SuperRob
New Member
- Joined
- Aug 7, 2007
- Messages
- 135
- Reaction score
- 1
- Points
- 0
- Location
- Victoria BC
- Vehicle Year
- 1989
- Make / Model
- Ford
- Engine Size
- 2.9
- Transmission
- Manual
Ok, so I have another thread going in the V6 forum, regarding head swaps, but at this point I realize that this is no longer an engine question...but an electrical one.
I just swapped the heads on my 89 2.9L. after I got everything all back together it wouldnt start. I'm going to try to explain all the different conditions that I've had here.
I've double checked:
The distributor is timed correctly to the crank (not 180 out).
Plug wires are all connected in the right order.
I need to know:
The orange wire coming out of the harness that plugs into the distributor - WHERE DOES IT BOLT TO?
The braided ground strap that comes off the drivers side head at the back - WHERE DOES IT BOLT TO?
The Mainground strap on the truck from the negative battery post, runs down to the frame rail, and then goes somewhere. for the past 3 years this strap has done NOTHING for me because it was actually just looped back to the negative battery post (I know I know....dont ask how or why, just know that up till now however this mess was sorted out, it worked!) Where does that Ground Strap bolt on to?
I set the crank to 10 degrees BTDC, hooked up a timing light, and turned the distributor till the lite went flashed. tightened the distributor down so it wouldnt move unless I moved it.
Then when I try to crank the engine over, the timing light doesnt flash at all. HOWEVER, when I pull the plug out, and ground it on the intake or exhaust manifold and crank again, I get spark on the plug, but no flashing of the timing light. I then tested the timing light on another car and it works fine. ALSO, the spark that I get from the plug is not as good as I'd like, its a little bit yellow instead of bright white/blue. I'm attributing this to the poor ground that I evidently must have on the engine.
So to get things started here....from the beginning, Where do those 3 wires Start, and Terminate? I"m looking for 100% confidence in the answers guys....as in you went and looked at your 2.9L and chased the wires! As you can tell, guessing hasnt worked yet!!!
Thanks!
I just swapped the heads on my 89 2.9L. after I got everything all back together it wouldnt start. I'm going to try to explain all the different conditions that I've had here.
I've double checked:
The distributor is timed correctly to the crank (not 180 out).
Plug wires are all connected in the right order.
I need to know:
The orange wire coming out of the harness that plugs into the distributor - WHERE DOES IT BOLT TO?
The braided ground strap that comes off the drivers side head at the back - WHERE DOES IT BOLT TO?
The Mainground strap on the truck from the negative battery post, runs down to the frame rail, and then goes somewhere. for the past 3 years this strap has done NOTHING for me because it was actually just looped back to the negative battery post (I know I know....dont ask how or why, just know that up till now however this mess was sorted out, it worked!) Where does that Ground Strap bolt on to?
I set the crank to 10 degrees BTDC, hooked up a timing light, and turned the distributor till the lite went flashed. tightened the distributor down so it wouldnt move unless I moved it.
Then when I try to crank the engine over, the timing light doesnt flash at all. HOWEVER, when I pull the plug out, and ground it on the intake or exhaust manifold and crank again, I get spark on the plug, but no flashing of the timing light. I then tested the timing light on another car and it works fine. ALSO, the spark that I get from the plug is not as good as I'd like, its a little bit yellow instead of bright white/blue. I'm attributing this to the poor ground that I evidently must have on the engine.
So to get things started here....from the beginning, Where do those 3 wires Start, and Terminate? I"m looking for 100% confidence in the answers guys....as in you went and looked at your 2.9L and chased the wires! As you can tell, guessing hasnt worked yet!!!
Thanks!