I've gotten A-1 Cardone reman rack & pinions from Rock Auto before (my SL and R/T) and no problems so far here. Remans are a bit of a crap shoot though. Even if the distributor itself isn't good, if I get a good HEP out of it for $18 I'll be happy. I have a few good '86-up bare distributors anyway.
Since we're talking failed HEP's here, I had a new one on me last weekend. I've been chasing multiple issues on my freshly built 2.5 in Woody the turbo Mini, too much to go into here but it's been frustrating the F outta me Last weekend I made more changes cam out *again, etc,etc but when I fired it again it was better but still rough. Fortunately it was getting dark, dark enough to see sparks dancing back and forth between the two HEP wires! I pulled it out and inspected it, didn't see any breaks in the insulation but they were a little damaged where the dist cap seats. Swapped out for a spare J yard and bingo! roughness and stumbling is gone! Thru that other one in the trash so it doesn't end up getting used again
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Last edited by chromguy; 02-28-2019 at 11:28 PM.
Regards,
Miles
DD '87 Sundance T1, SLH with rear disks
'87 CSX #432 2.5 CB TII, SLH
My gold Omni has been great in the last few days with just the power module replacement. It's still using the HEP that came in the car when I bought it, and actually it still has the same Mopar coil too, which might be original for all I know (90k miles).
I did have an early ('85) HEP that 'worked' once, but it made a scraping sound inside the distributor cap. Apparently it was a manufacturing defect and the shutter wheel was physically contacting the hall effect magnets. It has been fine with a cheap replacement from Rock Auto. :shrug:
I am the only owner of my 87 DD, it is still running the original HEP, coil with wire/distro cap a rotor. The only electrical issue was a faulty Air charge sensor 25 years ago.
Last year I changed the timing belt just because I thought I should. My wife's Toyota truck 2005 appears to be just as reliable.
Regards,
Miles
DD '87 Sundance T1, SLH with rear disks
'87 CSX #432 2.5 CB TII, SLH
Well I spoke too soon. The Omni was fine after the power module replacement for about a week. It died while I was on the way to a job site today, but thankfully it died on our property so it's not like it has to be towed asap like before. Same situation; the only code 43 (ignition coil) came back, and it cranks over fine and has fuel pressure. I can't believe I had two PM fails in a week.
It is supposed to get down to -20F this weekend, so it will be next week before I touch it. My parts showed up from Rock Auto though, so I now have two new HEPs, a complete distributor with wires, and a new ignition coil. I also have another spare PM to try.
icy map sensor or vac system ???
a buddy had a shelby charger in the way back that sprayed salt water through a small hole right beside the bottom of the LM
fubar'd the inside of the screw on map sensor
swapped (and bagged) and good to go
I'll look into that too. It is fairly high and dry here, but brutally cold lately.
One thing that has happened in the last week, is that the charging voltage has dipped and I get belt screech. I've also had some fuel leakage out of some hoses that I need to address. It's crazy what the cold will do to rubber and then all sorts of crap happens.
Anyway, about the charging voltage dipping....could that be 'hard' on a PM and the ignition coil driver (transistors)? I'm thinking possibly because I know some things, like light bulb filaments will fail prematurely if not driven at proper voltage. Just a hunch I guess.
Transistors will be fine with lower voltages as they are designed to function this way. They do have voltages maximums but it is unlikely your voltage reg can run that high. 35-50V are typically voltage max.
How are you with electronics? I do have partial schematics for the PM that may be helpful in checking the PM.
Could we be having a bad connection at a connector perhaps? Could 30 years of corrosion causing an issue ?
Regards,
Miles
DD '87 Sundance T1, SLH with rear disks
'87 CSX #432 2.5 CB TII, SLH
It’s probably a connector issue. My car had issues until I pulled the PM connectors and carefully bent all the terminals back in so they would make a better connection at the module. Clean them up, bend the terminals back, apply fresh dielectric grease.
re the barrel style terminal in the plugs
DON'T stick anything into them thinking your gonna scrape the crud out
there is a tang inside the barrel that actually makes contact with the pin on the PM/SMEC etc
I had a buddy do this with my torch tip cleaner tool one night
yes we spent the rest of the evening searching another set of connectors outta my basement and splicing them on ...
Aries_Turbo suggested using Deoxit D5 (an high end audio contact cleaner) . I bought a can sitting on the shelf ready for action.
https://caig.com/
Regards,
Miles
DD '87 Sundance T1, SLH with rear disks
'87 CSX #432 2.5 CB TII, SLH
I am also thinking it must be a connector issue, probably the 10-way right on the PM. Unfortunately the barrel pins inside aren't removable, so hopefully I can make it right without having to chop/splice on a whole good connector. I know the ignition coil driver is position #1 on that plug and the black/yellow wire.
I am not very good with electronics...but I do know my way around the wire harnesses pretty well. I would certainly try to open the PM and find the transistors that drive the coil and test them with a multimeter. Are they buried under thick potting compound? It would be nice to know for sure before I throw them out.
how did the ground check go? a set of booster cables can add some grounds in a second.
I had a bad asd relay once, it was mounted upside down and condensation caused it to fail. I chased that relay problem for months. had the whole harness cut open looking for a short. just another thing.
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I haven't been able to try yet. It's been waaaay below zero this whole weekend and the car is still stalled out near my work place. -17'F when I got up this morning! I can't wait for spring to arrive because I will be doing a whole lot of maintenance and updates to the car.
The good news, its functionality can be troubleshooted without opening it up! When you are ready, LMK and I can help you. I also have a few on the shelf that I can test. I believe they are potted but I only have mine opened to see if they were similar to the power board inside the SMEC. I will check after lunch as I am replacing a rotor on the Sundance.
Partial schematics
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B3...lBxek1ReXRiVVU
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B3...Gc1ZFF4S051eDQ
Regards,
Miles
DD '87 Sundance T1, SLH with rear disks
'87 CSX #432 2.5 CB TII, SLH
pm's are potted , yes
Clean out all the old dielectric grease. Grab a small pointy pick and a magnifying glass. Look inside the PM terminals on the harness connector. You’ll see the metal tangs that need to stick out to make contact with the male side on the PM. Carefully use the pick to bend them back outward so they make good contact again. Apply dielectric grease on the OUTSIDE/around the connector. Remember, the grease only keeps water out. Applying it to the terminals can cause the pin to make poor contact again. Liquids/solids don’t compress. Grease on the terminal will actually push the tang and bend it back the wrong way. People use dielectric grease too liberally thinking it will help the connection. There is a product called stabilant 22a. It is a liquid you apply to terminals and it actually helps make electrical contact when dry. Very $$$$ but I’ve used it many times with good results.
if you need to replace a barrel connector it can be done
another connector pigtail with wires has to be sacrificed though
hack a connector and wire free of the part source connector
clip the wire off the location where the terminal needs replaced
cut it flush with the connector body
now slowly drill out the wire and barrel connector
slide the new terminal in from the PM/smec side with a little dab of silicone and splice it back to the wire you cut
go slow
use a drill bit notably smaller than the hole for the wire and terminal
better to work it lose because it got warm from the friction of the bit...
success rate goes up splicing on only one needed terminal
adding another entire connector opens the opportunity for another .. or two . four bad connections you just installed
especially with 30 odd year old connectors