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1992 chevy electronic ignition

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Topic: 1992 chevy electronic ignition

Posted By: bobkyllo
Subject: 1992 chevy electronic ignition
Date Posted: 25 Feb 2024 at 4:08pm

Do you guys have a way to check the pickup coil in the distributor other then using a scope? I've got a crank no start pickup with the 5.7. I'm down to the pickup coil or the ignition module. Took the cap off the distributor and everything is very rusty. I'm certain the ignition module bolts will break off of I decide to change that.

Replies:

Posted By: HudCo
Date Posted: 25 Feb 2024 at 8:10pm

do you have spark ? better put it on tdc and see where your rotor is i will bet if it is the original distributer that the gear is toast and maybe the pin sheared claen athe grounds and electral plugs, conections

Posted By: im4racin
Date Posted: 25 Feb 2024 at 9:24pm

Just put a reman dist in. It will be easier and faster than attempting to repair yours. Should come with module and pickup coil reluctor ring assy.

Posted By: steve(ill)
Date Posted: 25 Feb 2024 at 10:28pm

like this ???

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mDKj19Hnhd0" rel="nofollow - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mDKj19Hnhd0

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Like them all, but love the "B"s.

Posted By: bobkyllo
Date Posted: 26 Feb 2024 at 4:50am

Yes exactly like that Steve.

Any time I get a crank no start my first step is give it a small sniff of alternative fuel (don't be a bone head with it) and that will tell me what I'm short. Spark air or fuel. I do not have spark. I even have a extra coil laying around that I use for quick test.

Posted By: Coke-in-MN
Date Posted: 27 Feb 2024 at 7:32am

real common for the wires to the pickup coil to fatigue and break internally . With 170,000 miles on my one 5.7 GM went through 2 pickup coils from broken lead .

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Faith isn't a jump in the dark. It is a walk in the light. Faith is not guessing; it is knowing something.
"Challenges are what make life interesting; overcoming them is what makes life meaningful."

Posted By: bobkyllo
Date Posted: 27 Feb 2024 at 7:57am

So I got it fixed. I ended up deciding on a ignition module. Once I took the cap off yesterday it was obvious that the customer should have a cap and rotor also. They looked horrible. I called for those. Well after some visiting with the parts guy it was about 25 dollars more to get a complete distributor.

So I'm not sure what was bad seeing as I ended up replacing the complete unit. But it did run again.

On a different note I ended up with a new tool. I. Ground the gear off the old one so I could turn the oil pump as it must have moved when I pulled the distributor.

Also I learned you should always point the rotor at the firewall straight on .

Posted By: Ed (Ont)
Date Posted: 27 Feb 2024 at 5:56pm

Point the rotor to number 1 plug. As you pull it out watch which way the rotor turns and put it back starting the rotor in the same spot. Yes you usually have to line the pump up. I just look down in the hole and align with a long flat screwdriver. Then start and time it. Some of the late eighties ones you had to unhook the tan wire under the heater fan in cab to time. Not sure on yours tho.

Posted By: im4racin
Date Posted: 27 Feb 2024 at 6:47pm

Yes there is a single connector in that area that needs to be unhooked. Then turn dist to 0* advance on damper. Shut off and reconnect connector. That’s all!

Posted By: DaveKamp
Date Posted: 28 Feb 2024 at 7:21am

For what it's worth, that particular distributor (two oval connectors) is referred to as the Delco 'HEI-EST'. The coil and trigger module operate in a stand-alone state with just power and coil... about the closest you can get in simplicity to a breaker-point distributor, but with the added feature that it requires no mechanical spark advance mechanism, the module does it all. There's several different modules available, which have slightly different ignition curves, and there's 4, 6, and 8 cylinder caps and reluctors available. For an odd-fire V6, one can use an 8cyl reluctor and cut two wings off.

They were all set up to work with the 'square brick' type ignition coil, and they threw a scary-nasty snappy-hot spark.

From the factory, they're naturally explosion-proof, so they're ready for the marine environment with no modification... as a result, they were very popular for converting GM Marine 4, 6, and V8's to electronic.

The secondary connector (4 wire) is used where computer 'adjustment' of the spark was done. With a connector attached, the distributor would respond to computer suggestion and knock sensor(s) to alter the default advance curve, but with the 4 wire disconnected, the distributor would follow it's internally based default advance curve.

Great little distributor, and it did not suffer from the earlier (coil-in-cap) advance mechanism or spark scatter issues. Bushings lasted really well, and once sealed, they'd stay clean inside just so long as you didn't drive the engine in short-distance cycles and wind up with a plugged up PCV system. When the engine doesn't get fully warmed up, condensation in the crankcase accumulates, and it gets everywhere (not just in the distributor). Corrosion inside that distributor is basically always from the engine spending too much time in a 'cold running' state, and not enough 'warm running'.

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Ten Amendments, Ten Commandments, and one Golden Rule solve most every problem. Citrus hand-cleaner with Pumice does the rest.