Replaced Ignition Coil, now no start

[mitchugh]

I have been going through the process of trying to get my Ram 50 running well and have been trying to eliminate certain factors. One of those was the ignition coil. I thought I would replace it since it is only a $30 part and see if that improved anything for me. After installing the new coil the engine had a hard time starting and once it did it ran rough then died. After that I have been unable to start the engine. Battery is good and the engine is turning over but no ignition. Any ideas?

[camoit]

Put the old coil back on and see if it fires up. Some times the coil you get won't be the correct resistance for the trucks ignition system. So they have a tendency not to work correctly for your truck. Mine was this way. It did not like the universal ones that are out there. You need to find out what the correct resistance should be.

[mitchugh]

I'll have to try the old and see if it changes anything. What's confusing me is, I double checked the rotor position with number one cylinder and made sure all the spark plug wires were connected correctly and securely. Then I took a spare spark plug and tested each wire for a spark while someone cranked the starter and I found every wire is getting a spark. I'm not sure but to me that would indicate the coil is working correctly.

[camoit]

OK, what did you do to it. From your post I thought all you did was swap out the coil. We need to know everything you did. plugs wires cap. muffler , everything and what it did before and after you worked on it. If you pulled the plug wires you might have swapped them around. there is so many things we need to look at.

[mitchugh]

So from the beginning I replaced the fuel filter, fuel pump, distributor cap and rotor, spark plugs and wires and rebuilt the carb. I had it running at it's best after rebuilding the carb. I made a few adjustments to the carb. Then the next time I started the engine it was running very rough, sounded to me like it was missing. So that is when I decided to check out the coil and replaced it. Then I went through the process of double checking the wires making sure they were all hooked up to the correct cylinder and post. Then I made sure the rotor was in the correct place at top dead center aligned to fire cylinder #1. Then I pulled each wire one by one and made sure each was producing a spark which they were.

Right now I am thinking either the new ignition coil is wrong or I need to go back and look at the carb adjustments. I have the stock carb and could definitely use some pointers at adjusting that carb. I got it to a point where it was running OK but definitely not right.

[camoit]

The stock carbs are a big problem. If you don't have SMOG in your area, replace it with a weber.But it sounds like you got the vacuum lines hooked up wrong. The EGR valve may be stuck open if that happened. If it's sparking then that is OK for now. You could have a vacuum leek. If you look into the carb and twist the throttle does it squirt fuel out the accelerator pump? It's sounding more like a fuel problem.

[LSR Mike]

Fire, Fuel, Air... make the engine go round....

[mitchugh]

Well, I figured out the problem. I ended up putting the original ignition coil back on and tried to start, and it just cranked, still no start. then thinking I may have flooded the engine I pulled out a spark plug and noticed it was covered in soot (whatever you want to call it). so I cleaned off all the plugs put them in and it started up. Now I'm back to square one, where it is running rough and obviously way too rich. I am starting to come around to this weber conversion, but I just didn't expect to shell out this much to get it running, but that's my problem now I guess. Thanks for dealing with a novice.

[camoit]

Sounds like the choke is stuck or the float is sunk or stuck open.

[Andy 2]

Does it run rough just at idle or when you rev it up as well? If it smooths out when you open the throttle it could be the idle mixture is too rich. I posted a couple of pages from my Haines manual about carb adjusting in the "Completely eliminating EGR - in the Tuning & Smog forum of MightyRam50.net. They might not be specific to your year but the procedure is the same for setting the mixture and idle speed.

[mitchugh]

I took a look at the Haynes manual had to say about the carb adjustments and it seemed really vague to me. This line just made me shake my head...

"Caution: Don't touch idle speed adjusting screw No. 2(SAS-2), which is preset at the factory... If this setting is disturbed, throttle opener adjustment and dashpot adjustment are impossible to set. There's a third idle screw known as SAS-3. Don't tamper with it either!"

lol, I should have listened to you all from the beginning and just go with the weber. Yesterday I jumped ship and ordered the Weber carb from webercarbsdirect.com and an electric fuel pump. I hope its all here this weekend.

(BTW if I were to document my progress with this weber conversion what section should I put a new thread in?)

[Klawineagle]

Hmmm. Maybe that is my issue. Truck idles rough but I have been adjusting the screws. Damn I think I screwed up. How much are the carbs

[mitchugh]

they are really not too bad as far as new carbs go. I ordered the carb for $280 w/ free shipping. Got it from here:

http://www.webercarbsdirect.com/product_p/wk614.htm

[BradMph]

dont forget, fuel regulator, pressure gauge, oil safety switch, new filter, new hose, relay, fuse holder with wire

[Klawineagle]

Think I found a vacuum leak. Will try to take pics later. Seems to be the gasket at the bottom of Carb.