Can a bad HEI distributor cause an idle to raise.....then lower after awhile?

racin90

racin90

Well-Known Member
I put a new motor in a 55 chevy. New heads...intake ect. Carb was one i got off my dad...an old motorcraft and it didnt make the grade. So i bought an eldebrock carb and put it on. Doesnt boil over anymore...runs but for some reason when i rev it...idle stays high. Not carb plates sticking...i checked that. I sprayed carb cleaner around intake to be sure of no vac leaks. When i touched the base of the hei....it was hot hot hot!!! They also ran it without the internal ground strap from the coil to the cap. I found that when i took the cap off. I put one on...but im wondering if its fried either the module...pickup coil....or even the grouding inside the base. I checked wiring via multi meter...they tested good. Coil was so so...module according to the autozone pros is good....but ive had them say its good and they be bad before so i cannot rely on that. If anyone has come across something like this....let me know. Im taking a break from it for a few days and my wallet has taken a hit. Thanks for any help that can be given. Ive worked on cars for along time......this one has me stumped.
 
Is the edelbrock new? If not what makes the idle return to normal? Possibly the metering rods hanging up? Possibly the secondaries hanging slightly open? Don't really see the ign causing a problem, usually if it works, it's good. but see if your vac advance or mech advance are working correctly. Hope this helps.....Greg
 
Well carb is new. I just answered my own question..lol. Went back out....pulled distributor out and rechecked it again. Shaft had tons of play..........pickup coil was brown on the underside. Advanced weights were so wore on the pins.literally they could overlap each other and stick. I put an old racing distributor i had here with vaccum advance and walla.......runs like a charm. I didnt have a timing light to see what the timing was doing...be it jumping around or what not. Im on vacation......avoiding the work place best i can. Thanks for the advice. So....i had a junky carb........bad wiring.....no ground strap inside the cap to the coil................guessing it all added up. Ive heard horror stories about leaving those ground straps out. From caps literally exploding off the distributor to a shotgun effect and blowing manifolds and exhausts apart.
 
I'd say probably the mech adv weights most likely, but dist shaft sloppy could cause a drivability issue as well. Never heard the blowing stuff apart, usually shortened coil life or inadequate spark.... glad it worked out. Greg
 
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