well, i've noticed that if my car sits for more than one day it is almost impossible to start. i'm a rising technician at a dodge dealership here (still finishing automotive school) and one of the guys i work with is my neighbor. he helped me with my new exhaust and the infamous problem happened. it wouldn't start. i towed it over there but figured i could drive it home. anywho. here's how he fixed it. he pulled my trailing coil wire from the dizzy cap out just a little bit so it was barely hanging in there. i turn the key and it's never cranked faster in the whole time i've owned it. he told me it makes it create more spark. how the hell and why would this be happening? i have fairly new msd blaster 2 coils, could i not be getting enough voltage TO the coils? new ngk wires, new cap and rotor (mazda).

 

that is an amazing trick! i did not know that. i'll look foward to trying that! if you werent getting enough voltage to the coils it wouldn't spark as fast. perhaps you have corrosion deep into the pocket of your coil and you are getting a better contact on the outside edge of the coil.

 

yeah, when my REPU was at the bodyshop and wouldn't start, the shop manager did the same trick and we confirmed it had spark. be sure to wear a rubber glove and ground your otherhand to the chassis.

 

It is an old trick. more air takes more voltage to jump.

you said stuff was new but did not include new plugs. Did you put new plugs in?

 

yea, the plugs are actually maybe a week old. :P:

 

yeah, the larger gap requires the coils to put out more voltage to jump the gap.... kinda hard on your cap and rotor as it burns them with the extra voltage (and points if you're running the old points and condensors on the '79's)

 

ok ok, i cleaned up my battery terminals, i never really looked at them. they were pretty bad off, it starts alot faster and now that i have the new cap and rotor that probably helps too. BUT, it wont idle. it holds the idle for a tiny bit then slowly starts to die. my floats are in the middle of the glass and everything else seems to be in good order. i've messed with the mixture screw but it's not helping. it's not a lumpy idle either, it's smooth as can be, just wont hold. should i get new battery cables? new grounds?

 

The only way to get shocked is grounding your other hand to the chassis, no?

I've been shocked by a car before, it's a little more intense than testing a lawmower or weedeater hehe

 

as long as ur not touching or leaning on the car, u wont get shocked. this trick increases the voltage to jump the gap, making a hotter spark. it's actually better done at the sparkplug, leaving just the boot on the plug, eliminating the need to hold it and the chances of getting shocked.

 

Whoa, don't ground your other hand. If your other hand is grounded, the electricity will go straight through your heart and out the other hand. If your hand is not grounded, the path of least resistance is now in your hand, and out your foot, keeping the voltage away from your heart.

 

I made the mistake of holding my hood up with one hand while adjusting the distributer cap, i haven't touched a distributer on a running car since.

 

I don't know about the "straight through the heart" thing.
It's not a bolt of lightning. Your body will complete the circut though. But then again any amount of voltage can kill you. Lots of factors.

 

I didn't feel it through my heart, just my hands although my whole body got tingly and such.

 

actually it isn't he voltage that can kill you it's the Amperage.... 0.05A is enough to kill you...But i used to be an electricial in the IBEW and got hung on 480Volts and only got a headache...it was a loew amp circut with high voltage...

 

RF can give nasty burns.

 

Have you tried adjusting the idle screw??? its under the accelerator pump housing, kinda hard to get to...

Twisting in idles higher.... twisting out idles lower... go in a 1/4 turn increasments, real touchy..... Carl has pictures of the screws on his car domain site... bottom of the third page i think.... hope this helps...

oh yeah, be sure to do it when its warmed up.... so warm it up, shut it down.... turn the screw half a turn in... then crank it up and see where its at...

Also check your timing....

 

Back when I had my 81 SP 13B, me and a mechanic friend installed a jacabs energy pack w/coils. He was testing for juice holding the wire with a set of insulated pliers. It STILL managed to shock the living **** out of him (don't ask me how or why- I can't remember that far back!). However- I do recall the look on his face and him screaming "Shut it OFF!! SHUT IT OFF!!!!"

 

lol

 

actually, my idle screw doesnt work for some reason? it's wierd. so i have to adjust the tension on the throttle cable. ugh it sux.

 

if your idle screw doesn't work ....... maybe you have a vacuum leak somewhere.

 

i'm pretty sure i dont. i've done the carb cleaner spray everywhere and it isnt lumpy at all. i can keep my foot on the gas and make it hold an idle and it's totally smooth. what i really want to know, is has anyone noticed a good difference by changing out the battery cables and grounds.

 

That's 'cause Voltage is the pressure required to jump the gap... flow is just how much energy flows through the conductor.

High voltage such as the ignition (10,000 - 25,000 volts) will jump a gap up to 1/4 of an inch or so, so it will easily jump through any nicks, cuts, etc, in the insulation on the handles of the pliers... or even right through the insulating material if it is fairly porous.

That's why I always laugh at people that think they can put leather gloves on and grab onto any electrical component they want....

 

Leather gloves? You can get zapped right through the stitching. Of course I always have just used bare hands. It feels more stimulating that way.

 

anyone?