hey guys i own a 82 dodge diplomat 3spd auto..i was driving along this evening and all the sudden the car died on me and i pulled it into the closest lot. well i wasnt quite sure what the problem was till i got my flashligh tout and seen that the clips that hold the dist cap have come undone..ok fine to i got the cap clipped back in and in the process some of the wires on the dist came undone..so i wasnt sure of the firing order and came home and seen it was 153624..fine so i go back out and with first plug under the clip on the cap closest to the alt i installed cyl 1 and so on and then i got the car to turn over but it seems as if its running on like 1 or 2 cylinders..real quite and giving it gas does nothing for it...im not sure whats going on but any input on to what u might think it is i would truely appreciate it..the car only has 93k on it and has been running like a champ for me for a few mths now. thanks guys

1 5 3 6 2 4

#1 plug is at about 5 o'clock

then clockwise to #5 ( 7 o'clock)


12 oclock is closest to engine......

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

hey i appreciate the quick response..i notice this post has alot of views..i was worried id be waiting for a longtime for a reply if i do have the wires in the right place..what else could be the problem? i mean im figuring it has to be something simple..if the car fired up fine and ran fine and then died cause of the cap popping off it couldnt be anything more serious then just having the wires in the wrong order..but what if perhaps it jumped timing or maybe damaged the cap? i just wanna be sure of all things possible so when i do go n checkit again tommorow i can troubleshoot as much as possible. like i said it starts now but its real quite n shakey..just hoping i do got the wires mixed up

If the clips came loose and the cap moved even slightly you could have broken off the contacts inside the cap or broken the tip of the rotor.

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You can turn the engine to TDC (Top Dead Center) and check to see if the timing chain has jumped a tooth. Look for slop in the crank movement in relationship to the distributor movement.
This test will also help you check for a broken distributor drive gear.
A "popped-off dist. cap" makes me think think that the plastic distributor gear may have 'self destructed' and that is the cause of the errictic timing you now see.
DD

thanks for the replies..i will do the slop check when i get a chance as of now tho i wentout and bought a new cap n rotor..i couldnt get the car to crank over right installing the wires the right way on the dist..the only way i could get the car started is when i put number 1 at the 4..which means i took all the wires back one...but the car ran real rough and eventually stalled. im also not sure where or what the plastic gear drive looks like... and im not exactly sure how to get the car TDC.. i am somewhat mechanically inclined when it comes to my 4cyl import lol to get it TDC do i have to remove the spark plugs and then turn the fan? ehh not sure..all i know is that im in PA right now 45mins from Philadelphia and its really hot n muggy to be muckin around with this thing

Where are you and or the car located? I am up 309 from Philly I could come out and give you a hand. Give me a call 215 723 7517

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im located about 45-1hr away from Philadelphia in Berks County..i do appreciate you willing to come and help me..but im gonna check a few more things out first..im gonna check to see if the dist shaft might of got bent since the rotor dug into the cap pretty deep..and if it isnt that i will just check and see if its the plastic gear drive..since i already had a few local mopar fans tell me it could be that..and if its none of the above..well ill just buy a reman dizzy for $50 and see if that cures the problem. i am thankful for the replies and i will definately make this friendly/helpful forum my new hangout =) considering my intake manifold has a crack or a bad gasket..which is helping with the guestimate of having 10mpg lol but thats a project down the line.

Are you running a one barrel or a super six?
I have 2 cast iron one barrel intakes that I will never use you are welome to one if that would help.
I happen to be unemployed at this time so If you need a hand just call.

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