DSII Wiring issue on '65 mustang

65fback

65fback

Well-known member
So after my 'adventures' installing the DSII distributor I've only had bits of time here and there to get the wiring done. That's now complete. The car won't start. It'll turn over but I'm not getting it to start. I've rechecked the wiring a couple of times. I've also verified I get 12V at the + terminal on the coil when in the ignition is in the run position as well as in the start position. I also tried rotating the distributor a bit to adjust timing with no success.

Full list of wiring changes I made:

* ran green wire from 4 plug on ignition module to negative (-) terminal on ignition coil
* ran white wire from the 2 plug connector on ignition module to the S terminal on the solenoid
* disconnected the brown wire from the I terminal on the starter solenoid
* ran red wire from the 2 plug connector on ignition module to the positive (+) terminal on the ignition coil
* cut the pink resistor wire from the ignition
* ran a wire from the run position of the ignition to the positive (+) terminal on the ignition coil

The module is a replacement module for the DSII ignition module. It's got the blue sealing block setup. The coil is a 12V coil 'for electronic systems'.

Any advice of what to check next?
 
well start here and double check the conversion, it sounds right though;

http://www.mustangsteve.com/conversion.html

next i would check to see that you have voltage through the coil with the key on, if you dont then you have a bad coil or no power to the coil, which is your next check.

after that i would make sure your timing is set right. i would also check to see if you have spark at the plugs as well.
 
Thanks.

Quick follow up: I pulled the wire from the coil to distributor, put a spark plug on it and grounded it, had someone turn the engine over. I'm getting spark to the distributor. I'll do same with one of spark plug wires from distributor next. Off to friend's 50th birthday party so it'll have to wait.

Thanks for the link.

/Chris
 
65fback":31nu810m said:
Thanks.

Quick follow up: I pulled the wire from the coil to distributor, put a spark plug on it and grounded it, had someone turn the engine over. I'm getting spark to the distributor. I'll do same with one of spark plug wires from distributor next. Off to friend's 50th birthday party so it'll have to wait.

Thanks for the link.

/Chris
Click to expand...

ok since you are getting spark, you dont have a wiring issue, you have a timing issue. unless you are not getting spark to the plugs themselves. if you dont get spark to the plugs, the check to make sure you reinstalled the rotor. many is the time a lot of us on the boards have forgotten something that simple.
 
I did exactly that when I installed pertronix in my dist :oops: Had me scratching my head for like an hour :banghead:
 
I'm getting spark to the plugs themselves (well at least the #5 cylinder which I spot checked). Must be a timing issue I rotated the distributor quite a bit both ways without success. I'm thinking I really botched it when I installed the distributor. :banghead: So now I'm off to find top dead center for cylinder 1 and try it again. :banghead:
 
A common problem is the distributor being out 180°.
Make sure you're on TDC on the compression stroke when installing it.
Put your finger over an open #1 spark plug hole and use a remote starter to bump it roughly into position.
 
Yeah, pretty sure I'm at TDC for cylinder 1. I bumped it around a couple of times to make sure. Then, just on the off chance I was wrong I rotated the plug wires around 180 degrees (as in moved along 3 positions, not rotated the wire around on the same post.... ;) Still no luck. I guess it's time to take a step back and retrace all my steps (again). I see why so many cars have been sold off because the owner gave up on the ignition.
 
:unsure: Even if the timing was off,he would be getting some engine kick back or some backfiring through the carb.Something else is maybe the culprit.
Good luck.Have fun.Be safe.
Leo
 
Im going to guess timing.

When I replaced my dizzy the vac port was pointing straight back (12 o'clock) and the rotor was pointing directly at the #1 terminal on the cap (3 o'clock). The timing mark was right on TDC.

I installed the new dizzy in the exact location and the car cranked but would not start.

I rotated everything around back to TDC and reinstalled the dizzy at 2, 4, and 5 o'clock. Each time with the vac port pointing at 12 o'clock.

The 5 o'clock position was where it would start, and idle smoothly. The only explanation that I can come up with is that the reman dizzy is indexed differently.

The car never backfired, ran rough, or did anything else that would indicate that it jumped a tooth on the timing chain.
 
I'm gonna get castigated by the die hard Ford purists (sounds painful!!! :shock: ) But I've done the GM ignition module conversion on every DS11 car I've owned and a few for my customers.
http://www.fordmuscleforums.com/ignitio ... -case.html
I'm not ashamed of it and try to hide it like this guy. I just find a good place and let it show. The wiring lives up to my demand for neat and it's cheap come module time. For the price of new DS module you can get 2 GM units with change left for a coupla cold ones. Keep a spare in the glove box. Murphy's Law clearly states that your ignition module WILL go south when you don't have a spare. And naturally in the middle of Death Valley, 120 degrees in the shade, dark as the inside of a cow and a roaring blizzard is hitting you in the face
 
If you think the timing is off, loosen the dizzy and rotate it to the full extent of it's travel, then use a timing light and a friend see if it's roughly in the right area

If it isn't in the right area, and you've rotated it 180, then move the firing order one plug off (put the #1 in the #5 spot on the cap, and follow it around with the proper firing order.) If that doesn't work, move it up to the next spot (#1 into #3.) Continue with this until you go all the way around. Although the #5 and #4 positions are most likely if it isn't 180* out

One of the most common mistakes people make is when they install the dizzy, they mis-stab it one spot forwards or backwards when the gears mesh
 
Oooh. Ditto. The rotor will glide BACK to #1 almost an entire HALF turn when you stab it correctly. So start with the rotor turned to the opposite side and then drop it in.
 
JackFish":2ytq8mpx said:
A common problem is the distributor being out 180°.
Make sure you're on TDC on the compression stroke when installing it.
Put your finger over an open #1 spark plug hole and use a remote starter to bump it roughly into position.
Click to expand...
I've never done that. And I'll never do it again! :eek:opsie:






I hope

Also if your dizzy is 180 out, the likelihood of even getting a sputter is slim to none. If you're off a tooth or three, you'll get all kinds of backfire, etc. How do I know this? See above. I'll try not to do that again too.
 
vntgtrk":14m2ay66 said:
Also if your dizzy is 180 out, the likelihood of even getting a sputter is slim to none.
Click to expand...
Not quite, when I first got my '67 the dizzy was installed 180 out and I didn't know it. Installed the plug wires correctly and would get backfires out of the carburetor.
That can be a hallmark of a dizzy being installed 180 out if a couple other factors are linked up.
 
Asa":35jfd8ok said:
vntgtrk":35jfd8ok said:
Also if your dizzy is 180 out, the likelihood of even getting a sputter is slim to none.
Click to expand...
Not quite, when I first got my '67 the dizzy was installed 180 out and I didn't know it. Installed the plug wires correctly and would get backfires out of the carburetor.
That can be a hallmark of a dizzy being installed 180 out if a couple other factors are linked up.
Click to expand...
You're correct. But for this discussion I didn't feel it was necessary to bring that up. I even saw a dizzy installed a tooth (or more? can't recall) off and the plug wires put on the dizzy one post off. But that was a Chevy and we all know how they do things :LOL:
 
Thanks for the tips guys. I've already done the 180 degree check (rotated all the plug wires halfway around the cap). Nothing doing. I've taken a step back to square one. I'm going over all the wiring again.

As for the question of have I done anything else to the engine? Nothing. Everything else is the same. Cam, carb et. al are on the list, but I've got more important things to spend my money on at the moment so...
 
65fback":9gauz7ck said:
Thanks for the tips guys. I've already done the 180 degree check (rotated all the plug wires halfway around the cap). Nothing doing. I've taken a step back to square one. I'm going over all the wiring again.
Click to expand...
You have spark. Don't worry about square one, you're past that already.
You went 180 out, did you check the next plug before and after?
 
vntgtrk":3438jpt4 said:
I'm gonna get castigated by the die hard Ford purists (sounds painful!!! :shock: ) But I've done the GM ignition module conversion on every DS11 car I've owned and a few for my customers.
http://www.fordmuscleforums.com/ignitio ... -case.html
I'm not ashamed of it and try to hide it like this guy. I just find a good place and let it show. The wiring lives up to my demand for neat and it's cheap come module time. For the price of new DS module you can get 2 GM units with change left for a coupla cold ones. Keep a spare in the glove box. Murphy's Law clearly states that your ignition module WILL go south when you don't have a spare. And naturally in the middle of Death Valley, 120 degrees in the shade, dark as the inside of a cow and a roaring blizzard is hitting you in the face
Click to expand...

no issues with the GM module, i used a chrysler module on my old 66 falcon.
 
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