'70 LT1 no spark. no start.

[adam schorr]

Stock '70 LT1 with warm motor RE-start problem.
When cold, the car starts, warms up, and runs strong. No worries until I shut off and try to re-start (no heat soak).
Car will not RE-start. Excessive cranking. Eventually re-starts.
Is the transistor ingnition pulse amplifier the likely culprit, or something else?
Mechanic checked for spark. He says there's no spark.
New module from Lectric Limited needed?
Please offer help and thanks.
adam

[Wayne W.]

Re: '70 LT1 no spark. no start.

I guess anything is possible, but generally the TI unit is either bad or good. Not many fix themselves after a bit of sitting. It is possible however that a transistor is heat sensitive. I would suspect that the Holley carb is leaking back into the engine and flooding. Next time it does this, just nail it to the floor and crank until it starts.

[Clem Z.]

Re: '70 LT1 no spark. no start.

if no spark check the pick up coil on the distributor with a ohm meter when hot.

[Dave S.]

Re: '70 LT1 no spark. no start.

Adam,
I had a very similiar problem with my 71 LT-1 w/ TI. If you have the original TI set up then a distributor module is not an option as they have no points. I sent my distributor to Dave Fiedler and had him go through it. In my case I believe the pole piece was bad but while the distributor is out it makes sense to throughly go through it. Good Luck.

[Joe C.]

Re: '70 LT1 no spark. no start.

I had this happen to a 1975 280Z that I once owned. When the engine was hot, it would not restart unless I let it sit for about an hour. Drove me crazy because:

1. This was one of the earliest electronic TPI systems ever sold. A Bosch. After much study, the Shop Manual finally made sense.
2. I only had limited (approx. 1 hour)window, during which the problem would manifest, in order to diagnose.

There was NO SPARK, so that narrowed it down considerably. After much checking, I finally put an ohmmeter across the magnetic pickup terminals, and the needle wildly fluctuated. After awhile, the needle held a steady value. I quickly replaced the dist. cap and BINGO, she started right up. Replaced the pickup and was fine ever since. Well, until it got stolen the following year.

Hope this helps. Solid state devices can act real funky sometimes, especially when hot.

Joe