Starting Issue

[ThinLizzy13]

My 66 is having some trouble getting out of hibernation this spring. It had an autolite carb on it that developed a leaky issue during the winter in my garage. It looked like it was leaking from where it mounted on the intake.

I pulled it and did a rebuild. I was very meticulous during the rebuild because I had never done one before so I'm confident I got it all back together correctly. After putting the carb back on it I noticed that it was leaking again from the base but also seemed to be leaking from below the bowl. I ended up picking up a carter yf, rebuilt it, and put it on my truck.

I set the timing to zero and "zeroed" out the carb. I have new plugs and coil. I have spark at the plugs and I'm getting fuel.
I've also noticed that after trying to start it for an extended period of time gas seeps out from where the carb mounts to the intake. And also after repeated attempts to start over a couple times I pulled one of the plugs and its pretty dirty.

I'm thinking that because the engine isn't catching I'm slowly flooding it? Perhaps why the carb leaks at the gasket after a while and not on the first few tries?

The engine sounds like it wants to catch sometimes but just won't. The only other thing I can think to try is draining the gas (it's been sitting in there since october).

Am I on the right track? Is there anything else I should be checking?

[bobenhotep]

Because you have a YF carburetor I am going to assume that you have a 240/300.

What color is the spark?

What type of choke do you have?

Does it actually start, try to start, or not start at all?

Have you tried to start it with carb cleaner or with starting fluid?

I too have a 6 with a yf, and have beaten a pile of gremlins and bugs to make a pretty reliable engine.

Dan

[ThinLizzy13]

Oops yea it would probably be helpful if I mentioned the engine lol. It's a 300 and I have the DSII ignition setup.

I have a manual choke. It doesn't start at all, but occasionally when I left off the key it sounds like it's trying to start. I have tried starting it with carburetor cleaner a couple times.

I've read about your hei ignition setup and I hope to do that with mine this summer. Hopefully I can turn my truck into a solid reliable machine. I'm a big fan of the 6.

[bobenhotep]

Initial timing on the 300 is supposed to be 10 degrees btdc. Lance had one do something like this after storing it and the module was bad. I will see if I can find the thread.

Dan

[bobenhotep]

http://www.slick60s.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=32764&hilit=won%27t+start

this is it.

Dan

[yellodog]

if you have dsII, and it tries to start when you let off the key, replace the ds module.

[ThinLizzy13]

That link was perfect, thanks Dan.

I'll hopefully be able to switch the module out today.

[ThinLizzy13]

Well I switched out the module. It seems to be turning over stronger. It still won't catch though.
I forgot to mention earlier that the spark is red/orange.
Also I think the cold killed my battery. It'll barely hold a charge and it's been on the trickle charger. I'm gunna push the truck out of the garage this weekend when I get time and try jumping it.

[Toyz]

DS-I or DS-II?
Paul

[ThinLizzy13]

It's DSII

[Toyz]

Two thoughts on the DS II: make certain the black ground wire is making a good ground, and be certain the module receives full available battery voltage during cranking. The weak battery may represent the source of the problem since the DS II likes full voltage especially on cold starts.
Paul

[bobenhotep]

Orange is low voltage. Ground the crap out of everything. Charge the battery really well, and give it another go. Paul is really knowledgeable on this stuff, so that should get it.

Dan

[ThinLizzy13]

Well. I got a cheap repo of the DSII brainbox because I only needed it to work to get the truck in and out of out of the garage. Grounded everything. Borrowed a good battery. Well the box must really be crap because upon trying it my solenoid fried up and the starter got stuck on Threw in a good solenoid and it still wouldn't work.
I also had a case of the stupid yesterday and forgot to check the spark color with the new battery.

Needless to say the truck did not start. I'll be checking spark color with the good battery and most likely be making a trip out to napa tomorrow and doing the Hei conversion. It's cheaper than buying the good quality repo brainbox from napa and I was planning on doing it anyway.

Thanks again for all the help.

[Toyz]

Again, just a couple of thoughts. Low voltage and extended cranking takes a toll on both starter relays and starters.
Dan may have more info on this, but AFAIK, the GM module is designed for full available voltage like the DSII; your coil may not be,depending on internal resistance. If you don't currently have full voltage available, i would suggest running it. A relay, while not needed, represents an easy way to do this, since the original resistor wire can be used to trigger the relay.

[ThinLizzy13]

I got the HEI hooked up yesterday. The only part I didn't use was the MSD coil, I had to use the Accel Super Stock. I should be getting the MSD soon. Thanks for the write up on that Dan, took me maybe 20 mins to take out the DSII and hook the HEI up and was really simple.
I'm also waiting on a new carburetor mounting gasket and then I should be in business. As it sits right now the spark looks White/Red, which I think is a good step up from orange?

[ThinLizzy13]

Again, just a couple of thoughts. Low voltage and extended cranking takes a toll on both starter relays and starters.
Dan may have more info on this, but AFAIK, the GM module is designed for full available voltage like the DSII; your coil may not be,depending on internal resistance. If you don't currently have full voltage available, i would suggest running it. A relay, while not needed, represents an easy way to do this, since the original resistor wire can be used to trigger the relay.

I'm not sure I follow, but are you saying run a relay so that I have 12v on start and then use the original resistance wire during running?

[Toyz]

No, you need full time battery voltage. The resistance wire is capable of triggering the relay, allowing you to easily run a full voltage wire without running through the firewall from the switch. If your coil does not need full voltage, your resistance wire can be used. If your coil needs full available voltage, it can also be tied into the relay.
Paul

[ThinLizzy13]

Ah ok I get it now. I've been reading about wiring so much today my brains getting a little fried.
Ha. Pun intended

[ThinLizzy13]

She lives!
Finally got a chance to get it all hooked up. And after tracing wire forever I found an extra ballast resistor right in front of my face the whole time. Man do I feel dumb once I took that out the HEI worked great. Idk if it's because I haven't heard it run in so long but it sure sounds good!
Now that it all is said and done I got a fresh carter yf and the hei installed which I had been planning on doing at my own leisure down the road.
Thanks again for all your help and thanks dan for your write up on the hei

[ThinLizzy13]

Welp. Electronics in the dizzy decided their time was up today. Back to the ol loadomatic and autolite 1101