Electrical issues :)

[Lift]

So im almost done with my v8 swap, the truck runs drives and stops.

So here is my issue and im pretty sure i know whats wrong, but id appreciate opinions before i start hacking up my wiring.

So when i crank the motor, the starter cuts in and out and sometimes it will keep cranking. My electrical fuel pump cuts out while im cranking and my ignition shuts off because its not getting enough voltage. Having that said, it wont start sometimes unless it has just enough fuel and sparks right away and the starter works.

I have my ignition and my fuel pump wired to my starter relay. Im thinking i need to wire my fuelpump and my ignition to my Voltage regulator box or my alternator Or put a relay in for the fuel pump and starter.

What do you guys think?

Yes i tried two different batterys and i tried it on a starter and it still does it.

IT is possible that its my wire i used for the battery. i bought my wire from advanced auto homedepot for my battery

 

[Tominator]

Do you have the block and body grounded? There should be a heavy wire or strap going to the body, block and another to the frame. That could be a point of resistence. Electricty will look for the path of least resistence and poorly grounded can result in all sorts of electrical gremlins.

 

[Lift]

Thats possible thats what it could be. But i know i put one on it, its on the back of the intake connecting near the brake booster. I might have taken it off tho when i was working on the throttle cable. I will check next time im home to work on my truck.

 

[kimcrwbr1]

In the tech library under duraspark conversion the first color diagram is the ignition wires for your truck. What type of ignition system are you running. Run your fuel pump off of the battery using a relay so your not pulling power from the coil you want the ignition on a dedicated circuit a relay will draw very little power. If your running points you need a ballast resistor so you dont burn up the coil and that can cause starting issues to solve that you need a diode running in line from the start wire from the start solenoid so when you go to start it it gives battery voltage to the coil then the diode blocks the voltage from the coil to the start solenoid when the engine is running. Where in WA maple valley here.

 

[Lift]

1 amp on a relay can send out like 30amps to the source right? it probably would be a good idea to run the fuel pump on a relay so its clean power.
Im running a jacobs ignition system its 2 wires i believe power and ground and the other wires that go to the distributor etc. It works i have had the truck running cherry already, its just when cranking it shuts off. Could i also wire the ignition to a relay through the key switch hot wire?

 

[kimcrwbr1]

You dont need a relay for the ignition just hook the coil pos with the ignition pos to key on hot maybe your wired to accy. There is a two wire connector with a red and white wire I believe white is key on hot and the red is the start wire. On the duraspark ignition the start wire is used to retard the timing for quicker starts also I`m not sure if your ignition has that feature never worked with a jacobs ignition. Are you using the three wire distributor (duraspark) one ground and the other two are the reluctor coil. you can use the ground for your ignition. I will get the link for the duraspark wiring it may be helpful.

 

[kimcrwbr1]

http://www.therangerstation.com/tech_library/2_8Duraspark.html
scroll down to the first color wiring diagram the red/lt green is also a key on hot if your wired to accy as soon as you let off the key it energizes the coil and if the engine is still turning it will start sounds like your issue?

 

[Lift]

Im afraid that duraspark information will not help me. Im using an efi distributor its 3 wires. I wired my ignition to the ignition switch hot wire which i also wired my electric choke to. The weird thing is i didnt have any problems starting the truck until just recently. I have started it up atleast 30 times the way i have had it wired and i changed my timing because it was off a tooth on the distributor and now it has issues starting. but when i do get it to run it sounds just fine and runs fine.

 

[kimcrwbr1]

efi distributor? If you have power to the ignition with the key on and the power shuts off when you turn it to start that is the accy circuit. I gave you the schematic to show you the ignition circuit maybe your ignition switch is bad. If the distributor has three wires coming out it is a duraspark type dizzy. I could find no info on the jacobs system does the coil require a ballast resistor if so and you ran it without your coil is probably shot. Try a coil that runs off of battery voltage. If you still have the stock coil that came out of the truck (TFI coil) hook it up and see if it fires up.

 

[Lift]

The distributor is not a msd its just off a newer mustang 1988 or so the plug is about 6 or 7 wires and im onlty using 3 off of it.

I ran the ignition with the blue coil you see there. the ignition and coil are both connected together, you can also see that in the picture. i bought everything in a kit, the jacobs ignition module and the coil and spark plug wires came with the kit brand new. I wired the ignition using instructions from the jacobs manual.

Im pretty sure in the instructions it would have said something about a ballast resistor for the coil. It did not and after i wired everything there was no wire left un hooked except and orange and purple and a security wire on the ignition module that the manual said to ground if not in use. There was no where for a ballast resistor to hook up on the coil. Thats as much as i can explain without being able to see it " also been so long since i wired it up, I do not live where i work on the truck or i would make a video.".
i just think it was just a coincidence for it to have issues after i changed the timing. I do not think that the ignition is relative to the problem tho

I dont understand why this would just happen after i changed the timing. I did not touch anything except the distributor. Runs top where its at now too ;D

 

[Lift]

 

[kimcrwbr1]

Accel bought jacobs and do not give any information on the jacobs systems. Pull the distributor and look at thre cam gear on the dizzy if it has casting marks you have a iron cam if it has smooth machined flat surfaces it is a steel cam. Ditch that system and get a 1 wire HEI distributor with the gear to match your cam. Even if you figure it out you will not be able to find replacement parts when it fails again. Without any troubleshooting info you will be going through this again. Do yourself and your engine a favor go with a ignition that is easy to diagnose and parts are available. You will have both high performance and dependable puttin around. Alot of good options out there with the price of fuel something with a good advance curve preferrably. I believe that is more a race setup.

 

[Tominator]

That's great advice.....

 

[Lift]

turns out its not an ignition issue, i scrapped off the paint under the starter relay for a better ground and that fixed the starter cutting in and out issue. Now that i have been home to do some test, the ignition is sending out spark all the way to the plugs. so my ignition system is out of the question now. I bought an electronic fuel pump from shmucks or oreillys or w/e and i have had issues with it like its clogged once already and i had to clean it out to fix it. but when i turn my fuel pump on the filter up in the engine bay is filling up with fuel but when i crank the engine it doesnt even try to start. So i tried dumping fuel in the carb and it started right up.

So im thinking one of two different things, The carb needs a rebuild or the fuel pump cant send out enough fuel even tho its 8psi. Tell me what you think.

 

[kimcrwbr1]

What kind of carb? run about a quart of fuel into a jar. If you get good volume and no crap in the jar pull the carb apart and clean it good its probably a chunk of hose or crap in the float valve. It is best to hard pipe the fuel pump to the carb for safety double flare the ends of the tubing. Hard mount the fuel pump somewhere and put a good filter between the fuel pump and the tank. Replace all the old rubber fuel line if there is alot of crap in the float bowl a complete rebuild wouldnt hurt for the carb. Start from the tank and work your way to the carb.