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HEI installed but have ticking/buzzing noise UPDATE
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Author:  the_shadow [ Mon Jul 11, 2011 4:57 pm ]
Post subject:  HEI installed but have ticking/buzzing noise UPDATE
I installed my HEI over the weekend using my new wiring harness and the car runs great, however, I have a ticking/buzzing type of noise coming from the HEI module/coil area. I bought the coil and module brand new from CarQuest cross-referenced from the part numbers in the HEI how-to thread. The coil is Made in Mexico and the module is Made in USA. Here are 2 pics of my setup, as you can see I haven't made the wires 'nice' until all the bugs are worked out:
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The noise starts happening right when the car starts up, no delays it seems. If I have the car OFF but the key in the RUN position, there is no noise, ONLY when the car is running. I can easily hear the ticking/buzzing from inside the car. It's a fairly fast ticking sound that gets even faster as the RPMs go up.

Due to this my initial reaction was some type of spark problem. I am using standard spark plug wire set I either got from MOPAR or Napa (can't remember). The coil wire i'm using is just a standard spark plug wire I had in my box of spare parts. I think it's off a ford.
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I have TWO of these wires and BOTH of them produce the ticking. I don't see cracks in either of them. However when I reached down by the coil I got shocked while the car was idling.

Could it really be that the spark plug wires i've used on the coil are too wimpy and causing the ticking/buzzing?
Could this noise be coming from elsewhere? Module?
Am I chasing a ghost because any wire should work for at least a short-term solution until I buy a nice magnecor/aurora set?
Could the brand new coil be dying? Would that make this sound?

I might need to use this car tomorrow for work (12 miles each way) and the car runs great, but the ticking/buzzing noise makes me want to fix it tonight before work tomorrow. Thanks for the help in advance.
Author:  Fopar [ Mon Jul 11, 2011 6:02 pm ]
Post subject: 
Ticking noise is most likly spark arcing, see if you can push the coil wire further onto the coil.

Richard
Author:  the_shadow [ Mon Jul 11, 2011 6:27 pm ]
Post subject: 
Quote:
Ticking noise is most likly spark arcing, see if you can push the coil wire further onto the coil.
I just went out and tried it, no difference, gave me a nice shock (again) from grabbing the cable on the coil. Shocked me right through the insulation (again)

I looked through my spark plug set and found a spark plug wire shorter than the ones in the picture, and looks to be in new quality, just a standard one like the one in the picture though...nothing special. I put it on and same ticking noise. That also shocked me when I grabbed it while the car was running.
Author:  Fopar [ Mon Jul 11, 2011 7:29 pm ]
Post subject: 
:shock: HEI puts out :tsk: Push the boot further up the wire before you try again, this time with motor off. :lol:

Richard
Author:  the_shadow [ Mon Jul 11, 2011 7:44 pm ]
Post subject: 
Quote:
HEI puts out Push the boot further up the wire before you try again, this time with motor off.
I'm sorry but I really don't know what you're getting at. The wire is all the way onto the coil. I hear it 'click' when it's pressed on, just like a spark plug wire. I'm very sure that the wire is firmly connected to the coil. Am I missing something?
Author:  Fopar [ Mon Jul 11, 2011 7:51 pm ]
Post subject: 
Well that was my best guess, you might not have had a good contact. After it gets dark without any light open hood start motor look at the coil (without touching it). If you see any sparking around the coil, that is your problem area.

Richard
Author:  WagonsRcool [ Mon Jul 11, 2011 9:09 pm ]
Post subject: 
My favorite method for "looking" for ign secondary problems / leakage involves a spray bottle of water & a 12V test light.

Securely attach the wire clip on the test light to engine ground. Start the eng & let idle. spray water at dist., plug wires & coil. (if the problem is BAD, the eng could run rough & stall)

Now try not to touch the metal of the car (you don't want to be "grounded", you're less likely to get shocked) & bring the probe end of the test light close (1/8") to the coil tower, go along the wires, "scan" around the cap etc. If there's a weak spot in the insulation you should see the spark jump to the test light (easier in dim lighting) & the eng should stumble as the spark is "stolen".

I'm wondering if something is wrong with your coil - it could somehow have an "internal" gap that it must jump with every spark. Does your HEI setup have a ground wire that goes straight to the engine?
Author:  SlantSixDan [ Mon Jul 11, 2011 11:08 pm ]
Post subject: 
The answer is in your hands already. If you are getting shocked when you grab teh coil wire, the coil wire is faulty and/or inadequate.
Author:  F/6-866 [ Tue Jul 12, 2011 5:00 am ]
Post subject: 
It appears to me that you have the wrong type of wire connector for the coil. When I installed HEI I had to have a wire made with the proper connector on the coil end before I could get a good connection.
Author:  the_shadow [ Tue Jul 12, 2011 6:34 pm ]
Post subject: 
Today at lunch time I bought an 8mm better coil to distributor wire, it still buzzed/ticked...no difference.

I bought another coil, this time from Napa (made in USA), installed it, buzzing gone.

Looks like my other new coil (made in Mexico) was bad. Time to return it!

Thanks guys
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