BroncoII4x4.com

Ok I had some electrical problems before but I think I got them all figure out. I finally got my bronco working pretty good enough to take it on a test drive and I took it down my canal bank and got to a point were I tried to turn around and it stalled out on me. After that it wouldNt start up. I towed it home and looked to see my ballast resistor was fried and which over heated my ignition coil.(blowing that up) Than I went to auto zone got a new coil and new ballast resistorer. It started right up. I than drove it the same distance and tried to turn it around again and once again it stalled out. Not wantin to start after it stalled. Everything was at good running temp and nothing was over heating on my gauges. This time the coil and everything didn't have a problem. I towe it home again waited 30 mins and it started right up. What could be the problem. Any help or idea would be great. Thank you.

wow i still think it a ground problem. is the coil grounded? is the neg. side going to the dist.? i'm just throwing stuff at you.

No the coil isn't grounded. Should it be? Will that stop it from heating up. I talk to my buddy who's really good with boats and he said it might be the starter. When it is hot it cranks really slow like it's a died battery or something even with a jumper box on it. He said the heat of the starter might have something to do with it and when the motor is hot the compression is higher which makes it harder to crank. It sounds right but can anyone else back it uP

And the neg. Side is going to the dist. Just like the duraspark ingition says it should.

You definitely have a bogus starter if it acts like a dead battery when warm and spins normal when cold.

I have replaced a ton of starters for just that problem. What happens is when the starter field windings and the case gets hot things start expanding and moving. When that happens the movements allow some part of the field wires to contact the the case or their core. The wires in the starter are insulated by a coat of enamel or lacquer and no hard conventional type insulation.

when the starter gets old that insulating lacquer or enamel gets old and falls off the wire. When the insulation fails a short is just waiting for a chance to happen. When the starter cools down 15 to 30 minutes and when the wires contract slightly the short is effectively removed.

If you suspect that to be your problem pull the starter and check it when cold then put it in your oven and about 200 degrees or lower and "Bake it" for about 20 to 30 minutes and re test it again. 90 percent of the time the starter won't turn. If it still spins it most likely will be slow to come up to speed and have no guts. You can also use the hazardous methods of a propane torch to heat the starter up and even leave it in the rig. Caution!!! Do not overheat your starter. If it is smokin it is too hot!

One last recommendation is to buy some heat wrap insulation or a starter insulation blanket for the new starter before you put it in.

This has been a public service educational announcement.

thank u. im gonna try ur idea and ill get back to u on friday let u no how it goes.

Coil needs to be gounded

tek you know that

don't know if this will help

tek sorry. it doesn't show the coil grounded. but i thought that is how coils work. could this be a 2 pole starter relay problem?

The only reason i ask is he said it wouldn't start up. does he mean it turns over but won't run or does he mean it won't turn over. the hot coil got me thinking cause my bro had the same problem with a coil and engine not grounded and it burnt out his spark plugs too

ok now im confused. does the coil need to be grounded also and if so how does that happen. and will that stop it from heating up? im gonna try to replace the starter on friday and i will let u no what happens. by the way drofman it cranks now i got all the wiring fixed and it all works good just need to get it to start up again after it stalls. btw it isnt a bronco 2 anymore. is a swamp buggy now so there alot more weight involved now. thanks everybody for the help tho

If I am thinking correctly tonight I seem to remember the low side of the coil for the dist and the + side to switched 12v. I gotta think on this one and get back to you tomorrow when everything isn't so blurry. Damn eye doctors anyway..

sorry to confuse everyone and i promise not to make anymore posts when i've been drinking. again

Wow what a week this has been.

Ok I am back to this problem of quitting when hot. I should of asked more questions in the beginning. I was working on a completely different problem of the starter..
Things make a bit more sense. I am going to assume a couple of things and if you know different let me know. 1985 B2 I assume it is 2.8L with duraspark. If we are talking about different configuration then let me know.

I took the schematic posted above and tried to enhance it some so you could read it easier.

Now here is where I take another wild swing at this thing. If we are talking about this schematic in the beginning My first gut feeling says your original problem is most likely the Sensor or "Pickup" inside the distributor. When it is cold it works when it gets warm it quits. You really only have 2 things that are typical failures in a duraspark ignition and that is the little duraspark module,box,whatever ya want to call it and the sensor inside the distributor. The sensor is subject to a crap load of heat and I have seen more sensors replaced than duraspark modules. Now on to the coil. The low side goes to the duraspark module and the + side goes to the ballast resistor. I am real unsure what could burn your coil and ballast resistor up except a dead short at the - side of the coil and the ignition was left on for a long length of time. It is possible to have a problem in the duraspark that is loading the coil but I really don't think so.

Let me ask you a couple more questions. Why did the first coil get replaced? I am thinking it is possible you got the wrong replacement coil. That is a possibility. Also does it start and run now till it warms up?
Think about what I have said and let me know the answers to my questions.
I quit it's Friday and I think I will go toss down a couple!