You are going to need to make or have made the eCoil wire that goes to the distributor. There is no premade cable for this application. Magnecore will do it. I think they want $20 plus shipping. At least that was their quote 2 years ago. Or just have them make a complete set for about $80, which will include the cable you need.

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66 dodge dart 270, 225ci, 3.7l, L6

I already have a Taylor ecoil wire from a Ford application so I'm good there. I might just buy a set of Taylor cut to fit wires and make my own. I have the crimper etc. $45 shipped from Amazon. No response from Magnecor yet anyway.

I think I might fire up the truck tonight in and see if there is any arcing/stray sparks from the ACDelco 7mm wires. A Ford truck I used to have looked like the 4th of July under the hood at night until I separated the wires properly.

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'82 D150 Regular Cab AT, PS, MB

Question - my old HEI system (installed by prior owner) only seems to generate a spark at the coil when I first turn over the engine (but not every time), and when I release the key (go from start to on). Any thoughts? The coil test out fine resistance wise so I suspect the module but wondering if this is a tell-tale sign of something else. Thanks in advance!

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1966 Clark Cortez Motorhome w/
Industrial Slant 6 looking for adventure!

Mine did the same thing when I first installed it. Remove your coil plug wire and make sure you are getting 12V while you are cranking. I had to run a second wire from the ign switch that provided voltage while cranking as well as while in the run position. Not sure if this is the correct way (what SSD would do) but it worked for me so far.

HEI system (installed by prior owner) only seems to generate a spark at the coil when I first turn over the engine (but not every time

If your 66 still has a ballast resistor on the firewall look for the possibility that it is still wired into the HEI system.....when it shouldn't be.

Your 66 has a high probability it still has primary ignition setup such that the ignition switch has a "start" circuit that bypasses the ballast resistor during the start phase so that 12 volts goes to the coil.
It also has a "run" circuit once started that use to run thru a ballast resistor to knock down the voltage to almost half of the battery voltage.

So the suggestion to run another lead from the ignition switch would likely be on the "run" circuit.

Try a jumper at the the ballast resistor if it is still on the firewall and check primary voltage at the coil during both ignition switch positions.

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1965 Dart 110k, 225, Carter BBD Super Six, 2 1/4 single exh., sbp manual scarebird front disc, 7 1/4 rear 2.94 sure grip, 14 x 4.5 OEM wheels, 833 OD with hyd. throwout bearing, HEI, electric fan, ram air/heated air, Accusump. http://plymouthcarclub.com/

FEELING DEFEATED!

Installed the HEI based on Dan's article and diagrams etc. including the relay switch, although my rig already has a 12V regulator in the circuit so not sure the relay is needed. Removed the carb and gave it a good cleaning as the fuel line seemed dirty after re-installing the gas tank/sender unit. Checked for spark at the coil and all good, then checked for spark at the end of spark plug lead #6 and all good there too. Turned engine over to fill carb bowl, then gave the starter a break. Tried to start and nothing - just turns over and over but never catches.

Eventually, after 15 minutes of trying, I got the truck running but for no apparent good reason - I know that seems strange, but there was always fuel at the jets, and I even sprayed some starter fuel once or twice but very rarely would I even get a hint of it starting, then all of a sudden it just did. Problem is I couldn't get it to stop! Turned the ignition key off but still ran and ran! Why?

Once I did manage to kill the engine, I could never get it started again. Tested the coil but now the spark is only intermittent and only when the ignition key returns to the on position. Perhaps I fried the module?

Need help! I bought this truck in Nov 2017 to get my kids out of the city and go on some fun adventures. Thought it was a solid, simple truck that would just go and go, but I'm starting to doubt my decision and scared another summer's going to go by without getting the chance to use this beast! Looking for technical and moral support on this one!
Thanks

Phil from Toronto

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1966 Clark Cortez Motorhome w/
Industrial Slant 6 looking for adventure!

On position is the "run" circuit off the ignition switch.....you should measure the voltage at the coil to determine if it is 12 volts.

Start position is the "start" circuit off the ignition switch......it also should have 12 volts at the coil.......bet it doesn't register a full 12 volts at the coil.

When the engine keeps running after you shut off the ignition switch it may be caused by the spinning alternator generating juice and getting it over to the coil without the need for going thru the ignition switch. Check the wiring to see if all wiring for the run and start circuit is going thru the ignition switch........including the relay. Suggest you draw up your wiring and show how it is actually handled.

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1965 Dart 110k, 225, Carter BBD Super Six, 2 1/4 single exh., sbp manual scarebird front disc, 7 1/4 rear 2.94 sure grip, 14 x 4.5 OEM wheels, 833 OD with hyd. throwout bearing, HEI, electric fan, ram air/heated air, Accusump. http://plymouthcarclub.com/

Thanks DonPal - I suspected the alternator might be to cause, but I never had this issue until I installed the new HEI and relay. My thinking is the constant 12V to the relay is causing the run on, or the ignition switch is bad since turning it to off should kill the constant 12V from the relay (but I'm no electrician) - is this correct? When I have time next week I'll put together a wiring diagram of the new setup and pass it by you - thanks for the help on this one! Love this forum

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1966 Clark Cortez Motorhome w/
Industrial Slant 6 looking for adventure!

DonPal & SSDan - I was reading this thread about rotor caps, and it made me wonder if the reason I could get the truck started "for no good reason" was the fact that I had removed the cap several times to test cap spark. Wondering if a bad seating would result in odd behavior - I'll have to remove the dizzy to get a better sense of things as well as part numbers etc. It's a bit buried in my truck as the engine bay is quite tight on the plug side.

PS - Any Slant Six pro's in the GTA? Would love to connect.

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1966 Clark Cortez Motorhome w/
Industrial Slant 6 looking for adventure!

One HEI relay purpose is to reduce the draw of electricity thru the ignition switch/bulkhead connector/fuse box....etc. Properly done it helps to reduce the chance of an electrical overload. It also may have less resistance in the feed circuit resulting in a stronger voltage.
The big BUT is the HEI relay must still be controlled by the ignition switch. The relay will have one terminal that is supplied it's main power from the battery (properly fused). However the relay terminal that switches the relay on and off must be switched by the ignition switch.....you do not want the alternator to decide that!!

Study the HEI wiring diagram closely to see both HEI relay wires that serve the above purpose.

On your other subject about it starts sometimes and not starts other times.......consider how this can happen electrically.
My big learning event occurred many years ago when I dropped the first big Chrysler super Hemi in my 56 Dodge. Sometimes it would start instantly other times it took extensive cranking, poking around under the hood ....etc.
Finally I caved in and brought the Hemi powered car to THE HEMI EXPERT.

He decided the carb needed rebuilding.....as soon as he finished rebuilding it the car started......then the next time it didn't.

Come to find out it was a tiny jumper wire between the dual points in the Hemi distributor that was making and breaking. When that tiny wire inside a fabric woven cover was repaired with a new wire I was back to melting tires.
Poking around removing wires, and ignition components finally located the make and break worn wire.

You may have jiggled the right wire or connection when you are removing and inspecting things to make your own connection??

Suggest you go backwards from where your power needs to be and keep checking connections/wiring by measuring either resistance or voltage until you find your make or break issue.

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1965 Dart 110k, 225, Carter BBD Super Six, 2 1/4 single exh., sbp manual scarebird front disc, 7 1/4 rear 2.94 sure grip, 14 x 4.5 OEM wheels, 833 OD with hyd. throwout bearing, HEI, electric fan, ram air/heated air, Accusump. http://plymouthcarclub.com/

Eliminate it and retry it. That is simple. I haven't run a relay on any of the 4 or 5 HEI systems I have installed. Never had a problem with any of them either. I subscribe to the K.I.S.S principle for my self!

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2 Mopars come with Spark plug tubes. One is a world class, racing machine. The other is a 426 CI. boat anchor!

12.70 @ 104.6

Spent a couple of hours tonight trying to get the Cortez started, but still nothing. Started by removing the relay then began testing the coil for spark. Seemed to fire but not 100% of the time so I decided to remove the dizzy to better inspect things - cap was good, but the haul sensor gap seemed tight, to the point where the collar was physically contacting the sensor. Reset the gap, and spun the dizzy by hand and got a good consistent spark. Checked the teeth on the gear and that was good as well. Re-installed the dizzy etc. and tried to fire it up again - nothing UPDATE (starter cranks but no sign of fuel catching spark). '

Decided to pull the plugs (Autolite 66) and give them a once-over. All were very black! Checked the resistance on them and they were all over the place - anywhere from 5.8K to 6.8K ohms. Spec for these is 4K. Then I tested them for voltage leak and discovered that half of them had a leak in the high 10K ohm range. Looks like its time to put in some NGK ZFR5N's!

Also noted that the plugs were wet so doesn't seem that fuel is an issue - and considering this ran for me the other day I think I'm good on that front. All of this is very frustrating since the truck ran before the winter without any issues. Hoping the plugs along with new wires will do the trick. I'll report back once the new plugs are in.

UPDATE - As DonPal asks in his response below, the dizzy does appear to rotate when cranking, although I've been doing this myself so can only confirm the rotor is in a different position when I check again. I'll have to film it to confirm 100% constant rotation. I also turned the engine over by hand to set the rotor to the #1 position before removing the dizzy - going on faith that cylinder #1 is in fact TDC when the rotor is pointing to spark wire #1 since the vehicle ran in the past and the dizzy hasn't been removed since then.

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1966 Clark Cortez Motorhome w/
Industrial Slant 6 looking for adventure!

Assuming "nothing" means it wouldn't start then........Suggest you add to your list checking the new distributor position once re-installed. Effort might involve checking/coordinating actual position of #1 piston, it's valves, and vibration damper marking. What if you discovered the distributor wasn't spinning when being cranked even though the distributor gear was great? It's so easy to pull off the cap and crank the engine and observe the rotor rotation (or not). Since the issue occurred over the winter I would try starting fluid instead of the gas from your gas tank. If it fires then drain the gas from your carb and refill with fresh fuel to decide if the gas is lousy. So the above "nothihg" is about not starting and assumes the spark is great now that you adjusted the gap.

Assuming "nothing" means there was no spark then wires and connections you touched while re-installing the distributor would be suspect. With distributor in hand you had a consistent spark so power upstream is likely decent. The lead from the distributor would be the first to check for on/off condition when jiggled? .......or it's connection.......or an unfriendly grounded condition created when hooking up the wires.

Pulling the distributor, checking the gear, and looking for the spark when spinning it was a great tactic on your part.

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1965 Dart 110k, 225, Carter BBD Super Six, 2 1/4 single exh., sbp manual scarebird front disc, 7 1/4 rear 2.94 sure grip, 14 x 4.5 OEM wheels, 833 OD with hyd. throwout bearing, HEI, electric fan, ram air/heated air, Accusump. http://plymouthcarclub.com/

Question about timing - the manual for the Cortez states timing to be 5-6 degrees BTC @500 RPM. Given this is based on a points ignition, what should I be looking at for an HEI system?

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1966 Clark Cortez Motorhome w/
Industrial Slant 6 looking for adventure!

Until you recurve your distributor, 5-6 degrees

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Ed
64 Valiant 225 / 904 / 42:1 manual steering / 9" drum brakes