Yep that did the trick, been driving it around for a wekk or so and have not had the issue again.

Good to know!

Got the module replaced liast night and it looks to have solved the issue. I will give it a couple more days of driving to give it a status of "Fixed"

Got the module a day or so ago but while I was waiting I started working on a brake issue, whole other story which I will most likely need advice on as well, that I hope to finish up tonight.

Then I will hit the module issue.

well..??? where we at now with this..??

Maybe it is called "good customer support". They probably asked where you bought it to verify that you got it from a legit supplier and that it isn't a faulty knock-off from somewhere else.

Nothing aginst MM but it just started out with an email to owerspark, the manufacutuer,  about the issue for tech support\advice.

They emailed back and asked where I bought it and I told them I bought it from MM thinking all along they would just going to refer me back to MM for resolution.

The next email I got was asking for my address to ship me a new module.

So go figure.

didn't you buy this from don at minimania ????

Contacted Powerspark and they are sending out a new module, just waiting for it to make it accross the pond.

well wod's.... where are we at with this ?????

i like Dan's #1 and 2 ........

can you tell and show us where your getting your 12volts from to feed the coil as well as how you wired up your dizzy and to what please...

Same issue with "recommended" coil.

Powerspark is shipping out a new module

OKAYYY! Had a look at the video. It looks as if something is chrging the coil contatnly - That's not a rapid spark but what appears to be constant arc. The coil should only fire when the dizzy tells it to, i.e. ON the timing. Even the "wasted spark" systems woudn't do that!

Two things I'd suspect:

1. a short somewhere in the dizzy or the wire connections to it that is causing the coil to be energized constantly. If your low voltage circuit through the dizzy electonics replicates the function of points and condenser, then it should only allow the coil to discharge On the timing.
2. a fault in the electronics, allowing the coil to discharge constantly or extremely rapidly.

Check the internal connections are correct and secure, inccluding that any ground wire is present. Check for inappropriate contacts that would cause the low voltage curent to go where it shouldn't. If all  seems correct, then suspect the electronics. Since your reported that it does sometimes start and run well, my doubts lean toward the electronics.

Willie's mention of ballast VS non-ballast may also have some impact. The basic purpose of a ballasted ignition and coil is that they generally function on about 9 volts - the 'ballast" is just a resistor wire that reduces the voltage supplied to the coil. When cranking to stat the engine, ballased systems have a second wire running from the solenoid to the coil to provide a full 12V to boost spark duriing starting. When you release the key to disengage the starter, the 12V suppy is also disengaged and the system runs on 9V (plus or minus).

In you situation, your dizzy may be getting the wrong voltage - I don't know if it requries 12V or can live on 9V(+/-). My 123 electronic system works on either with no problem. My car is ballasted, so it functions on both 12V during cranking and then 9V runing.  I'd expect the one you have should do so as well. Maybe not.

if so... your problem might lie there..... you see the SPI coil does not have a ballast ...

you may need to get one the is ballasted....

next.. what wires did you use to wire the coil ... are they the stock ones .??? or did you wire it up yourself by means of running a new wire to the pos. side of the coil ..???

Yes timing was done with the vac advance off.

Yes the donor engine was an SPI and yes the SPI dizzy is empty.

Here is what happens when it is difficult to start //youtu.be/kW8pW-nXguQ

No King just a lowly gold member like yourself :-) >>>>

ahhhh yes.....   well then.....Hail to the King  ( that would be you for now )           i knew something didn't smell right...  kudos

Willie, yes the SPI has a distributor but the inside is empty all it does is distribute the spark, computer does the rest i believe. He could use the old dizzy if he had the rest of the spi components with it but most people just use the 1275 engine with a carb.

Dan..i thought all spi's had a dist.   am i wrong here..    i know mpi blocks didn't have a dist.

  he never stated he changed it from spi to card. did he....  your just assuming that is that correct..???

    the dist. drive gear is a good poss. if he wasn't paying att.

Yes, the coil sparks in signal from the dizzy (it is supposed to). What you didn't do is answer the question of whether that sparking is at the right rate - 4x per revolution of the distributor, or much faster or slower. If it sparks 4x per rev, then the triggering mechanism might be OK. if not, the triggering mechanism is suspect.

If the spark is 4x per rev, but not at or near the correct cap post (your "button") then timing is not correct. If it is sparking randomly, then no matter what the timing is, the actual spark at the plug won't be right. That is why I asked HOW you are setting timing, including whether you have disconnected the vac advance and IF you are using your timing light corectly.

You said you set the timing with the engine running and using a new timing light. If the vacuum advance is connected while you do this, timing will be off. If the timing light is an electronic one with adjustable advance settings, and if it isn't set correctly, then timing will be off.

If your engine has been modified (apparently yes if it has been changed from SPI to carb and distributor) then your timing marks may be off. The scale might not be positioned correctly, the damper pully outer portion may have shifted (or be the wrong one) so the timing slot is not indexed to top-dead-centre correctly. That is why I suggested verifying that it corresponds to the flywheel marks (which assumes the flywheel is installed correctly with the crank.

If the timing marks prove correct, then the timing between the crank, camshaft, distributor drive gear, distributor key, disributor inner shaft and - finally- the distributor rotor.

• the crank drives the camshaft. If its timing is non-standard then compensation is needed.
• the camshaft drives the distributor drive gear down below where the distributor is installed. If the spi engine didn't have a distributor, then this gear would have been added in the conversion process. It is VERY easy to have this gear out of proper timing by a tooth or more (or even 180 degrees out). Sometimes just pulling out the distributor will pull up the gear disengaging the teeth, and when it settles back into place it falls into the wrong tooth position.
• the distributor drive gear has a slot on its top that engages the bottom end of the distributor shaft, which has a keyed piece on the bottom. Aftermarket dizzies often have this piece installed wrong - the instructions (should) say to check it and rotate it if neceessary.
• Finally we get to the guts of the dizzy. the rotor goes on the top of the shaft and should be keyed into position. Down below is some sort of a sensor that triggers the electronics which should happen 4x per revolution in sync with the rotor. If the sparks happen too often or not ofen enough or are random even sometimes, then something is wrong in the guts.
• lastly, the rotor and cap may be suspect. A few years ago some rotors had a resistor or something that was between the centre springy terminal and the tip. Some failed, causing the spark to be stopped or it jumped to something handy inside the dizzy, causing misfire. Sometimes they might have a short to the dizzy shaft. The type of rotor is important too, the outer tip has to be wide enough to be close to one of the 4 outer posts to ransfer spark. There is no physical contact between the rotor and the 4 posts - the spark does jump. With the electronics adjusting the timing, the high tension charge may occur as the rotor is appoaching the post, directly beside it or mabe just past. Some rotor tips are offset ahead or behind. You need to have the right one for the application. The cap is also important - it has an index key which orients it to the dizzy shell - wrong calp may mean wrong orienation. Not likely if you bought the entire thing new, but sometimes factory errors occur. or a used one gets the wrong cap or rotor

If you are using the timing light on idle or at 1100 rpm or so, and have the vacuum advance connected, and setting it for 10 degrees, the vacuum advance may aleady be inputting 15 or 25 degrees. Vacuum is highest at idle.  But when you crank the starter there is no vacuum, so your cranking timing may be -5 to -15, which puts the spark way too late after top dead centre and the cylinders may fart a bit but not fire.

Or if your timing light settings are off you may get an artificial reading - when you see 10 deg advance you may be actually 15 to 25 degrees or more before or after that - who knows.  (For example if the preset is 25 degrees and you see 10 degrees you may actually have 35 degrees.) When the engine does start, maybe the vac adance pulls the timing into a range where the engine runs. Or maybe when you get it running, the programmed advance curve (electronics) pushes the timing into a driveable range. But neither may be optimal. Worse, timing may go too advanced and you run the risk of preignition (pinging. pinking or knock) whaich can be damaging to an engine.

So, Please, check each stage of your verificationand report back. You and your engine will be happier!

wods.?? are you jerking us around here.??        ( can't. it was an spi eng. )  then it still is an spi eng. which has a dist.        mpi's don't run a dist.

   something doesn't smell right here......

             wod's .... post a pic. of this issue please....