Could use some help - Starting Issues

[jtinpdx]

Hey Folks,
Been a board member for a long time and have always gotten amazing advice here. So, trying again....

I've got a 71 C10 longbed, with it's full drivetrain replaced. Crate 350HO that's not quite 3 years old. Was the turnkey engine so all new accessories too.

The truck won't start again this morning. It's done this a few times lately. Just cranks over and over. So, battery is good. I can smell fuel and the fuel pressure gauge reads 5.5 psi just below the carb, so it's getting fuel. Seems it's not getting spark.

It's been back to the dealership the put the engine in (mistake #1) for this issue a month ago and they replaced the distributor module. Seemed fine. Happened again last week, so I took it back to the same dealer thinking it was a bad module again and everything would be covered. They kept it for a few days and then called and said they finally took a look and it starts fine. I picked it up yesterday. Started fine. Drove great. Parked it.

Now this morning, same exact thing. Cranks great, fuel pressure, won't start. I'm losing my mind.

What can it be?

Thanks in advance!

-Jeff

[tdangle]

If you let it sit for a while and it fires, you may have flooded it. To start a flooded engine, hold the gas pedal to the floor and crank. If it starts, then that's what happened. Otherwise you may have a ignition problem. I assume you have a HEI dizzy. Make sure it's getting a full 12V to it. They are pretty reliable, Ive never had one fail yet.

[57taskforce]

I would verify that your getting power to the distributor before doing anything else. After that we need a little more info, I assume this is an Hei distributor? If so you need to make sure your getting a full 12 volts to the distributor. Approximately many miles on it? I’d pull the cap and make sure the cap and rotor are in good shape as well as the coil and connections. You can ohm the coil out to make sure it’s still good. If it is indeed an Hei, it’s a pretty simple system and with a little more info not hard to trouble shoot.
Here’s a video showing how to test the coil https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=SEOdRoeS4mk
Edit- I didn’t type quite as fast as tdangle...

[Minkota]

Does it have a Tach? verify the wire is not grounding out on something.

[Cesar Diaz]

I had this issue with my 72 with an HEI, I guess when I was doing some work on the gauges a small tiny washer fell into the tach and the magnet caught it and caused electrical spikes that burnt out the module int the HEI. Once I replaced the module and disconnected the tach all was well

[rockyrivermark]

The very first thing you need to do it verify spark when it won’t start.
Use timing light or ground plug and crank engine
If no spark then follow the advise here on dizzy check and quality. Some cheap hei are junk.
Check Ignition module etc.
RRM
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[garyd1961]

Pull a.wite off one of the plugs ant stick a screwdriver in the end of the wire. Lay the screwdriver on the intake or exhaust so there is a small gap between the shank of the screwdriver and the motor. Have someone crank the motor while looking at the gap between the screwdriver and motor, there should be a spark there. If not check the hot wire going to the distributor. If no spark and the distributor wire has current there is a problem with the distributor.