Hot Rods I've Had It With HEI.

Yea, That's right I am DONE with HEI. I have a 38 Plymouth coupe with a slant six that moves right along. Every year there a HEI problem, or two problems, I went as far to buy the Pertronix match coil and 4 pin module....NO more. I putting the old points distributor back in, and driving it without a care.
Thanks Mike

 

I will bet that if you changed your alternator, the problem will go away. Thats been my experience, as long as the distributor is properly grounded.

 

Is it your modules that keep failing? That's a common problem faced by a lot of the HEI swaps over on the slantsix board, too. Seems like it getting quite hard to get a decent quality module anymore.

Roger

 

You have come to your senses.. Run the points and if you want more use the points to trigger a CD box like the Vertex Z6 or an old American made MSD6AL...

I've pulled many HEIs for the old points... If you can, get a points distributor that's made from iron.. Chevrolets have it made, they have so many cool points distributors, cable tach drives, dual points, you could put a three way switch on both sets of points and run the common terminal to the coil that way you could switch when you want more or less timing. But the ultimate is how cool they look..

 

Hei is a gm dizzy maybe that’s the problem in your leaning tower of power. Haha

 

I've been able to buy USA made sbc hei modules at NAPA.

Phil

 

Just put a Chrysler dist. and box on it. They are about as trouble free as they come. Five wires to hook up and your done.

 

I'm with you...I gave up on HEI's 15yrs ago...I've tried all types of distributors... MSD's, HEI's, Pertronix, GM dual point, Mallory dual points, and single point GM. BBC and SBC's.

I went back to single point GM dist., set up with correct weight, good condenser and HD points, good springs and
vacuum advance canisters. Since then I have never gotten stranded or had tuning issues. Just my 2 cents worth.

 

Points are traditional

 

Yeah, why are all these slant 6 guys using HEIs anyway?

 

Magnetos rule

 

Can you tell me more, I am running a Denso because I don't have much room...thanks

 

Right On! But $$$$

 

3 possible problems, as i think about it. If the voltage regulator isn't keeping the voltage within recommended norms, that can cause problems. It could be ok for a while and change after it gets hot, so just checking it once won't tell you much.

Also, an alternator makes alternating current. It is rectified by a trio of diodes. If one of those diodes is "leaking", it will allow some A.C. voltage to be in the system on top of the normal DC. Set your digital meter to A.C. and see what you've got. If I remember correctly, as little as .5 volts A.C. can cause problems and you will fail electronic components.

Third is grounding of the distributor. The distributor, typically is grounded by its contact with the engine block. If there is paint between the 2 surfaces or chrome plating, say on the hold down clamp, that can cause there to be resistance in the grounding circuit. Pertronix has a spec, I believe is like .2 ohms. Check the resistance from your distributor housing to the negative terminal of your battery. I even drilled and tapped a hole in my Pertronix distributor and attached a wire which I grounded to the firewall. Pertronix has good tech support, in my experience.

Check these things out before giving up. I replaced an old GM alternator on my truck and solved my HEI problem and I fixed a grounding issue on my 57 Chevy to fix my Pertronix issue. Good luck!

 

Just a thought...what's your supply voltage to the HEI? The PO installed an HEI distributor in my OT Firebird, and the supply wire had resistance. I ran a relay to the HEI to get full battery voltage. This may or may not be your problem, but I've read that HEIs don't like to run low on voltage.

 

I don't get it. Been running electronic ignition on ALL my old cars for over 40 years. Even converted my 55 Olds distributor to Chrysler electronic ignition. Besides having to replace a coil or 2, and a ballast or 2, never an issue!

 

Not sure about the GM HEI conversions, but MoPar's electronic ignition systems seem to be fairly bullet proof. But as already mentioned you will want to use Chrysler's recommended electronic voltage regulator. The ignition conversion kits sold thru Direct Connection years ago had a specific requirement for their electronic regulator to replace an older mechanical voltage regulator.

But there ain't no reason not to run points either. With the slant six you just have to keep an eye on the nylon distributor drive gear.

 

Might be a terminology problem here...HEI is definitely a GM product so what exactly are you running?
It plenty easy to use the Mopar electronic system and they are well proven.

.

 

I'm with Rockable, most guys don't run enough grounds, I ground the dist to the block with a wire, in twenty years of hei In my 327-36 ford, never a failure. I also ground the rad to the frame with a 10 gauge wire, helps with the electrolisis issues. To each his own.

 

Agreed, solid heavy grounds are essential with any electronic system and especially with the Mopar ECU.

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When I worked for a Dodge dealer, slant 6 distributors were kept under the main counter along with dual ballast resistors. The main reason the distributor gear failed was a point or condenser screw dropped into the mechanical advance. With the ballast resistors, we recommended that the customer purchase 2 and keep on in the glove box for the next time it failed.

 

HEI problems normally are caused by external issues. Simply meaning that if you are blowing modules all too frequently you have other problems causing that such as a coil going out, too high of resistance in the secondary system or other contributing factors. That is my experience with vehicles that were all factory HEI equipped.

 

.......needs a new flint.

 

I ran Pertronix on my Merc flatty with a generator. Ran a Chevy I6 HEI on my AMC I6 with the same Ford generator. Ran Pertronix on my '65 Caddy and am currently running GM-style HEI on my 302 Ford in my Shoebox with a GM style 1-wire alternator. Never had any problems at all with any of them. They just plain work!

 

I put an ACCEL points conversion kit in my SBC distributor, and it requires the use of the original ceramic inline resistor in the circuit. I think this system retaining the resistor helps save the electronic conversion, and avoid high voltage spikes known to happen on cars using an alternator. So far it's been trouble free, even with my alternator occasionally putting out just over 14 v.

 

Good info here from this fella regarding his expertise with the HEI. At least a good read fwiw...

https://www.davessmallbodyheis.com/services/conversion-services-offered

 

Tell me more about the three-way switch thing? It sounds like something which might feed into what I was thinking about here: https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/traditional-friendly-knock-control.1195784/

 

Hmm, that could work for you.. You could have the sensor control a relay to the lower or higher set of points.. From what I remember the amount of timing change isn't drastic, maybe 3 to 5 degrees, so this should be right down your alley..
I'm presently looking for a nice Delco, dual point, with tach drive made from Iron. The iron distributors seem to work better and last longer.. I run a #12 stranded from the points to the alternator and have it ending at the battery.. Removing the vacuum advance and screwing down the plate really helps to keep the point action stable and grounding optimal..

 

Do the factory mopar electronic distributor with a good external hei module. 2 wires to distributor, 1 to coil and 12 volt hot wire.

Putting one on my 440, mopar guys say it works excellent and that no aftermarket distributor can work any better...

 

Here's the wiring setup,simple.