Hi all. I recently pulled the primary wire and tried to start the car. It would not start so I figure I have a broken belt. Well, the belt is fine. I then tried to pull the wire with the car running. With the main wire pulled, the car died right away. With the secondary pulled, the car idled really rough, like it was about to die.

The caps and rotors are new. I have plugs but have not the time to change them out yet. The car runs fine otherwise. It is a little rough during low rpms when cold, which was why I wanted to do the test.

I'm guessing it could be the coils or the wires. The wires seem fine, no sparks when sprizted and for both coils to go out seems far fetched.

Any thoughts?

It's a '91 C2 with 150K.

TIA

 

This is exactly what I found after replacing my caps and rotors. I'd love to hear some suggestions!

 

IMO, the best way to test the belt is to remove both distributor caps and see if the secondary distributor spins freely.

 

Possibly you have a coil that is weak. I agree with axl911 that the only true way to see if your belt is busted, is to SEE it! There are too many other variable associated with just pulling a coil wire off and seeing if the car runs. You could have any number of ignition issues - coils, wires, caps, rotors (points??? just kidding) that can foil your diagnosis. I'd get in there and pull apart the dizzy. You can see the belt without even drilling out the main drive pin that affixes the gear to the shaft - so just "looking" shouldn't take you more than an hour if you've never done it.

 

I was actually ready to replace the belt. Removed the distributors and found the belt to be brand new. No signs of wear so I replaced everything and changed out the cap and rotors.

Both rotos turn and they are at the correct marks.

 

This sounds EXACTLY the same as my situation!!!!

 

Kahdmus, are you still having misfiring problems??

 

Garrett, no misfiring..all seems well (perhaps a little underpowered although I think it may be in my head...my wife certainly thinks so!) but if I pull the primary then she stalls!

 

Is it a fact that the engine should run just fine with one primary coil wire pulled? Would be intersting if you start swapping components from dizzy1 to dizzy2 to see where the "weak link" exists. I bet something's not up to par if in fact the engine should run with one wire pulled.

 

hello,

my car runs great, but if i try to remove primary coil wire she wont run for very long and then die. i believe this is normal as the secondary system has counter weights and and does not respond the same as the primary distrib. which is dead on and has no play. i dont know how to put this in specific engineering terms. the secondary has a catch up system and because of the slight varible in timing wont let it run at idle correctly. this is why when the belt breaks it is hard to notice because the primary is taking lead, secondary follows. i'm sure someone with the right words can make this more clear.

 

hello again,

before you go spend a bunch of money on parts, i think you jumping the gun. if you replaced all the components on the system you would end up with the same results. again i think this is normal. any bets? smile

 

oh, i forgot... I did connect the wire from coil(2) to the primary and try to start. No go. The primary coil's wire will not reach the secondary's distributor, so I could not get the total setup. But, I could not start the engine with either coil on the main distributor.

This is so confusing. But the bottom line is that I cannot get the car started and running on one distributor with either coils.

I do not want to start shot gunning. I was under the impression that one can start the car with one distributor. True?

 

Kahdmus,

Hey I'm in SF. We should hook up and try to figure out what the deal is. Maybe it's the fog.

Patrick

 

Patrick....yeah and I've got a double dose out here in Pacifica!!! :-)