The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area The HiPo Shop Need help sorting out distributor on my 261....HEI

Hello everyone,

I bought a converted Chevy S-10 HEI distributor from Langdon when I started this project long ago, which I finished last summer. I have always had a subtle, strange, irregular "miss or skip" at idle and at higher RPM's. Originally, I attributed it to the cam I have, but I have since changed my mind about that- It is definitely ignition-related, as the ignition simply skips a beat irregularly. I have an old Heathkit Oscilloscope, and was looking at the screen- when the ignition skips, the image on the screen disappears for a split second, then re-appears.

Anyway, I checked the resistance of the plug wires (they are good) and changed the plugs to 3332 NGK XR5, and it runs better, but still has the "skip".

I opened up the distributor, and blew out any debris that might be in the coil pickup/trigger.

I removed the module, only to discover that it looks like it was run over- cracked, maybe even a little melted, and generally very derelict, as though it had come out of a scrapyard engine with 200k miles... a little bit disappointed by this. I am going to replace the module, simply based upon the physical damage that I see (cracks go all the way through it).

My question is this: I have searched high and low for the correct wiring of the 4 pin ignition module and coil pickup. After finding that module in there, I do not trust that the coil pickup was plugged in properly.

The coil pickup has two wires coming out of it- GREEN and LIGHT YELLOW (See pics below). The modular plug coming from the coil pickup can be flipped over (if necessary) to reverse the wires.

This S-10 ignition module is supposed to come out of a 1982-1984 S-10, and is not your run-of-the-mill GM 4 pin module with different pin markings and does not have the large spades angled outwards at each end, like the common 4 pin HEI module (see pics). I have located a replacement, which I am sure is made and China will fail next week, but I would like to get it wired up correctly, regardless....

Where the Coil pickup connects to the module, there is a Pin "P" and a Pin "N". The other side of the module has Pin "C" and Pin "+", but I am familiar with those codes "+" goes to batt/+ coil, "C" goes to trigger/negative side of the coil.

In the pics below, is the coil pickup plugged into the the ignition module correctly? Green wire is plugged into Pin "P", and light yellow (white?) wire is plugged into Pin "N"