I have a 1985 Chevy C10 305 V8 4BBL with a HEI distributor that has no
spark. I have checked and replaced the ignition coil, pick-up coil,
control module, cap, rotor, and even the RF capacitor and wiring
harness but with no avail. The only unit that tested bad was the
control module that I had tested at AutoZone. Once I put a new one in
the engine fired and ran like a champ even with one spark plug out to
perfom the spark test. Once I got everything button up, I took it for
a spin around the block. Ran great until I was shouting distance from
the house. That's when it cut out and would not fire again. The way
it cut off leads me to believe it is an electrical problem. I have
retested everything at least three times (even the control module at
AutoZone again) and everything checks out good. I have unplugged the
Oil pressure light switch just in case it was going bad and causing
the problem as a safety. I have 12 volts at the BAT terminal of the
distributor when the ignition switch is on but it still will not fire.
Are there any other safety switches that I can check? I have read
through other posts on the HEI distributors but they did not seem to
fit my problem. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

In article
<1173151327.661107.64170 (AT) t69g2000cwt (DOT) googlegroups.com>,
macpicayune (AT) yahoo (DOT) com wrote:

Did you misplace the ground strap in the distributor cap?

On 5 Mar 2007 19:22:07 -0800, macpicayune (AT) yahoo (DOT) com wrote:

metering each while moving the connector a bit

On Mar 6, 4:40 am, samst... (AT) aol (DOT) com wrote:
Thanks for your suggestions. I finally narrowed it down to ESC. Took
me a while because I was using the wiring diagram for a 1985 Chevy
C10. After comparing my truck to wiring diagrams for a 1983 Chevy C10,
I had a match. So basically I have a 1985 Chevy that was made in the
factory from the spare parts left over from 1983. After I determined
that it was the ESC, I found the bypass information by searching this
group. Jumped the black and green wire on the control module, removed
the ESC and wiring, and cranked her up. The old girl is now purring
like a kitten. Thanks again.