ford 460- not getting spark

« **on:** June 10, 2010, 07:08:50 PM »

i have a 21ft 1974 cambell daycruiser with a ford 460. we replaced the pistons cause those were shot. now we arent getting any spark. bought a new coil so thats not it.. any suggestions?

« **Reply #1 on:** June 10, 2010, 07:13:04 PM »

What kind of dizzy u running?

« **Reply #2 on:** June 10, 2010, 07:15:24 PM »

wiring? 180 degrees out on the dizzy?

« **Reply #3 on:** June 10, 2010, 07:18:40 PM »

Verify #1 cylinder and voltage to the + side of the coil to start.
Points? electronic? msd type box or not?
Do you have a volt meter? Just follow the bouncing volts

« **Reply #4 on:** June 10, 2010, 07:20:45 PM »

malory, we thought it was 180 degrees off but checked the timing and it was correct. according to the ford 460 manual

BTW. im just a girl trying to help my bf lol he wont listen so i figured i would find out for myself. i dont know alot about engines but know enough. so any suggestions on why it wouldnt be getting spark would help!!!

« **Reply #5 on:** June 10, 2010, 07:24:59 PM »

Quote from: RiverRat08 on June 10, 2010, 07:20:45 PM

malory, we thought it was 180 degrees off but checked the timing and it was correct. according to the ford 460 manual

BTW. im just a girl trying to help my bf lol he wont listen so i figured i would find out for myself. i dont know alot about engines but know enough. so any suggestions on why it wouldnt be getting spark would help!!!

awesome gf, just tell him to come on and put his tail between his legs and ask dang it! it would be nice to know details so we can all help him out! there's alot of ford guys on here that can help

« **Reply #6 on:** June 10, 2010, 07:26:28 PM »

Volt meter to the positive side of coil first. If its hot then is coil firing cap? From there points or msd? and on down the line! I am not superior mechanic either but if you follow it down the line you will find it.

« **Reply #7 on:** June 10, 2010, 07:30:42 PM »

if it's a unilite there's 3 wires for electronic...if there's one wire and a condensor then it is one wire! depending on which dizzy depends on the wiring!

« **Reply #8 on:** June 10, 2010, 07:31:50 PM »

haha i try. anyways. we got the boat thinking all that needed to be done was hooking up all the wiring. did that and it wasnt turning over but DID have spark. we got the pistons replaced and now its wanting to turn over but has no spark. we bought a brand new battery and coil. im thinking maybe the ground wiring is bad??? i know we need new spark plugs gunna go buy those tomorrow. maybe the distributor is bad??

« **Reply #9 on:** June 10, 2010, 07:34:07 PM »

i will give all these suggestions to him tonight when he gets home so keep coming with em. anything that might help we will try..

« **Reply #10 on:** June 10, 2010, 09:14:05 PM »

Like Nordie said, Unilite has 3 wires. Red = 12V ignition (not from the coil), black = ground, green = to neg side of coil. Do not take the power for the red wire from the positive side of the coil, the coil should have a ballast resistor (drops voltage to the coil) and if he has the red wire hooked there (to the coil) it wont have enough voltage to run the dist.

« **Reply #11 on:** June 10, 2010, 09:19:37 PM »

Need a heck of alot more info, change pistons

, just not enough info to give even an educated guess

« **Reply #12 on:** June 10, 2010, 09:20:08 PM »

The 3 wires coming from the UNILITE® Distributor must be connected
using the distributor wire harness furnished (see Figures 1 and 2).

RED WIRE: If you use loom resistance wire, connect to the coil (+) terminal.
If you use a ballast resistor, connect to 12 volt side of ballast resistor.

GREEN WIRE: Connect to the coil (–) terminal.

BROWN WIRE: Connect to engine block ground. Clean away any grease, oil and paint from the mounting surface before the connection is made.

« **Reply #13 on:** June 10, 2010, 09:38:20 PM »

I guess your right Skippy, that black wire on mine might be brown. Its old and dirty.

« **Reply #14 on:** June 10, 2010, 10:31:34 PM »

If it is a unilite replace the module and make sure you spend the extra 35 bucks for the power filter.

module part number maa-605
power filter part number maa-29351

« **Reply #15 on:** June 11, 2010, 02:44:18 AM »

Do you have 12 volts going to the dizzy when the ign is on? If not that's one problem. Got fuel in carb? If you have a hydraulic cam and lifters did you preload the right, they do 460 a little different than other engines. If you didn't it will never fire.

« **Reply #16 on:** June 11, 2010, 12:21:36 PM »

just to get you right.. the resistor is suppose to be in line with the distributor correct? and is there any trouble shooting techniques for the unilite distributor?

« **Reply #17 on:** June 11, 2010, 02:22:23 PM »

if im not mistaken you want the dizzy to get all 12 volts all the time, and the coil you want it to have 12 volts at start-up, and then when the motor is running you want it at 9 volts roughly

« **Reply #18 on:** June 11, 2010, 06:41:18 PM »

Is the coil giving spark thru the wire to the dist? If not its the coil or wiring dizzys are expensive check the coil first have ur bf hold the coil wire at the end and crank it over if he screams coils good if not check the coil wiring

« **Reply #19 on:** June 11, 2010, 08:40:52 PM »

Quote from: RiverRat08 on June 11, 2010, 12:21:36 PM

just to get you right.. the resistor is suppose to be in line with the distributor correct? and is there any trouble shooting techniques for the unilite distributor?

No, the resistor goes inline with the + side of the coil, not the distributor. The distributor needs true 12 V on the red wire. One side of the resistor will have 12 V (input side), the other side goes to the coil (lower voltage). You can connect the distributor to the 12 V side of the resistor, but not to the coil side.

Heres a link to the Mallory instructions for the Unilite (with diagrams), http://www.malloryperformance.com/InstructionSheetsList.aspx . Theres also a test procedure for the Unilite #7

« **Reply #20 on:** June 11, 2010, 08:43:01 PM »

Quote from: RiverRat08 on June 11, 2010, 12:21:36 PM

just to get you right.. the resistor is suppose to be in line with the distributor correct? and is there any trouble shooting techniques for the unilite distributor?

http://www.malloryperformance.com/pdf/1214M.pdf

http://www.malloryperformance.com/pdf/UniliteTest.pdf

« **Reply #21 on:** June 14, 2010, 02:30:07 PM »

how do i get power to the coil with a ballast resistor??

« **Reply #22 on:** June 14, 2010, 02:37:26 PM »

you run a 12 volt source from the ignition, and when key on you send 12 volts to one side of the resistor! it does not matter what side of the resistor, because it isnt directional...then you run another wire off of the the otherside of the resistor to the coil!

« **Reply #23 on:** June 16, 2010, 05:34:30 AM »

Is that thing running yet

I'm just about out of pop corn

« **Reply #24 on:** June 16, 2010, 05:41:53 AM »

Skip White on E Bay sells hei dist for 460 two wire 12 + and tach. drop in and go. Unilite would not be my choice.
you may hear those hei are junk, not so ,took all my Msd stuff off to prove a point to myself, its runs just great ,for what your doing. All for I believe $68.00 . Unless you are going to turn over 7500 then might not be practial

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