoping for higher profits. So if you are buying AC Delco and other brand names you are buying a name but the part is being made in a foreign country and in most cases the quality of the parts is lnot the same as the original part
I was lucky today and caught a machine shop and parts store open today. It is owned and operated by a genleman that is 86 years old. He is also where I got the History lesson above!
After visiting with him for some time this afternoon he did let me leave with a GM distributor that must have been made back in the 80s on a trail bases! He just asked it worked come back with 50 dollars. It was not all original but close! The AC Delco module it had been replaced by a Standard module. I did get it in this evening and it started right up.
So instead of buying new, I am now a member of the "Old Parts Hustlers" on this forum.

 

[Ricko1966]

GM to stay price competitive offers 3 tiers of parts now,blue which is supposed to be original quality,gold which is ,meh user grade, and their bottom tier silver which is the same off shore junk parts everyone else is using. Original quality is supposed to be good for 100,000 miles,manufacturers like GM cannot afford to have a bunch of broken down cars and warranty claims from low quality parts,it will affect sales and profits too badly.Its a shame that everyone doesn't understand all parts are not created equal. People's O.E GM fuel pump fails at 150,000 miles and over the next 6 years they replace the pump 3 times with aftermarket pumps that don't last,and then say Chevrolets etc have junk fuel pumps. No cheap parts are not usually good parts.

ACDelco Canada • Classifications

acdelcocanada.com

 

[vintovka]

Many modules are bad out of the box. Had 2 bad in a row off ebay. Ony one that still works was this one:

https://www.napaonline.com/en/p/ECHTP45?ir=3&r-src=BR:PDP:SP:Belowproductdescription&ppid=MPETP45SB

echlin says US made and 3 year warranty

 

[racprops]

My 93 Chevy Van running the late model computer controlled timing small distributor was also eating it 4 plug module as well...

And yes I too drove for 30 years with the old HEI coil in cap distributors, and NEVER had a module failure.

As far as I know there is no coil in cap for a PCM controlled distributor.

I fixed it by putting a 30 AMP relay between the battery and the replacement MSI distributor, I also added a pair of large amp diodes, and a old points system condenser, to insure no Back EM forces.

The stock wire from the ING switch controlled the relay.

You can have 13 Volts and then not have a good current, solid state devices run on current not voltage.

Anyway that is my 2 cents worth.

Rich

 

[MikeB]

I used this GM distributor on my last truck, and it worked great for the next 3-4 years before I sold the truck.
GM 93440806
Paid $147 for it in July 2015. Can't believe it's now $440! I've seen a lot of price increases since 2015, but nothing even close to this.

As for modules, I have an AC Delco #D1906 as a spare, but in the 40+ years that I've run HEIs in at least 8 vehicles, I've never had a module fail. Most of those were stock GM distributors, but a few had MSD internals.

I have to wonder if you need better grounds -- Battery negative terminal to block, block to frame and block to firewall on both sides. And use external star washers for max grip.

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[MikeB]

Can you still buy dwell meters, though ?

Not sure. I used mine for the first time in probably 40 years a couple months ago on a Ford 302. Worked like charm.

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No reason not to run a points distributor if you have one. Points and condensers are still available. I have an old Mallory dual point that I'd try, but it doesn't have vacuum advance. Wish I would have bought one 15-20 years ago when they were still available new.

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[Gpaw44]

MikeB thoughts in post number 25 are correct. I had cleaned all my grounds and replaced old star washers with new ones. I even added a new ground strap to passenger side of the block to the frame. But my truck contined to die after it warmed up. I had missed one ground, sort of! The bolt holding my ground cable to the battery turned out to be the culprit. I had cleaned the bolt but it had some worn/stripped threads that reduced the voltage going to ground. I wish I could take credit for finding the problem but it was found after takng the truck to a shop that deals in automotive electrical issues. The damaged bolt was replaced with a new bolt and it has now been a week the truck starts and stays running like a new truck.

MikeB, "I have to wonder if you need better grounds -- Battery negative terminal to block, block to frame and block to firewall on both sides. And use external star washers for max grip."

Thanks all for your responses!

 

[Rebuildman]

As mentioned previously the old point distributors are in fact very good but it is even harder to find quality parts them than for the HEI. Condensers are the real problem. Then you have to modify your wiring from HEI to points, and add a coil. Also, points are not maintenance free. But when maintained and paired with an MSD box you get good spark.
You can never have too many grounds. Make sure the distributor housing is getting a good ground buy checking with an OHM meter.
GM modules with the correct p/n for your application is also key to a correct dwell time. When you get into the later distributors that have no advance weights and the advance curve is controlled by a computer the module being a correct GM part is a must.

 

[Rebuildman]

The module will also fail if it gets too hot. It is mounted to a heat sink that needs the proper paste applied on the mating surfaces so the heat can be transferred more easily to the distributor housing.
Spark plugs and their wires have resistance. Sometimes too much.
If you were to remove a wire from the distributor cap, that would create very high resistance. Now if you started the engine and could see inside the cap, when the coil fires for the spark plug that is no longer connected, you have all that voltage sitting at the end of the rotor looking for somewhere to go, and it is going to go somewhere. If it decides on the pickup module as the least resistance to ground, that will destroy it. So faulty plugs and or wires can have an effect.

 

[Rebuildman]

Hemmings Motor recently had an article on HEI distributors. They stated that the red rust colored dust we see on the advance weights and surrounding areas, is from mis-placed electrical sparks. The article is available on their website.

https://www.hemmings.com/stories/tech-101-how-to-cure-the-hei-mystery-misfire/