TBI conversion on a Ford 400 - need help getting it to run

Ok, your wording is a bit odd, a "TBI system" is more than just the TBI and with the order of what you listed it sounded like you mounted the ECM on the intake...

I've used the Painless VSS (2000 PPM model) with great success in the past with the '7747. It it screws into the trans, and allows the speedo cable to be screwed on to it. Painless also makes a 4000 PPM model for TPI type ECMs, make sure you get the right one for your application. ;)

IIRC you could get the VSS from Jags That Run for less than getting it through Painless, even though they seem to be the same unit. I believe there was another brand that worked as well, but I don't recall what that brand was off hand.

I think I'm going on close to 6 months waiting for Jags That Run to come up with a VSS adapter. I've done some looking around and painless is the only other one I've found, but I think it's about $60 more.

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Originally Posted by Six_Shooter

Ok, your wording is a bit odd, a "TBI system" is more than just the TBI and with the order of what you listed it sounded like you mounted the ECM on the intake...

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Sorry for the confusion, sometimes the fact that I'm not a native speaker shows through. I do my best, but sometimes I fail :)

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Originally Posted by Six_Shooter

I've used the painless VSS (2000 PPM model) with great success in the past with the '7747. It it screws into the trans, and allows the speedo cable to be screwed on to it. Painless also makes a 400 PPM model for TPI type ECMs, make sure you get the right one for your application. ;)

IIRC you could get the VSS from Jags That Run for less than getting it through Painless, even though they seem to be the same unit. I believe there was another brand that worked as well, but I don't recall what that brand was off hand.

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Thank you for the info, I'll check out Painless...

That didn't go well. I changed the P/N signal wiring to shielded wires and twisted them. I also moved the dizzy ground from the block to the HEI module, just to be on the safe side regarding ground loops. No change, car still does the double-fire thingy at 30-ish degree advance and more...

do you have a large dist cap on your engine or a small cap. never done what you are doing just thinking about what might cause the problem. I remember some posts on here about putting gm efi on fords you might do a search of the sight and find some info.

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Originally Posted by ony

do you have a large dist cap on your engine or a small cap. never done what you are doing just thinking about what might cause the problem. I remember some posts on here about putting gm efi on fords you might do a search of the sight and find some info.

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It's a large cap Duraspark II dizzy with the mechanical advance locked up and the vacuum advance remove.
http://thumb.armedcats.net/d/dr/dr_g...620_181757.jpg
http://thumb.armedcats.net/d/dr/dr_g...620_181804.jpg

I did some on-site searching but didn't find any info that would help me with my special problem...

Yep, now that you show the trigger, those are known to have inconsistent triggering of GM ignition modules. There was a video posted recently where a gen 1 Camaro had an aftermarket dizzy installed with that same trigger had poor idle and low RPM running. Replaced the dizzy with a stock GM unit and everything was perfect.

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Originally Posted by Six_Shooter

Yep, now that you show the trigger, those are known to have inconsistent triggering of GM ignition modules. There was a video posted recently where a gen 1 Camaro had an aftermarket dizzy installed with that same trigger had poor idle and low RPM running. Replaced the dizzy with a stock GM unit and everything was perfect.

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Do you have a part number for the stock GM trigger?

I don't and they would be different for different dizzies, and possibly even different years. You will need to find one that will be the easiest to retrofit to your dizzy.

Alternatively, there might be a GM dizzy that will be close to fitting into your block and need to swap shafts around to get everything to work.

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Originally Posted by Six_Shooter

I don't and they would be different for different dizzies, and possibly even different years. You will need to find one that will be the easiest to retrofit to your dizzy.

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Dang, I am over in Europe, GM V8 dizzies are kinda hard to come by (and expensive!) over here. Well, I'll find a way...

You could look for a JM6506 distributor by Top Street Performance. That's a GM HEI style distributor that works with your engine. You would still have to lock out the advance and change over to a 7 or 8 pin module, but I've had good luck using TSP distributors on TBI builds. I normally mod them to accept a 7 pin module, but you could also do an external 8 pin setup. There should be some sellers on eBay that will ship internationally.

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Originally Posted by fastacton

You could look for a JM6506 distributor by Top Street Performance. That's a GM HEI style distributor that works with your engine. You would still have to lock out the advance and change over to a 7 or 8 pin module, but I've had good luck using TSP distributors on TBI builds. I normally mod them to accept a 7 pin module, but you could also do an external 8 pin setup. There should be some sellers on eBay that will ship internationally.

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That's a pretty brilliant idea! Thank you! Is there a manual on how to convert the dizzy to the 7-pin module somewhere on here?

There's no manual that I know of, but it's pretty straight forward. On the 5 pin side of the module, 2 go to the pickup and the other three (plus a ground) go to the harness. The 2 pin side plugs right in to the distributor. The terminals are all labeled the same regardless of the type of module.

That sounds like a plan - since changing the HEI module is the only thing I still have on my list, the opportunity to start with a clean slate, basically removing all wiring, the questionable trigger, the HEI module and the ugliest ignition coil in history at once sounds like a good idea. Thank you, will order!

My jeep uses a motorcraft distributor and the exact same pickup. When I first converted, I had ignition issues. Would barley run, backfire, wouldn't rev up. Long story short, after replacing everything in the whole system, I finally replaced the pickup coil with the most expensive one they had at napa and bingo, all the issues when away.
If your pickup is the issue, you might try replacing it with a quality one before you buy a whole distributor.