1991 Chevy Silverado ignition coil

natnatlvnv333
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Joined: Sun Aug 24, 2014 4:51 am

1991 Chevy Silverado ignition coil

Unread post by natnatlvnv333 » Sun Aug 24, 2014 4:55 am

I have a 1991 Chevy Silverado 1500 with 5.7 engine. the distributor keeps arcing to the coil. I replaced the coil, but now its doing it again. Any sugestions?? Does the ignition coil on my truck need to be grounded??

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carriedi
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Re: 1991 Chevy Silverado ignition coil

Unread post by carriedi » Sun Aug 24, 2014 7:12 pm

how close is your distributor to your ignition coil? can you see the spark arcing? it jumps from where to where?

if your coil is arcing outside the of the coil wire to find a ground I would look at too much resistance in the wires, plugs and distributor. something that would make it easier to jump outside than to jump inside the system.
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natnatlvnv333
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Joined: Sun Aug 24, 2014 4:51 am

Re: 1991 Chevy Silverado ignition coil

Unread post by natnatlvnv333 » Mon Aug 25, 2014 12:09 am

coil is arcing to distributor and/or coil to ground. When i use electrical tape to stop the arc, the truck wont start at all.

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carriedi
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Re: 1991 Chevy Silverado ignition coil

Unread post by carriedi » Mon Aug 25, 2014 10:03 am

that's what I am asking about. where is the coil arcing from and where is it going to. the distributor should be too far away to arc to. Arcing to ground from where? is there a crack in the coil tower? Normally it would arc to the bracket that holds the coil because that's the closest ground. Taping the coil with electrical tape usually won't help because it can still arc under the tape. If it does work it will only be temporarily. It arcs because it is easier to go to ground than to go through the coil wire, distributor cap, jump the gap in the cap, then the spark plug wires and last to jump the gap in the spark plugs.

when was the last time any of those components have been replaced? If the coil has a crack or has a burn track in it, it should be replaced.
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natnatlvnv333
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Re: 1991 Chevy Silverado ignition coil

Unread post by natnatlvnv333 » Sun Aug 31, 2014 3:31 am

im gonna replace all of those things here real soon. Where does the spark advance come from??

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carriedi
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Re: 1991 Chevy Silverado ignition coil

Unread post by carriedi » Sun Aug 31, 2014 3:57 pm

timing is controlled by the computer. that's why you have to disconnect the tan/black wire to the EST (electronic spark timing) to set your base timing.
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natnatlvnv333
Posts: 4
Joined: Sun Aug 24, 2014 4:51 am

Re: 1991 Chevy Silverado ignition coil

Unread post by natnatlvnv333 » Wed Sep 03, 2014 8:03 am

I got a new distributor, ran good for a few min. then started acting up again. Gonna check plugs to see if any fouled, then borrow a timing light. Let you know how it turns out... Thank you for all your help!! Much, much appreciated!

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