I have a 76 D100 shortbox with an intermittent starting problem. When I can get it to start it runs fine and will start and run after the first start, but last night I was heading home after work and it would spin the motor over but no spark. I had plenty of fuel, but could not get it to spark. Called a buddy to help me after an hour and a trip to the parts store to replace the cap and rotor which looked a little worn. I had given up and was gonna have my buddy give me a ride. I was picking up tools when my buddy got in and hit the key and she popped right off. Drove it home and shut it off, had dinner and then needed to go to the store for diapers so i decided to take the truck. She started right up no worries. Next morning she just spun over with no spark so I drove my other car to work.

Any help would be appreciated.

You have an intermittent interruption in one of the ignition circuits which will have to be hunted down once the truck won't start.

Several likely culprits could be intermittent coil, reluctor pick-up failing, bad connection at bulkhead connector, or any of several loose connections or compromised conductor.

You will have to systematically track down the problem using a volt / ohm meter.

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67' Dart GT Convertible; the old Chrysler Corp.
82' LeBaron Convertible; the new Chrysler Corp
07' 300 C AWD; Now by Fiat, the old new Chrysler LLC

What he said...and I had similar symptoms with a bad ignition module.

It took some searching, but I actually found a replacement module made in the USA for about three times the price of the Asian made junk, but I trust it ten times as much. The OEM part in my '73 D100 has never missed a beat.

Well, I have checked and replaced all the electrical parts on the truck(I think). I replaced the coil, plugs wires cap rotar and had the module checked as well as replaced the coil pickup in the distributor. The only problem area left is the ignition switch. How would I go about bypassing the switch to see if I can get it to start. Is there a simpler way of checking to see if my switch is bad.

Next time it happens, put the key in the "Run" position, go under the hood, and use a screwdriver to short between the two large terminals on the starter relay (or on the starter itself). If the truck starts, you've got a fault in the ignitiion switch or its wiring.

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Too many people who were born on third base actually believe they've hit a triple.

Is there anything else that I can check? I am not a great wrench, but I suck at electrical. I guess the regulator attached to the coil could be bad. I now habe no spark anytime. Thanks for your help.

I guess I could pull the timing cover and check the chain because it is most likely the original, but i have never done so much work on this $500 truck.

There is one more part in the ignition system, the ballast resistor.
the 5 ohm section supplies power to the ignition module.

Also the distributor has plastic gear driven by camshaft,
you could check it by seeing if the rotor spins while cranking.

Well I know the distributor gear is good because I had the distributor out to change the pickup coil. I guess I should have been smarter and checked if the rotor was actually turning when I turned the truck over. Is there an electrical diagram that I can print off the internet. I just want to make sure that everything is set up correctly.

Take a look here, you may find something useful.

http://www.mymopar.com/index.php?pid=31

Olaf

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Aspenized