Just wanted to remind anyone doing this upgrade about a safety feature of these "big cap" HEI distributors. If you attempt to start the engine with no fuel in the carburetor bowl (no fuel getting to the cylinders), the module will sometimes shut down and the engine will not fire or run. From that point, as long as the key is not turned fully off, the safety will remain turned on, and the distributor will not function. To reset it, turn the ignition key fully OFF (no power to the distributor), wait 8-10 seconds, and then try again, this time, making sure fuel is getting to the cylinders. Even foreign made versions of this distributor have this feature. This happens because inductors (coils) pull more current when the resistance it sees increases. If there is no fuel in the air around the plug, the resistance seen by the coil increases greatly, which in turn means the coil in the distributor will try to "sink" a much higher current. To prevent overheating and destruction of the ignition coil, as well as damage to the electronics, a type of auto-reset circuit breaker was implemented in the module. Once activated, it will remain "on" as long as there is power to the module, and can be reset as described above. My guess is that it was too expensive to implement current limiting in the module and this was the solution used. I can't tell you how many guys I know who thought the distributor went bad and got rid of them because they did not know the above. One last thing...HEI distributors DO NOT REQUIRE resistive ballast. So if your present ignition used it, be sure you wire straight to the RUN supply through the appropriate sized fuse - do not use resistance wire or a ballast resistor.
There is no safety feature on these big cap hei,s coils cant tell if you have fuel or not, they are just coils and will fire even when spark plugs are out of vehicle. hook a hot wire to them and your good.
@@robertrobertson3927 You are incorrect. Coils (or inductors as most engineers call them) have characteristics as all things do. The most important is that they act the opposite of a capacitor. An ignition coil is a transformer with a low voltage primary and a high voltage secondary winding. If the primary is charged (voltage is placed across it and current is allowed to flow through it), and then the circuit is interrupted, a high voltage is produced in the secondary. At the same instant, the more resistance in series with the secondary (read the larger the spark gap or less medium to aid the spark jump - fuel) when the circuit is interrupted, the larger the coil primary drive current will become if unchecked. Even some of the cheapo modules produced in China have circuits to protect the coil drivers against too much current. Most modules will simply shut down if the primary current attempts to rise past a certain point. Data sheets say remove power to the module for 10 seconds (this resets the module protection circuits) then try again. On the other hand, a sudden total open of the secondary coil will usually destroy the cheaper modules if you don't fuse them correctly. Lastly, I wouldn't have posted it unless I had experienced it and also read the data sheets myself. Thanks for your reply.
I read below some of the questions. I will trace it back and try to replace the wire to the same location. I believe that will work. It is kind of a daily driver so I would like to get it right. An I to hate these electric Gremlins on these ignitions. Again thank you for your help and knowledge.
I am getting ready to install an HEI on my 1990 Jeep YJ and have two questions. 1. I think what I am hearing everyone say is to take the large (red?) wire that goes into the old ignition module and run it straight to the power lead on the distributor - correct? 2. Is there no negative wire/lead on the coil? Seems like there should be a negative lead somewhere. Any help would greatly be appreciated.
There a trick to buy bass / the CDI Box on those old jeep ,, at the box right fender , there is a purple wire , run a wire from there to the distributer , to a green wire , i believe , jeep will start right up ,
Looks pretty strait forward. The only thing I am not 100% on is the I be leave the ignition wire removal. Not 100% Shure that is the wire that goes back to the key? Also what Gauge wire did you replace it with. I just pick up on of these for my 78 J-10 and look forward to using this "how to" demist ration to install my own. You probably saved me a $100 on bring it in to the shop! Thank you!
When you did the HEI conversion I see you disposed of a lot of hoses,wires ,and the ignition module on the driver side fender well. Do you still need the map sensor and the ECM if you also change the carburetor to a non computer controlled carburetor? Thanks.
The Ecm is Ford as the old duraspark ignition module, so i dont think it is required anymore, the HEI distributor can by itself controll the spark timing, no need for sensors or ECM
I'm trying to convert a 351w to HEI. I'm a little lost as to where to connect the positive/battery wire once I've removed the coil and ignition control module
james hulsey the HEI needs 12V ignition when the key is in the run and crank position. It doesn't really matter where it comes from exactly as long as you have it.
Great video tutorial. I got a little lost when you talked about removing the resistor wire and bringing the 12v supply directly to the HEI. Could you expand on that some?
Oh I got this. Not a ballast resistor. I have an 82 CJ5 and there is a wire from the ignition module to the coil that is made of doped silicone. The purpose is to step down the battery voltage (12.4 to 12.8 or so) down to working voltage for the factory coil. The coil, if I remember correctly wants about 8vDC to step up to about 25KvDC. Most HEI take battery voltage and step it up to something like 75k to the plugs. I could have the numbers a little off but basically the resistor wire is a soft wire made of grease instead of a resistor. I don't have any insight as to why they would use that nonsense from the factory instead of a ballast resistor, but they did. I also have no idea why they would throw those garbage carter carbs on when fuel injection was already around and proven.
Would this work on a 95 4.0 Cherokee. I would think so. Just thinking about converting blow through carb. With a built 4.6 this fall. Running a 4.5-4.6 now with ported head rocker springs gapped rings 7psi on 87octane with no tuning. A fuel pump out a Chevy LS. Fuel regulator and ford injectors. Runs like a raped ape. Just want to simplify and more boost.
I'm planning on adding this to my 1979 AMC AMX with a 304 engine and I see you have removed the Ford ignition box and included resizing the wire to the HEI ignition coil. You had mentioned you removed wires back to the firewall? Where did you take the orange ignition wire from or where did you spice that in and how far back did you go to get rid of the wires from the Ford ignition box?
Stephen Matoska We do these it seems pretty regularly now. The wire for the distributor just needs to be ignition voltage when cranking and when in the run position. Each vehicle is different and that wire may change from vehicle to vehicle. The important thing is to trace those wires back to their source and remove them as they are not needed. I can't tell you about that exact wire without it in front of me. Sorry and hope this helps.
Hey brother I have a 83 cj7 258 i6 and 2 weeks ago I drove it. Then no spark. Replaced coil from Mallory to accel Nada. Replaced distributor from Mallory to oem. Nada. Found the center pin in dist cap of old Mallory dist cap had come off and got under the rotor. Possible it shorted out my new coil? Exchanged a cell coil for another accel coil to rule out the Mallory dist shorting out the new coil. So now have new coil,new dist,dist cap and rotor. No spark coming from coil. I'm getting power to coil and dist is pulsing correctly to coil. I can't figure this out. It should be firing but it's not. HELP!! If you get this one come to Hawaii and I'll show you around on me. Aloha
Hi, I am in the process of replacing the original distributor for an HEI. What are you timing points initial and max timing mechanical? Also what is you vacuum advance? Thank you
The timing was set at 10° advanced. All of the internal portion of the distributor with set from the manufacturer. We use Davis Unified on all of our swaps.
how can i find TDC on my 258 with the Distributor already out? I pulled my old one out without marking first to check ev erything and decided to order a new one now im not sure on how to get back o TDC.
You will need to pull the #1 spark plug. Have someone to crank the engine while you have your finger in the spark plug hole of the cylinder head. When a gasp of air bypasses your finger you are on the compression stroke. Then, check your timing mark and it should be very close 0°. You will then rotate the engine to where the timing marks lineup and that should be TDC.
Great video. Could you specify what exactly you hooked up the Batt wire to. I am installing the DUI on my 75 Land Cruiser I6 and I can't find a good explanation of exactly where to take the wire. Also, did you get rid of the coil power wire and the coil? Right now I have a 12gauge wire running from coil + side to the batt plug on dizzy. I have power on the coil but not out of the spark plug wires.
You will use any ignition power wire that has voltage when the ignition is on AND in the start position. If you have the HEI distributor, that will delete any need for an external ignition coil. So, if you currently have an ignition coil that has the power to the + side when the key is on, you will use that power wire for the BATT connection on the HEI distributor.
You will not need an external coil with the HEI distributor. You will use any source of ignition power for the BATT wire on the HE distributor so long as it has battery voltage in the start and run position of the key.
@@rockyour4x4 This was a great video. It seems the same question every one is asking, is where the power wire to the distributor is connected to. Perhaps you should make a video, that specifies and explains just this question. Of course there will be different examples, for different applications, but for the novice, they don't seem to be grasping the concept, completely. I am currently doing a full frame up on my wagoneer, with a 360, and the same ignition swap. I'll be more than happy to share pictures of my wiring as it comes along!
Aren't you supposed to change out the new distributor gear and use the old gear from your distributor to prevent excess wear on your cam gear? I have always heard the gears on the new distributors are harden steel and I have had to replace my gears because of premature failure?
Can i put a distributor in a 2000 straight six? I see the cam sensor has the gear drive and the oil pump drive. Id like to put a carb and hei on the motor.
rockyour4x4 i really appreciate your reply. I have two low mile jeep six cylinder engines from 2000 and a few jeep Cherokees that are earlier than 95. They just passed the law here in jersey that anything 95 and earlier does not have to go thru inspection so i was thinkin of the engine swap but some of my 4x4 buddies didn't think the distributor drive would be there to make the swap easy. I hate with a passion all the electric gremlins these vehicles get. So i wanted to make it a simple fuel and spark management as possible maybe even carberated.
are you setting the baseline timeing ten degrees advanced with out the vacuum advance? if so how much further does it advance with the vacuum? i feel if you advance any more then ten it's going to detonate to early and ping
Awesome video thank you. One question, instead of turning the crank, why not just take the distributor cap off and note where it is pointed at and just match the current configuration? Are you turning the crank first , just to be 100% sure you won’t open the distributor and find it between cylinders, if even possible ? Thanks
One has to be sure you are not on setting the timing markon the wrong stroke. If you do, you will be 180 degrees out on timing. I did the ol trick of putting cotton in the cutoff finger on a glove, put it in cylinder one and turned crank, when it comes up to TDC the plug will pop out. You will see your piston is up...continue turning crank until on timing mark...
Thanks for posting this. Here is the big question, is it worth it performance wise? Getting rid of extra junk is nice but does the HEI offer a great benefit on the drive and dependability. I have a 74 cherokee with the straight six and I'm considering the swap. The truck hasn't run in at least a year and my buddy I bought it from disconnected the module and all the vacuum lines. I just figured that now might be the time to just convert to HEI instead of messing with the points. Let me know what you think....and thanks again.
Kurtis570 With a '74 you have an old Delco points distributer. There is a pretty noticeable performance difference when going with an HEI because you can gap your plugs wider. Idle will be smoother as well. I did this conversion on my old '75 Cherokee (Which came with a prestolite, but swapped to a points style for a few years before going to HEI).
I wish I had looked at this video first and not the other ones! I didn't turn the motor to TDC before I started and now my timing is off and I had everything in and tried to start my Jeep before I realized I had skipped that step. Do you have a video on getting the timing set correctly?
I have a 1997 jeep wrangler Tj and putting a 4.2 straight 6 in the jeep. I have bought an HEI distributer and I have watched your video I need to know do I go to the hot wire on the ignition key in the steering colmun or where do I hook the hot wire for the distributor? On this 97 it looks like ignition coil is inside mounted on the transmission tunnel under the dash, is this true and do I eliminate that ignition box? Thank you.
I have a 1988 jeep wrangler yj 4.2...I marked and labeled all wires attached to the original ECM and almost all will be eliminated...keep the two twisted together orange and purple and yellow wires( might want the yellow for later...trace your wires and see where and what they connect to. For ease, I exposed all the wires. You will see a junction of ground wires, some but not all will be cut as they pertain to the sensors that will no longer be used.
I do not see in your video where you address how to run the factory AMC Jeep tachometer with the new HEI distributor. It will not work if you wire it into the standard green wire "tach port"on the HEI unit.
The tachometer does not run off of tach signal of the coil on that model jeep. Look at the back of the tachometer and it should just start working again like it was before. There shouldn’t be any need for change.
does the hei do away with the computer behind the glovebox? I installed the mopar mpi kit and it's horrible. I want to switch it back to my Motorcraft carb but the mpi had me remove the computer and the entire harness.
rockyour4x4 m just having that stalling issues that seem plague jeeps that are of cirtain years and are above 150k miles, one of the 5/6 things that "needs replacing" is the dis. cap and button. and I like to fix it right the first time and no "Band-Aid" it. and if your going to fix it right, do it with some style. lol,
@@rockyour4x4 i have the same 4.0 engine,reason for not having the computer is because the jeep was flooded in a storm and the computer was removed along with some other stuff.im also switching it to manual
BeckHitCards You can use that main ignition power from the ignition module for the power to your DUI. You do not want to use your original ignition coil power wire because it has a resistor built in.
rockyour4x4, wouldn't your firing order be incorrect in this video? Haynes manual states that the 258ci I6 engines firing order is 1-5-3-6-2-4. Your spark plug wires are scattered all over the place in the incorrect holes! I could be wrong, but you and the manual show two different placements!
@@rockyour4x4 Thanks for the reply, looking for the best location to hook up the new 12v supply to the HEI so it gets constant 12v? Also, assuming I can cap the green wire from the coil since I don't have a tach. I have a '77 CJ5 with the 304 v8 so there isn't as many wires under the hood.
you did a good video until you got to the wiring....i had to a google search to find out how to do it,,,,,,,delete the module and use the switched power wire to the bat terminal at the distributor.....
dano NORSTROM I’m sorry, but every jeep is different and this one was no exception. I think with an OE wiring diagram you will discover that most of those wires will be removed from the harness.
I would keep the Duraspark. Recurve the mechanical advance with Mr. Gasket springs. Install the large Ford cap and adapter. Use MSD super conductor wires at
Your plug wires are nice LOL. Wrong boot angle at the plugs. Color is shit. Waaay to long. But hey, they are LIVE LOL. You better measure that battery wire you installed feeding the HEI. If you jumped into the factory Jeep wire, you will only have like 9 volts DC with the engine on. Those HEI modules pull a ton of current. Need to install a relay on this wire for full batt voltage at the HEI mess.
It has battery voltage. This wire was pulled from the distribution block and is a 10 ga wire. (So far so good on drivability too) I'm sorry the wires weren't to your satisfaction.
Hideous wires bro. Power from the distro block is not batt voltage as you know. You need to feed the HEI with all you can throw at it. Better yet get the MSD Streetfire CD box and matching coil.
