losing spark on 83 chevy

[chevyguy82]

i've been helping a friend work on his 83 chevy c10 6cylinder truck. it had a problem with dying when putting into gear. rebuilt carb with new gaskets and all new vacuum lines. the truck ran great after that. no more dying when in gear and nice and smooth. after running for about 10 minutes tonight it just died. checked for spark and nothing. new cap, rotor, and plugs also with carb rebuild. checked and had 12 volts to distributor. after sitting for a while truck fires up runs smooth then runs like crap again. i was thinking a bad coil or pickup in distributor. anyone have any ideas? is there an easy way to test them? thanks for the help.

 

[stephan.laun]

Sound like bad ignition module to me mine did that once and thats what it was.....

 

[chevyguy82]

is there any way to test the module? is it the same module as a v8 module?

 

[diesel4me]

You can test it,parts stores like Autozone test them for free--but chances are it may test "good if it only craps out when "hot" after being run awhile!..the older v8 modules should be the same 4 pin one,but some 80's trucks had a 5 pin one used with a distributor without a vacuum advance--I'm pretty certain the 6 bangers had 4 prong ones though..it coild be the pickup coil or ignition coil too--tests can be done with an ohmmeter ,using the procedures in a chiltons or motors manual...I usually just go to a junkyard and pick up "good used" ones and try them one at a time till I find which one was bad,or drop in a comoplete used distributor..6 cylinders have a habit of shearing the roll pin on the drive gear,which can drive you insane trying to diagnose why it'll run great one minute,stal the next,or act like it jumped time,then magically "cure" itself..I had one that did that,and I replaced about every ignition part and rrebuilt the carb,put a new fuel pump on,etc..felt pretty stupid when an old mechanic fixed it in 5 minutes !..