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Installing a GM HEI Ignition Module into a 1976 280Z (which already had a ZX ignition) This article describes how to upgrade a ZX ignition module to a GM HEI module. In this particular case, the ZX ignition module happened to be installed in a 1976 280Z which had been upgraded to a ZX distributor/ignition module using the Atlantic Z Club instructions. The purpose of the HEI install was to fix a sudden engine cut-out problem and a jumpy tach problem. Heat Sink The first thing I needed was a nice heat sink and, afters scouring the basement and considering attacking an old Western Electric telegraph test set with a hack saw, I laid eyes on a stack of these: Which is an old tape format from the 80's/90's (we called the streamer tapes back in the day). I still have a SCSI drive that can read/write these things (but haven't tried in at least 10 years)... Anyway, these tapes are build like tanks, the back plate is .1 aluminum - I knew I saved them for a reason. The following pictures illustrate the transformation of one of these tapes into a nice heat sink for this HEI conversion project. Add some quality time with a hack saw and drill to get a nice heat sink... Don't forget to use heat sink compound (I used the stuff my module came with). Note to self: add part numbers here. Disconnect the old Ignition Module Pull the distributor and yank the old ZX module (this 76 280Z had been given a ZX upgrade by PO). I figured the neatest way to do the job was to open the old ignition module case, cut the connections, and jumper the distributor wires to the external connections (note that I misapplied some opening force to the old module and had to glue it back together - this was not necessary - observe that access to the guts is not at the bottom but at the top - see photos). Pull the distributor then disconnect the distributor wires from the old ignition module: two spade connectors - a gentle yank with some plyers should do it - clean the connectors/terminals while you are there - I sprayed a little DeoxIT and worked them on/off a few times. Pay attention to which side the wires go to (but the rubber boot they plug into is marked red/green if you forget). Remove the two screws that hold it to the distributor. Disconnect the old module and crack it open (I did this a little too literally) Clip off the connections to the board, then jumper the posts as shown. Clean the posts then you will need a lot of heat (I used an 800 deg F iron, nicely tinned and laid into the post and wire for a good 10 seconds before applying rosin core solder). What is that goop in there? Don't forget to check your work. Make sure you have continuity where you should and that nothing is crossed. Fixed the case with some super glue and JB weld. Wire it up Wire up like this (note: the left image was stolen from another thread): Profit! This post has been promoted to an article

I'm having intermittent issues with starting up. I believe it is related to the ignition startup. I have read all FSM manuals. The only way I can get it to start is by using a jumper wire from the battery to ignition circuit on the fuse box in the pasenger kick panel. Does anyone know what that means?

I've had my '73 240z for a couple of years and its always run pretty decent, but it overheats in city driving. Last fall I was driving and hit some rush hour and it got pretty hot (about 3/4 of the gauge). After a while I got out of traffic and it started to cool down some, but about a mile from my house it started running really rough and 1/4 mile from my house it died completely. I coasted downhill to my house and pushed it into the garage. It wouldn't start, but I was so tired of the overheating I took the radiator out and got it rodded out. I also installed a fan shroud. After I got all that put back together, I've been trying to get it started, and it just won't start. I took the coil wire off of the distributor and held it next to the valve cover while my daughter cranked the starter. I expected a spark to jump across to the valve cover, but there was no spark. Doesn't that automatically mean the coil is bad. When it WAS running, it would hesitate when it hit 3500-4000 rpm. Doesn't that indicate a bad coil, too? I went and got a "IC70" coil from NAPA today. That's what their computer spit out as a replacement. Its a little skinnier than the old coil, but I tried it anyway. I don't get the coil-to-valve cover spark with this new coil either! What else can I try?

Hello everyone I had a question about voltage. I am a newbie when it comes to wiring and electrical but I did my research and read the forums. I have a 1977 280z and it looks like someone’s been in there trying to figure out the issue. Missing bolts etc. anyways with my multimeter I tested the coil and the resistor and voltage. the voltage was off.. well there was none with the key on the on position, testing on the first terminal on the resistor. so this is what I checked, I went to the battery and checked the cables those are good, car turns over. I looked at the wiring diagram and found the black and white wire that leads to the ignition relay. That wire read at -12.45 volts. As if I I had my wires crossed on my volt meter. Then I searched and found the red and white wire that leads to the battery. And again same thing that wire read -12.45.. I went back to the battery terminals and tested there and that was +12.45. Sooo my question is why is it reading as negative in the wires? Is this normal? Andy ideas as to why the black and white wire that goes to the resistor is getting no power..

Just recently bought a 280z and was trying to get it up and running again but ran into a few problems. I'm getting no spark to the engine. I have replaced the ignition coil as the previous one did not carry resistance. Also the distributor rotor spins and the connections do not seem to be corroded. But still no spark to the engine. When hooking up a spark plug tester I'm getting no light which I am told means a ignition system issue. My last resort is purchasing an ignition control module but, ya know, it's expensive. Would like your guys' take on this. Any help is appreciated. And btw it cranks and everything. Nothing timing related, she's trying her hardest.

Hey guys, I'm brand new on here. I have a 75 280, and I'm having some issues. As most know, datsun is really weird about switching up their transistor ign modules throughout the years. Mine came with the E12-06, but I had a buddy who had a E12-27 that he'd sell me for cheap, so I grabbed it. However I've run into an issue. The 06 is a 7 pin (non cali), and the 27 is 5 pin, missing a brown and white wire. From what I've seen, the brown is a ground of sorts, but the white goes through the water temp relay to the water temp sensor (I'm assuming to advance/ retard turning when cold or at O.T.) My question is what should I do with the white wire? I may have to manually flip the relay somehow with a switch, but I might not have to. Any input will help!

My 1974 260z haa uad some difficulty starting. I read up and found the engine has a reset button so I tried this and it would finally turn over, after i had replaced starter and ignition switch, but every wire in the ignition system got so hot they started to smoke... I'm not going to pretend es and I have any idea what's happening. The car has an electrical points upgrade, and an ignition coil from a 240. Currently not messing with it for fear of burning all my wires completely. Please help!

I have had my z for a couple of months (1976 280z) had some trouble with the ignition relay at first (accessories did not work) but got them working in the end. Started driving it 2 weeks ago no problems everything worked fine. Then last week I went to start it and it had no spark so after messing with the ignition relay and coil for a bit I found one of the fuseable links was bad (the one that goes to the lights, whippers and washer motor controls.) I replaced it hooked up every thing tured the key, and nothing worked then I heard a relay click and a fizz frying type sound comming from the passanger side didnt smell any thing. I took out the igniton relay and took it apart and all the wiring harness conectors. Checked the relay and filed the contacts and hooked it back up and still nothing. If I turn the lights on the voltage gauge pegs below 12 volts and the lights dont turn on the head lights will on the second click. I tried unhooking all the wires connecting to that control arm and still nothing when i tured the key. I could still hear the clock ticking aswell. I am thinking about taking the dash out I also need to replace the heater core, do some rust work on the fire wall and under the battery, and carpet aswell as some lights and what not behide the dash. Thank you.

I have a question for the electrical experts: I bought a Beck Arnley aftermarket ignition switch to replace the 40-year-old OE switch in my '70 Z. Seemed like a good preventative maintenance step, with the steering column currently out of the car. However, I've found puzzling difference in the operating logic of the two switches. It has to do with the switches' 'R' circuit, which I'm pretty sure means, 'Resistor' (as in, ballast resistor for the coil/tach circuit). With input power applied to each switch module by way of the 'B' (battery) terminal and output monitored at the 'R' terminal, this is what I find: Key Position "R' - OE Switch 'R' - Aftermarket Switch OFF dead dead ACC dead dead ON dead dead START live live to start, then goes dead when key is turned further against the detent spring It's been noted elsewhere that the Z's ignition circuitry is designed so that the ballast resistor is bypassed during engine start (so as to deliver higher voltage to the coil/points) and then brought back into the circuit during 'run' operation (so as to operate the points/coil at the lower, normal voltage). So a 'live' condition at the 'R' terminal of the switch means 'resistor out', whereas a 'dead' condition equates to 'resistor in'. My OE ignition switch adheres to this simple, two-step 'resistor out/resistor in' logic. The aftermarket switch does too... at first. But then as I twist the key a little further in the 'START' sector, working against the resistance of the internal spring to take the key all the way to the hard stop, the switch action reverts to 'resistor out'. This would typically be where the key would sit while cranking the engine (i.e. twisted all the way up to the hard stop) I'm not certain whether the aftermarket switch was designed this way on purpose, or not. There's also the possibility that it's just a defective unit. So now I'm not sure whether I want to use it. Does anybody have an idea about why the aftermarket switch would change from 'resistor out' to 'resistor in' halfway through the 'Start' segment? Could it be that this was done on purpose, so that the duration of the high voltage ('resistor out') condition in the coil/points circuit would be restricted to just the first part-rotation of the crankshaft, so as to avoid burning the points during prolonged cranking?

Hi all, have been reading these forums for a long time but first time poster. Happy to be here I bought a 71 240z that was sitting for 4 years. Engine is complete, and cranks well but does not start. I already suspect a carb rebuild... But I thought I'd start with spark. When I first got the car in my garage I noticed no spark at all from the coil to the valve cover, cranking or not. Saw that the guy i bought it from wired the Pertronix Ignitor negative wire to the positive post on the coil, and the positive wire from the Ignitor to the ballast resistor. Since its a 3ohm coil, I wired the Ignitor properly to the coil. Now the coil wire does not spark to the valve cover while cranking, but as soon as I let off the key it sparks strong 1-3 times. I have replaced the ignition switch, rotor, coil, and dizzy cap with no avail. Jumped the battery to the Ignitor and still, same condition. Next steps are new Ignitor, and new starter. Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated, thanks for having me on the forum.

I recently acquired a 71 240Z. The car was sitting for the better part of 4 years however it started on first turn. The gentleman who owned it before did what's necessary to keep it in running condition. Although the car was drivable it would occasionally hesitate or sputter in 3rd or 4th gear at cruise speeds. It was evident there was a sediment in the fuel filter. I decided to due a tune up for good measure and ordered major tune up kit from MSA (http://www.thezstore.com/page/TZS/PROD/12-4700). I changed the fuel filter first then started the car to ensure it started. Success. I then went to work on changing out the ignition parts. As I took the plug wires off one-by-one the old distributor cap I placed them onto the new distributor cap in same order. Remove and replaced the points set and condenser. Replaced new rotor in same order it was removed (it could only go on one way). Placed the new cap on and went to start the car. It cranks but does not start/run. As a troubleshooting step, I placed the old cap and rotor back on as well with same result. Nothing was done with the adj screw. Do I need to? I've since sourced the FSM (NICO) and did some soul searching on the forum(s). I can't seem to figure out what's wrong. The air filter was also changed. I do have plug wires on order and have compiled a list of next steps. Verify fuel, although it started after changing fuel filter. Verify spark from plugs. Waiting on new wires before pulling old plugs and verifying spark from old plugs. Set engine to TDC and confirm rotor is in #1 position. Try starting fluid Any suggestions are welcomed.

I recently installed the Crane xr3000 and used the 14 gauge wire - per the Crane instructions. However my tach is not steady and it will drop sometimes between shifts. It just generally works poorly. I have heard of a fix for this - anyone know what it is.

Is any one out there knowledgable about the Crane Fireball ignition system? I have a 83 zx turbo I bought about a month ago.When I first got car, I had to tear dash and heater out and go through all wiring. PO had a dual battery system installed with fuel pump relayed through rear battery Ive got everything back as close to stock wiring as Ime able,not being too electrically adept myself. Ive got fuel pump operating through relay, as Iwasnt able to get power back to fuel pump through stock wiring, even though all relays tested good.Anyway, thats all solved.My problem now is that Ime getting no spark. Ihave a Crane Fireball HI 6S ignition system with universal magnetic trigger.Ialso have stock coil along with a Crane LX91 coil. when I turn ignition over, little red LED light does not come on, even though Ido have power to unit.Also I cant seem to get either coil to spark, but Itook stock coil off 83zx and installed it on my 77 z, and it fired right up. Possibly any ideas out there on how to troubleshoot system. All I can find online is install instructions but not much on troubleshooting systeAny advice would be appreciatted. Thank you.

Hi all, new guy here. I will take this opportunity to introduce myself and my car. About me My name is Mario, I live in Cedar Rapids, IA. I'm in my low 30s (for those who care), I like to work on cars, but I don't have a whole lot of detailed experience, however I'm very willing to learn. In early April igot the car (I wasn't necessarily looking for one, it found me). I've knew about 2X0Z for a while (my father in-law has two of 240Z sitting in his backyard rusting away ) but when this deal came I could not refuse. About the car 1978 280Z, 59,XXX miles when I got it. Original, survival (I have all the original paper work including signed contract from the dealer and window sticker). Never saw snow, rarely any rain. Previous owner had it for over 25 years and drove it maybe a 1000 miles a year. Always garaged. Few things he did to car: lower suspension with Tokico springs and adjustable shocks, big brake kit upfront, SS brake lines,cold air intake, newer spark plug wires, 2.5" exhaust form MSA, including down pipe and all the way to turbo muffler. Other than that all was stock, including all the engine gaskets! What I did when I got the car Replaced the fluids: engine oil and filter, rear diff, MT oil, coolant. replaced the spark plugs with with the stock NGK ones, replaced fuel filter, distributor cap and the rotor, replaced battery cables, installed new 16x8, 0 ofset XXR513 black/silver wheels that came with the purchase. The issue I have hard time starting the car after it sits for a while (for example a day at work). The car did not have this issue when I first got it, but slowly it developed it. One point to mention is that it started BEFORE I did any part replacement under the hood. Here is the link to a youtube video of wha the car does. Sometimes it is more sever, sometimes it is less sever: One additional point to mention is that the RPMs are typically low for "cool start". I would expect the RPMs to sit around 900-1000 when the engine is warming up and slowly come down to 700-800 rpms. It's as if the engine does not recognize the "cool start" and perhaps does not go into fuel enrichment period.The starting issue is there regardless of the outside temperature. It could be 85 or 60 degrees, still acts the same. Based on what I noticed this morning when I sarted the engine I'm thinking it has something to do with the air delivery. Right after I started the car (RPMs were hovering around 700) I went in and unplugged the vac hose between intake manifold and fuel pressure regulator. As soon as I unplugged it at the FPR and left it opened (therefore providing more air to the system), the engine reved up to around 800-900rpm. When I plugged the vac hose with my finger engine would drop rpms. After few minutes of running, this drop and rise of rpms was much lesser, if any at all. Here is what I did for troubleshooting so far I do have EFI bible and the Service Manual and I actually have performed quite a bit troubleshooting in the cold start department: replaced water temp sensor as well as water temp sensor connector, cleaned thermotime switch and replaced its electrical connector. I performed continuity/resistance/voltage tests as described in Service Manual at the ECU for water temp sensor, themotime switch, Cold Start Valve, and Auxiliary Air Recirculating valve. All checked out OK, unless I misinterpreted the results. I pulled out CSV, cleaned it externally and cleaned its electrical connector. I pulled the AAR valve and made sure that the internal flap was moving freely. I took out Air Flow Meter and made sure the flap was moving freely. I wiped it inside. Having AFM out gave me inside look at the throttle body, so I sprayed some electrical connector cleaner and wiped it clean (there was actually quite a bit black gunk that came out)...the starting problem persists.The fuel pressure is not maintained in my system. I installed inline fuel pressure gauge right after the fuel filter. The pressure drops to 0 after few hours of car being off. However, before I crank the car I prime the fuel pump by turning ignition to ON/OFF position 4-5 times, until I see that pressure gauge reads around 31 psi. Even then I still get the problem. ...I started to run out of ideas. ​What else can it be? One of the comments in my youtube video says it could be a vapor lock. If so, what could cause this vapor lock? Beside this starting issue I believe car drives well (I say believe, because I have never driven a Z so I don't have a benchmark to compare to). It feels like it pulls all the way through the RPM range. The only other thing I have noticed is that when I drive it harder I get slight afterfire when up shifting 1-->2 and 2-->3 gear. Help...

My 280Z uses an MSD 6A ignition. I need to hook up the tachometer, but I don't know what to do. More specifically, the 6A has a grey wire that is related to the tachometer. I imagine the tachometer has some input wire that is looking for a specific voltage. My 6A is in my engine bay on the right side (near the relay box). Is there some convenient way for me to hook this up? I would prefer not having to run a wire through the firewall and splicing stuff onto my tach. Also, I do have the 8910 MSD module that is apparently required for correct functioning. Thanks! EDIT: Here is what I see in the relay box: http://imgur.com/a/0VyHN. I'm hoping I can use one of these. Thanks again!!

Alright guys so I was planning on using a Mallory MAL 2363901 distributor and pertronix in my 11/70 240z but I just got an email back saying that they're discontinued and sold out. Every other place I've tried online seems to be sold out as well. I'm thinking of going with the Mallory unilite with mechanical advance (no vacuum advance) coupled with pertronix and was hoping someone else here might have had success with it and can give me some info. I'm going to be installing triple mikuni carbs shortly and plan on keeping the ballast resistor and using a 1.5ohm coil as well. If someone has done this before and could share what model they are using it would be greatly appreciated! As a side note, I have looked into other options such as late model distributors and have decided that I want to go with a Mallory one and spend a little bit more. Thank you. Chris

I've been asked by many members and non members about my ignition set-up and after writing the info so many times, I figure it would'nt hurt to post the needed info here at CZCC. And now you can send this thread link to others who may be looking for the same info. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I typically put a lot of praise on the Unilite, versus the worn bearings and parts of the stock distributor. Changing the set-up from points to infra-red is always a great idea but it's like putting a New head on an Old block, the head can't perform optimumly because the pistons and rings are worn. The optical pick-ups of the Unitlite and the Pertronix are are basically the same but the the chassis and bearings of the Unilite were built to work in unison with the Mallory infra-red circuit board. So in short the Pertronix is a band-aid over an untreated, infected wound. Here's what I have in my 70' and everything works great. Not to mention that it's pretty easy to wire up. Mallory Unilite, Stock Ballast resistor, MSD 6A, MSD tach adaptor, Mallory Promaster Coil, stock tach. #1) The OEM tach was designed to work around 1.5 ohms, where as the Flamethrower puts twice the resistance in the circuit (3.0 ohms) and the tach strains under the resistance, therefore only working at half it's potencial.. (about 4000 RPM) on occasion #2) The wiring is pretty simple. I use male and female connectors, so that the MSD can be bypassed upon failure, if it should occur. The small red and white wire of the tach adaptor connect to the small red and white of the MSD 6A (and even the 6AL) I've attached a diagram of the wiring that should be pretty easy to follow. I also included a diagram of Just wiring the unilite w/o the MSD. On the Unilite.... Brown wire gets grounded to a clean grounding bolt (I use the bolt of the ballast resistor) Green wire connects to the white wire of the MSD and the tach adaptor Red wire connects to the datsuns green/white wire on the ballast resistor On the MSD.... Ground the Large Black wire close to the MSD unit. Large Red wire gets a (10 amp fuse) and goes to the battery. (draws 1 amp per 1000 RPM) small White to the white wire of the tach adaptor and they both connect to the green Unilite wire. small red to the small red of the Tach adaptor and they both go to the black/white wire that was connected to the stock coils (+) bolt Black and orange sleeved wires go to the Coil (black to (-) and Orange to the (+) The green and purple wires are NOT used, as they are for a crank type sensor. #3) Will this work on my stock 240Z tach? This all works on the Stock Tach. The Promaster coil is rated at 0.60 ohms but I've Never had an issue and I know for fact that the needle will swing to 8000RPM (My throttle stuck when I forgot to instal a return spring on the SU's after I installed them. OOPS #4) What are the part numbers and prices?? Mallory Unilite p/n 4763901 w/vaccum advance. $389 at Jegs and Summit Racing. MSD 6A (6200 series) $171 at Jegs and Summit Racing MSD 8910 Tach Adaptor $40 at both Jegs and Summit Racing Mallory Promaster Coil W/ correct Ballast resistor $82 at Jegs If the link does work, go to Jegs and type in promaster coil 29440 and make sure the picture shows the ballast resistor http://www.jegs.com/i/Mallory/650/29440/10002/-1# I use nothing but NGK plugs (BP6ES) gapped at .060 and NGK Blue spark plug wires. You can pick up the plugs and wires from most auto parts stores. The plugs run about $2 a peice and the wires are around $20 to $35 http://www-b.autopartswarehouse.com/sku/Nissan/240Z/NGK/Ignition_Wire_Set/19701973/W0133-1625833.html #5) Is it worth it?? Definately worth it. I installed the Unilite 3 years ago and haven't had to touch it once, other than to clean the brass tips inside the cap. I still have the same cap and rotor that came with the Distributor. The rotor has a removable brass arm that can be pulled and cleaned and reinstalled when needed. The total of everything NEW is about $720 before shipping but you now have part numbers and can research them and probably find them cheaper on eBay or elsewhere. I did'nt pay that much because I do a lot of Trade work which results in some great deals from friends and such. If anyone has pertinent info to add to this thread feel free. I did not however, write this thread to be debated or commented on. What you see is what you get, as all the info is true to the best of my knowledge and current as of 4/23/09 Additional charges for tax and shipping will and can be found on the above web-sites. MSD Unilite Promastr Ballast wiring.bmp Unilite Ballast wiring.bmp

This has happened at 50 MPH and when slowing down at a redlight. The tach goes crazy and then the car quits. If the car is moving, it restarts itself.... when I slow down for a redlight and it quits, I am able to restart the car and continue on. I have been told this means the Ignition Module is dying. Do ya'll agree? If so where can I get an Ignition Module for a 1977 280Z Coupe, base model. Thanks for any help Tommy 678-763-6939 jthill3@att.net

I have a 74 260 z. She has had some troble with starting. I rebuilt her but the wireing is so back wards I literaly can't get it straight. It died on me on my way back from a dent. app. luckily i had a timing light in the car so i could tell the coil stoped getting power. So I ran a wire straight from the battery to the coil for about 45 miles until I found the EGR valve wire was running 6/8 volts and hooked it to the ignition coil. Having long ago removing the EGR entirely. Then a month later the starter just stops working, New starter btw, and rechecked. Tried to wire the seat belt safty togther and all I got was the relay by the fusible link next to the battery moaning like a virgin at jounior prom. I'm at the piont where i'm going to have to wing it to rewire the whole car compleatly I guess. Don't know what to do. starts up just fine when I "Bump" the starter with a screw-driver, but only with a compleat and full charge on the battery. Please any advice would help. Thank you!

Hey all, So I'm a bit new to working on cars, done a little work here and there but am still pretty much an amateur when it comes to this stuff, so any help would be greatly appreciated! I have a 1978 280z, did a tranny swap and made it a manual a few months back, but lately I've had a few problems with the ignition. It usually does one of the following: 1. Start right up. 2. Start up and slowly whines and dies. 3. Turn the key and it clicks (under the dash, I believe it's the relay) and then there's a second click somewhere from the engine and it either starts or it doesnt. 4. Turn the key and the relay just clicks. As of a today, it's only clicking (#4.) A friend suggested redoing the wiring (?) but I was curious to see if anyone else had this or has had a similar problem to this. Any help would be greatly appreciated!!!! Thank you!

So, working on the project 280z today, I grabbed my key and turned the lock. It immediately felt like a weird turn of the key, like the key had kind of fallen out a bit mid turn. Afterwards I realized that this key (got 6 with the car) is a bit smaller than the key I normally use. Must be an older key, or a door key or something. Oops. After the turn I was able to pull the key out easily. It goes back into the lock fully and easily too. The 'real' key doesn't really fit in the lock now, but the smaller one I used goes all the way in. Getting it to OFF though is another matter. It's stuck in ON. Cannot turn it. Had to take apart the ignition area and pull the plug to turn the car off. The previous owner luckily had not broken the anti-theft screws, so I've got the ignition lock out of the car now to work on it. How can I get this lock to turn again? Has anyone completely pulled out the tumblers before? What's the secret to getting them out of the casing?

I have a 1974 late model 260z. I am getting no power to the coil in any ignition position. I have replaced the ignition switch and lock. Needed a new lock anyway. I tested for continunity at the switch connector with the switch in the different positions Seems I have continunity. I checked the coil with a multi meter with the negative end grounded to the strut tower bolts and the positive on the coil positive, no power then I did the same for the negative side, no power. I did the same with the coil resistor at all connections...same thing no power there either. Where could I be losing power from the ignition switch to the coil.

I am trying to determine if my ignition switch is bad. Some history on the issue: I have a starter button which connects directly to the starter. The starter will engage without the key by pressing the button. It will however not start if the ignition switch is not in the on position. I believe this is because there is no electrical flow or spark. Currently I have no electric flow when the key is in the arse or ON position, ie no wipers, blower etc. Also no spark. I used a multi meter and tested all 5 wire connectors that hook to the ignition switch, I have power in one only it is the white /red wire. Is this correct or am I susposed to have power in all 5 wires. I have attached a photo for clarity. Could someone please help I am at the end of my patience.

I hooked a timing light and with with the dist lined with the timing mark at the adjustment nut the crank pulley timing mark is not even close to the timing degree tab. If I remove the dist nut and crank it as far as it will go towards the drivers side the timing mark gets closer to the crank pulley and timing tab but still a good 1/2 inch away from the entire degree measurement tab. Whats the deal. It also seems to idle way too high. All the carb idle throttle speed screws, balance screws etc are backed out to the point they are not even touching anything but the rpms are 1200 to 1300. It does lower when the dist adjustment screw is removed and the dist turned all the way towards the drivers side as far as it will go. At this point it also backfires through the carbs. My poor sick Z and my less then needed Mr Goodwrench skills are not seeing eye to eye. Any thoughts Thanks

'73, stock distributor, Pertronix Igniter, MSD 6A. Symptoms started one day last week after winding out 2nd gear. My tach jumped from around 4K up to around 6K, then back down to around 4K. After that, the engine was running roughly, not revving easily, and backfiring under anything more than light load. I thought maybe a plug was fouled because it definitely felt like it was down a cylinder. Here's what I've done: 1) Changed the plugs 2) Checked to make sure the distributor didn't move. 3) checked the cam timing, thinking it was timing chain slip or the tensioner broke. It was dead on. 4) Checked valve clearance, since it'd been about 2 years. No difference. 5) At this point, it occurred to me to pull the plug wires one by one. This is when I found that #6 was not firing. 6) I swapped the wires for positions 5 and 6. The problem stayed on 6. 7) Swapped in a new rotor. No difference. 8) Swapped in the last distributor cap I had. No difference. 9) swapped in another new plug on #6 just in case I had a bad new plug. 10) Propped the #6 wire and plug up on top of the value cover so I could start the car and watch for a spark. No sparks. At this point I'm thinking that something is wrong with my distributor, but I don't know what to do next. Help?