65 T.I. Problem and Ammeter overcharging

[Ted L.]

I am having a problem with my 65 Corvette coupe, 396/425 T.I. appears to be the problem.

The engine ran super nice for 40 minutes then another 20 minutes with me there.
I fire up the car and it runs really good but if the timing is to advanced it sounds like it overlapping dumping to much fuel and drives poorly. Yes I adjusted the float lever correctly.


So maybe you can help me out.

There is one other problem which maybe related, my ammeter reads to the plus side around the +20 and when I rev the engine it pegs the needle to the plus side. I did have out local electrical shop check my charging system which he said is okay. The battery is a repro of the original with acid and all si I can get full NCRS points if I have it judged sometime.

Please point me in the right direction,
Thanks,
Ted

[Timothy B.]

Re: 65 T.I. Problem and Ammeter overcharging

Ted,

My suggestion would be to double check the grounds with a ohm meter at the amplifier and core support plus core support to frame and also make sure the wire from the starter solenoid that provides full 12 volts during cranking is properly connected to the TI pigtail.

You will need to check the archives as I am going from memory but I think where the distributor plugs into the TI harness there is a pigtail for the soleniod wire.

Try to put the battery on a charger for a day or so as it sounds like it's not fully charged. If it's one of those repro batteries I would not be surprised. Slow cranking because of the battery could also have something to do with the start problem.

Where is the inital timing set?

[Ted L.]

Re: 65 T.I. Problem and Ammeter overcharging

Thanks Tim, I'll recheck my grounds but I am sure there good but ya never know. Yes the battery is a repro. I was going to replace it with my new Camaro battery out of my 69. I'll ring out the wire to the Dist. and starter today as it's starting to drive me nuts now that the good weather is here. My inital timing was set at 10 BTDC with a total of 36-38.

Ted

[Wayne W.]

Re: 65 T.I. Problem and Ammeter overcharging

Im going to bet the distributor is one tooth off causing the spark not to be at the post.

[Ted L.]

Re: 65 T.I. Problem and Ammeter overcharging

Wayne, I could only wish it was that as tried moving it. I took today off from work to check the ideas member have given me.
I change out the battery with a new one I have but no change. After reading my GM manual I was able to adjust the voltage regulator to bring the ammeter reading down with a Fluck meter attached to my charging system.

I had old garage buddy stop over to help me and he felt the carb 3124 was part of my problem with is stalling out. I was not sure about that one but I put my 69 Camaro holley on it and it runs great. Now I'll have to see if runs on the road as sitting in the driveway won't do it.

Thanks,
Ted

[Carl N.]

Re: 65 T.I. Problem and Ammeter overcharging

Just a thought on the 3124 - make sure the throttle plates are completly closed at idle - you may have the idle screw turned down to much on the accelerator rod and the primary plates are just cracked open.

Easy to check and adjust - also double check the springs on the dist and make sure one is not broken or has popped off having the dist in and out of the block.

Carl

[Rich P.]

Re: 65 T.I. Problem and Ammeter overcharging

Whats the temp and humidity? Could easily be vapor lock. Do you know you are pumping 7 LBs of fuel pressure??? Who rebuilt the distributor and amp. You need a strong battery to fire the TI system. If it does it again when hot take the air cleaner off and manually open the throttle if it's vapor lock you will not see a steady stream of gass shooting out of the accelerator squirters.

Rich

[Ted L.]

Re: 65 T.I. Problem and Ammeter overcharging

Whats the temp and humidity? The eigine was very hot about 190 and not to humide, I don't know what I have for fuel presure but it did seam like the fuel was hot. I'll have to check my presure, it's all stock so that's why I didn't check it yet but good idea.

Could easily be vapor lock, if it is how do I fix the problem?

Who rebuilt the distributor and amp? I did as I've been doing them for 20 plus years without any problem. I changed the amp to a solid state. The distributor reads 600 oms all the time cold or hot even moving the wire around, no change.

The battery is new plus I used another new battery just in case it was that. The engine cranks over really good cold or very hot but hot doesn't alway want to restart. I think you maybe right about the vapor lock. I did see some gas leaking out of the accelerator squirters.

Thanks,
Ted

[Timothy B.]

Re: 65 T.I. Problem and Ammeter overcharging

Ted,

Sounds like your problem is fuel/carburetor related rather than electrical. If you checked the float bowl level and the bowl has the sight screw on the side try setting it just a bit lower than the weep hole to be sure it's not slightly high. The gasketed surface between the carburetor metering block and main body may be leaking. When the engine will not start can you see any wet gas on the throttle blades..

When temps go up and today's gasoline gets hot, in our non-pressurized carburetors the gasoline wants to boil and the pressure pushes out and cars want to flood. Sounds like your engine is flooding or fuel perculating. Todays gas is not friendly to old cars, the ethonal burns fast and the boiling temperature is lower than older gasoline.

I would try all the simple things first and re-install your original amplifer.

[Ted L.]

Re: 65 T.I. Problem and Ammeter overcharging

Tim, thanks for the info. I think your right about it being more of a fuel problem. I pulled off the 3124 carb and went back through it but didn't find anything but it should have had 8.5 power valves not the 6.5 I originally installed. Even with my other Holley 750 carb it doesn't want to fire up after it gets hot, it cranks over with no problem. Yes the carb gets wet at the nozzel so that leads to think it vapor locking but what do I do to correct the problem?

Thanks,
Ted

[Timothy B.]

Re: 65 T.I. Problem and Ammeter overcharging

Ted,

When it's hot and will not start pull a spark plug wire and clip a spare spark plug on it. Ground the plug and have someone crank the motor to see if there is spark.

Where are you buying fuel, does it have ethonal? I had my 67 300hp car out Friday night and after hot let it sit for a few hours with the hood closed. When I restarted, the idle was funny and I believe it's the cheap fuel this summer here in MD. I would like to find some ethonal free fuel but not sure where around here.

I doubt if the power valve is the problem unless it's a gasket problem or it's blown. If you crank the engine with the throttle open will the engine start like it's flooded.

[Ted L.]

Re: 65 T.I. Problem and Ammeter overcharging

Tim, yes it gets spark but I want to say it's maybe the poor 93 otane gas we have here too. I've added the 108 octane booster but think it vapor locking. I am planning on adding 15 gals of racing fuel this week to see if the problem goes away. 110 octane but it's $7.25 a gallon.

Thanks,
Ted