HEI distributor setup help needed for '85 F150| 300 straight 6

[DarkSaga]

Besides checking the W/LtB wire when the key is in run you also need to make sure it has power when cranking or the coil will not have power to start till the key is returned to run.

Now if you want to see if the dist. is set right and maybe have a little "I see the light" and have it run.

Run a wire from the battery to the power connection of the HEI dist. and see if you get any sign of life.

If it starts you can turn the dist. a little both ways till it runs best.

If you have a vacuum gauge adjust timing for highest vacuum reading.

To turn the truck off just disconnect the wire at the battery so the wire is not hot.

Some say you can run that W/LtB wire right to the HEI dist. and have it work.

You can try it that way for a test drive then run wire from battery and see if it runs better.

But at least "hot wiring" from battery to dist. you can see if you get anything before help shows up again.

Dave ----

Dave G. ('FuzzFace2'), that's a good idea to run a +12V hot wire straight to the HEI to at least test that it is working properly.

If I was to try this method... I have a few questions:

1) When the hot wire powers the HEI, will the rotor spin immediately? or not until the engine is turned over with the key in RUN position (starter cranking).

2) Basically what's going to occur when I touch the +12V hot wire to the HEI ?

3) Also does the oil pump factor at all into this? The HEI has the gear and the shaft for the oil pump right? Can any damage occur to that by running the +12V hot wire directly to the HEI? Or is the oil pump independent of things and can't be harmed? (I really don't know how that all works - and will try to get more info online). Like do I have to be in the process of turning over the engine prior to the +12V hot wire being attached to the HEI?

This is my first attempt at using a HEI distributor and my experience is very limited. I just want to make sure I don't do anything stupid and ruin anything in the engine.

[85lebaront2]

Thanks for contacting 'tanman', Jim. It's fantastic that he's now joined the thread! I don't really have a clue about "tagging" and that sort of thing, so thanks for doing that. I'll figure that sort of thing out eventually I guess.

I'm going to take some photos tomorrow of the engine bay and the wiring I've done. I don't think my friend can assist me until next week, but I'd like to try to get more accomplished this weekend.

On your wiring that went to your distributor module, there were/are two wires, one is white with a light blue hash or stripe this went through a connector, C321 and then to the distributor module, this wire has 12V on it in run. The other wire is red with light green and it went through a different connector C325 and became a brown with pink and joined the white with light blue and then fed the ignition module and and coil + terminal, this red with light green is powered with 12V in start and fed through a resistance wire in run. This was needed on the Duraspark system. They are connected together in the engine harness on feedback carburetor and EFI vehicles. If you use this wire to activate the relay (needed because the HEI coil is a current hog) it will keep the relay on when starting and running.

Ford did this on the 1985/86 models to make the three different systems, DS-II, Feedback carburetor and EFI easier to build on the assembly line.

[DarkSaga]

I was dead in the water and it was a grounding issue. Grind off some paint and make sure everything is grounded really well. Grab an extra relay and swap that out. I'll get some pictures posted later today.

Improper ground is the most common blocker. The DUI has some troubleshooting tips.

I ran my HEI distributor with the carter carb and no vacuum advance for several months before I removed the stock intake and exhaust manifold.

https://performancedistributors.com/professional-tips/

Hello 'tanman'! Thanks for joining the thread and offering some help. I'll take some photos of what I've done so you can see if I've made any glaring errors with my wiring.

*I have an old 85 f150 plow truck that's currently not running and didn't want to shell out $400+ on the D.U.I. brand HEI distributor in the hopes that it would work... so I bought a more affordable (cheap) one from 'A-Team Performance Parts' (a link to it is farther back in the thread).

I bought some of the same parts YOU did since you were successful with your truck conversion. I used the same RELAY and waterproof fuse holder that you used.

Anyway please post pictures of your HEI set up and wiring so I can see how you did it. Also if you have any pictures of your Carter carb when you had it hooked up that would be helpful to me. THANKS A LOT!!!

(my name is Jim by the way)

[DarkSaga]

On your wiring that went to your distributor module, there were/are two wires, one is white with a light blue hash or stripe this went through a connector, C321 and then to the distributor module, this wire has 12V on it in run. The other wire is red with light green and it went through a different connector C325 and became a brown with pink and joined the white with light blue and then fed the ignition module and and coil + terminal, this red with light green is powered with 12V in start and fed through a resistance wire in run. This was needed on the Duraspark system. They are connected together in the engine harness on feedback carburetor and EFI vehicles. If you use this wire to activate the relay (needed because the HEI coil is a current hog) it will keep the relay on when starting and running.

Ford did this on the 1985/86 models to make the three different systems, DS-II, Feedback carburetor and EFI easier to build on the assembly line.

Thanks for that info Bill AKA "LOBO"!

I appreciate your expert advice.

I will look for the red with light green wire tomorrow when I'm working on the truck.

 

[ArdWrknTrk]

Dave G. ('FuzzFace2'), that's a good idea to run a +12V hot wire straight to the HEI to at least test that it is working properly.

If I was to try this method... I have a few questions:

1) When the hot wire powers the HEI, will the rotor spin immediately? or not until the engine is turned over with the key in RUN position (starter cranking).

2) Basically what's going to occur when I touch the +12V hot wire to the HEI ?

3) Also does the oil pump factor at all into this? The HEI has the gear and the shaft for the oil pump right? Can any damage occur to that by running the +12V hot wire directly to the HEI? Or is the oil pump independent of things and can't be harmed? (I really don't know how that all works - and will try to get more info online). Like do I have to be in the process of turning over the engine prior to the +12V hot wire being attached to the HEI?

This is my first attempt at using a HEI distributor and my experience is very limited. I just want to make sure I don't do anything stupid and ruin anything in the engine.

Below the box in which you type your reply there is an "Assignment" field.

You choose assign from the drop-down and then the member you want notified (all members are alphabetical, numbers first)

I'm not Dave, but I think I can answer your questions.

1) The distributor is driven by a gear off the camshaft. The engine must be turning for the rotor to turn, but the distributor shaft must be properly engaged. This is why I asked if you could verify the rotor turning.

Errata: 'Run' is on, 'Start' is cranking..

The inline six rotates clockwise, all the V-8's rotate counter clockwise. i.e. advancing the timing is opposite direction.

2) When power is connected to the HEI the integral coil is charged up and ready to create a spark (when power is disconnected)

Because there is a solid state GM module inside your HEI it controls the amount of time power is fed to the coil (dwell)

3) The oil pump, shaft and gear are all grounded, like most parts of an engine that aren't insulated.

Every other ICE on the planet has power applied to the coil and fires through their distributor while cranking.

Throughout the '70's & '80's almost every GM product had HEI and it was never an issue.

Power is there before cranking every time, the key has to go through 'run' to even get to 'start'

[DarkSaga]

Below the box in which you type your reply there is an "Assignment" field.

You choose assign from the drop-down and then the member you want notified (all members are alphabetical, numbers first)

I'm not Dave, but I think I can answer your questions.

1) The distributor is driven by a gear off the camshaft. The engine must be turning for the rotor to turn, but the distributor shaft must be properly engaged. This is why I asked if you could verify the rotor turning.

Errata: 'Run' is on, 'Start' is cranking..

The inline six rotates clockwise, all the V-8's rotate counter clockwise. i.e. advancing the timing is opposite direction.

2) When power is connected to the HEI the integral coil is charged up and ready to create a spark (when power is disconnected)

Because there is a solid state GM module inside your HEI it controls the amount of time power is fed to the coil (dwell)

3) The oil pump, shaft and gear are all grounded, like most parts of an engine that aren't insulated.

Every other ICE on the planet has power applied to the coil and fires through their distributor while cranking.

Throughout the '70's & '80's almost every GM product had HEI and it was never an issue.

Power is there before cranking every time, the key has to go through 'run' to even get to 'start'

Jim, thanks for explaining how to use the "assignment" field for the forum and for educating me on how the distributor and oil pump work. Now I have a better understanding!

BTW, this week when I was doing the timing with the old distributor I had the cap off and when I rotated the engine the rotor moved. Then when I installed the new HEI distributor I had to lift and turn things a bit to get it close to the rotor pointing at #1 spark plug location. The gears were meshing and moving properly from what I could tell.

OK, on to some encouraging signs...

I didn't have as much time as I would have liked to, but I was able to briefly work on the truck today.

I wired the HEI directly to the battery (keeping the 30A fuse in line) and also had the spark tester hooked up. I had a family member turn the key to start it. I can confirm that this time there was definitely SPARK, one because the tester was lighting up and two because so was my hand! I was holding the tester so I could see it better and got a nice SHOCK!

So it wasn't sounding great at first... so I rotated the base of the HEI and got it where it was the sweet spot and the truck was trying to start. I sprayed some starter fluid into the carb and it was so close to starting, but it didn't wanna go.

Now I think maybe I should switch it to that KIPA carburetor... but before I do that I'll post some photos of the YFA carb, so you guys can see if the mechanic messed it up horribly by altering things on it. I would imagine with some direction from the forum if I connect things correctly on the YFA I can probably get it working right and in turn will get the truck to run again.

Also I'll post some pictures of the wiring (prior to me hot wiring it). Possibly you guys can point out any wiring errors that I made.

Overall, the fact that the HEI was working was very encouraging...

[DarkSaga]

Jim, thanks for explaining how to use the "assignment" field for the forum and for educating me on how the distributor and oil pump work. Now I have a better understanding!

BTW, this week when I was doing the timing with the old distributor I had the cap off and when I rotated the engine the rotor moved. Then when I installed the new HEI distributor I had to lift and turn things a bit to get it close to the rotor pointing at #1 spark plug location. The gears were meshing and moving properly from what I could tell.

OK, on to some encouraging signs...

I didn't have as much time as I would have liked to, but I was able to briefly work on the truck today.

I wired the HEI directly to the battery (keeping the 30A fuse in line) and also had the spark tester hooked up. I had a family member turn the key to start it. I can confirm that this time there was definitely SPARK, one because the tester was lighting up and two because so was my hand! I was holding the tester so I could see it better and got a nice SHOCK!

So it wasn't sounding great at first... so I rotated the base of the HEI and got it where it was the sweet spot and the truck was trying to start. I sprayed some starter fluid into the carb and it was so close to starting, but it didn't wanna go.

Now I think maybe I should switch it to that KIPA carburetor... but before I do that I'll post some photos of the YFA carb, so you guys can see if the mechanic messed it up horribly by altering things on it. I would imagine with some direction from the forum if I connect things correctly on the YFA I can probably get it working right and in turn will get the truck to run again.

Also I'll post some pictures of the wiring (prior to me hot wiring it). Possibly you guys can point out any wiring errors that I made.

Overall, the fact that the HEI was working was very encouraging...

With the HEI powered (temporarily by direct hot wiring) and the truck attempting to start. I feel that the truck is in the same state it was when I had the old distributor firing and the truck not starting.

Please take a look at the pictures of the YFA carburetor and see how it has been connected. The truck mechanic did some alterations and you guys will know if things are correct or not.

[ArdWrknTrk]

With the HEI powered (temporarily by direct hot wiring) and the truck attempting to start. I feel that the truck is in the same state it was when I had the old distributor firing and the truck not starting.

Please take a look at the pictures of the YFA carburetor and see how it has been connected. The truck mechanic did some alterations and you guys will know if things are correct or not.

I'm no YFA expert, but when I see vacuum lines plugged by bolts (instead of a port capped) it doesn't inspire confidence.

Can you tell me what that purple thing is by the bowl vent in the last photo?

It seems the choke is closed. That's probably okay, but it would be good to know the float level, where the idle screws are set.

I'd also want to check if the plugs are wet after attempting to start.

[DarkSaga]

I'm no YFA expert, but when I see vacuum lines plugged by bolts (instead of a port capped) it doesn't inspire confidence.

Can you tell me what that purple thing is by the bowl vent in the last photo?

It seems the choke is closed. That's probably okay, but it would be good to know the float level, where the idle screws are set.

I'd also want to check if the plugs are wet after attempting to start.

Jim, the purple thing is just the Carb identification tag.

I'll check on the plugs after the next start attempt.

Thanks for looking it over.