LUVTruck.com

Finally got to drive my LUV! She's really slow and runs like crap. (Haven't installed tune up parts YET, waiting to burn off the stale gas). Also quit my job at that washed up shop. No working coming in. Luckily night job gave me a ton of hours so I'm good

Drove her 8 miles from the shop to my house. No issues except for struggling up hills and a backfire or two. But now it won't start, it's not getting spark. When I turn the key ON I see the brake and fasten seat belts light turn on. Sometimes. Other times its just the brake light. The fasten seat belts light won't always illuminate, and it's supposed to stay on? Sometimes it will illuminate for a moment then turn off, other times it will stay on for a minute then turn off. Sometimes it won't light up at all, when turning the key ON.

Either way, the truck isn't getting spark with the key on. I can hear the relay clicking in the engine bay when the key is turned on, but when it cranks over, there is no sound of it trying to ignite. It just idly cranks over.

Jumped power to the coil and was getting spark, but the truck was running horrible. Idling really rough/low and when trying to give it even the smallest amount of throttle the engine sounds like its going to choke and die then makes a popping out of the tail pipe with a black puff of smoke, or popping out of the intake with a decent sized flame. Timing?

I noticed that the distributor is loose so I'm thinking driving down the bumpy dirt road threw the ignition timing off. But what about the no spark issue with the key on? I have a feeling it's something in the electrical?

Also noticed there is a hole in the side of the distributor (about the size of a nickel?) right under where the cap seats. Looks like someone beat on it trying to figure something out in the past? IDK. This could also be part of the issue with no power and running like crap? The distributor is probably arching all over the place... Going to seal the hole with some quick steel for now until I can find a new distributor.

Thoughts and advice? Is the ignition issue I am experiencing a common thing on these trucks? Did some searching but only found basic leads. Going to follow up on those tomorrow, just hoping to get some insight.

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1980 Chevy Luv (1.8L I4, 4-speed) - Should never have bought this pile of crap
1987 Nissan 300ZX (3.0L V6, 5-speed) - Best car I've ever owned

A couple of pictures would help us diagnose. Do you have 12V at the coil + ? If the distributor moves this is probably going to be the main issue but as Luv's go there is probably multiple issues…. What year is the truck 1980?

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1978 LUV Custom - 1979 LUV stock

Yes the truck is a 1980. Isuzu 1.8L, 4 speed (if it matters.)

Well if I stick the multimeter directly onto the coil's postive/negative posts the multimeter reads 0.

If I stick the multimeter to the positive post on the coil and negative battery post, I get 12 volts. So the coil isn't receiving a ground connection?

I also noticed the ground source for the coil is hot with 12 volts positive. :\ Meaning I can stick the positive multimeter wire on either one of the coil's connections and have the other wire on the negative battery post, and I get 12 volts positive.

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1980 Chevy Luv (1.8L I4, 4-speed) - Should never have bought this pile of crap
1987 Nissan 300ZX (3.0L V6, 5-speed) - Best car I've ever owned

Doesn't the coil get its ground from the points?

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Certified pilots, looking down on people since 1903.

I think so, the contact labeled "-" (minus sign) on the coil has a black w/red stripe wire that disappears into the harness. The wire going to the distributor (for the points?) Is also black w/red stripe wire, that also disappears into the harness.

There is something whacky going on in the ignition wiring. Couldn't figure out why the "Fasten seat belts" light works when it wants to. When I turn the key ON sometimes it won't even illuminate, other times it will turn on then quickly turn off, other times it will stay on for a moment before turning off. Either way, it never stays on.

Reset the distributor position, and tightened it's bolt down. Also put a patch of quick steel over the hole in the side of the distributor.

Jumped power from the battery to the external resistor on the side of the coil and nothing. Removed original power supply from the external resistor and jumped power directly to the resistor and then started it. Truck fired right up and idled normally, gave it throttle and revved normally, no popping or bogging down.

Now for some reason, it seems the truck only wants to start and run when it wants to. Damn near killed the battery trying to get it to start up again so that's all I can do to it today. Going to throw the battery back in the Z and drive it around to charge it up, then probably proceed tomorrow. Each time I got it to start, I would let it run for a moment, rev it up to make sure it was running right then shut it off. Then it would take several tries to get it to start again :\ (EDIT: Regardless if I pumped the throttle or not before starting.)

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1980 Chevy Luv (1.8L I4, 4-speed) - Should never have bought this pile of crap
1987 Nissan 300ZX (3.0L V6, 5-speed) - Best car I've ever owned

Check a wiring schematic. The points do give the coil it's ground that collapses the field that causes the spark. Basic automotive here. That same wire goes to the engine speed sensor under the dash.

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Certified pilots, looking down on people since 1903.

Check for corrosion in your fuse box. This is another common bad spot in the Luv. Make sure power is going thru your fuses. Cleaning my fuse box solved many problems on two of my Luv's.

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1978 LUV Custom - 1979 LUV stock

Sounds like the power is getting to the resistor intermittent. Like the post above, do the fuse box clean. Remember the carb needs power too for the fuel shut off valve, the fuse box could be causing that interruption too.

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Certified pilots, looking down on people since 1903.

A friend of mine suggested that maybe the resistor itself is needing replacement ? Even if I jump power directly to the resistor's power feed from the battery, I still have issues getting spark, and I've noticed that the resistor itself gets really hot.

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1980 Chevy Luv (1.8L I4, 4-speed) - Should never have bought this pile of crap
1987 Nissan 300ZX (3.0L V6, 5-speed) - Best car I've ever owned

The resistor should get warm/borderline hot. Remember it's a drop resistor, they all creat a resistance.

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Certified pilots, looking down on people since 1903.

I do know this but it seems REALLY hot to me. Like almost burning hot. Although if it was heating up too much it would probably catch fire/melt ?

The resistor is probably fine, was just covering bases. I have a feeling the issue lies in the wiring.

Also noticed, ballast resistor on the side of the distributor is loose, the screw holding down won't go in all the way. Going to try to fix this as well, though I doubt it's part of the problem.

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1980 Chevy Luv (1.8L I4, 4-speed) - Should never have bought this pile of crap
1987 Nissan 300ZX (3.0L V6, 5-speed) - Best car I've ever owned

With battery voltage applied do you have 9 volts at the coil

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Certified pilots, looking down on people since 1903.

Well I ran a few wires of my own and set everything up with a temporary harness for the ignition. Truck starts up every time now and stays running/driving.

Fasten Seat Belts light and other dash lights seem to flicker on/off while driving. Going to have to hunt down this gremlin. Truck is a bit faster now too with the timing reset. No more popping/backfiring. Still slow though.

Now that I have this far, there is a long list of tedious things to be done. Brake/tails don't work, turn signal switch lever broke off the first time I tried to use it, none of the gauges work. Next step: cleaning out any corrosion and checking wiring.

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1980 Chevy Luv (1.8L I4, 4-speed) - Should never have bought this pile of crap
1987 Nissan 300ZX (3.0L V6, 5-speed) - Best car I've ever owned

The slowness may be normal Luv performance from what I remember from my 76 in the 80's. A VW bus was faster than my stock Luv. The electrical issues are like mentioned above, mostly the fuse box and a good cleaning should make a huge difference. When my truck sits for any period of time things start to flicker again. Just a touch to the fuse panel will make things start working again.

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Three Amigos

As posted above--About 90% of these problems can be fixed by cleaning the fuse box connections, fuse holders , and the fuses themselves. The other 10% may be the loose condensor on the outside of the distributor body. This must be tightly mounted/grounded for the engine to run correctly.

Cleaning the fuse box is one of the next things I plan to do. I didn't chop or cut any original wiring, just disconnected and set aside so if the problem is just the fuse box I can reconnect everything.

Also stuck a shorter screw on the side of the distributor for the ballast resistor to hold it down tight.

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1980 Chevy Luv (1.8L I4, 4-speed) - Should never have bought this pile of crap
1987 Nissan 300ZX (3.0L V6, 5-speed) - Best car I've ever owned

The ballast resistor should be mounted on your coil.

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Certified pilots, looking down on people since 1903.

Derp. The part I was referring to being loose was the condenser. The cylindrical piece that mounts to the side of the distributor.

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1980 Chevy Luv (1.8L I4, 4-speed) - Should never have bought this pile of crap
1987 Nissan 300ZX (3.0L V6, 5-speed) - Best car I've ever owned

Having the condensor loose could also cause it to run oddly or not at all. The condensor wire should be tight, but it gets a ground through the screw that holds it to the distributor body. If that is still loose, it will cause intermittent problems.

Is the ballast resistor on the coil a metal box thing held down by a couple screws or a white ceramic deal? The originals were a resistor contained/covered by a metal box and a white ceramic one would be aftermarket replacement that might be of dubious quality. As I recall, the metal covered ones get hot enough running to make you say ouch, but not so much so to leave behind cooked skin.

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95 Isuzu Trooper Daily Driver
86 Isuzu Trooper reliable backup
77 LUV 2wd stock beltway blaster (resting)
79 4x4 LUV project: 2.6L, 5spd, 31s (eventually)

MEPR: Man, my 4x4 makes all other LUVs look good

Weeelll now the truck won't start again... :\



Yes its the metal box that attaches to the bracket that holds the coil.

I'll check the condenser's grounding point. Also, went to start the truck up yesterday to move it onto the cement pad I have to work on it. Truck wouldn't start! It's not getting spark again. With the wiring I have in there it ran perfectly fine and drove fine last week. I also left the accessory power alone and only added a new power supply to the ignition switch, a new solenoid wire, coil and fuel pump. Truck started fine, drove fine then sat for a few days and now this??

Had power at the resistor and at the coil. 12.5 volts at the battery, 12.1 volts at the resistor, and 4.9-5.1 volts at the coil. Maybe the resistor is bad? It's supposed to be 9 volts at the coil right ? Also noticed the carburetor wasn't shutting off fuel like it usually does and the carb had a constant drip of gas down into the intake.

Also noticed that now (unlike before) when I turn the key ON there is no relay clicking, and the fasten seat belts and other dash lights don't light up. Could this be part of the corrosion issue with the fuse box? I looked over the fuse box in the engine bay, didn't look corroded but still going to clean it. (Was going to yesterday but ended up messing with the truck trying to get it start)

Unsure of what else to do, I went to tap on the resistor with my finger. It left a burn mark on my skin, and the light sweat on my finger sizzled with I touched the resistor. It was WAAAY hot, and left my finger feeling funny. Not really painful, just felt like the skin was baconated.

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1980 Chevy Luv (1.8L I4, 4-speed) - Should never have bought this pile of crap
1987 Nissan 300ZX (3.0L V6, 5-speed) - Best car I've ever owned