Ok, this may not be the prefect place for this, but it seemed like the best I could think of.

I have recently converted my Jeep CJ7 to HEI. The Jeep is 258 inline 6. The HEI is from a 1980 Chevy truck with the 250 inline 6. It only gets spark occasionally for a few seconds. It will start to fire and then quit. We have tested for spark and get the same result. No spark most of the time and then occasionally we get spark for just a few seconds.

I have checked the engine ground and replaced the ground strap to be safe. We have checked all the HEI components by the Chilton's book, etc. Everything tests out ok. I even took the Ignition moduel to the auto parts store and had it tested. We have even just hooked power straight from the battery to assure it is getting a clean 12V. The only thing we cannot test (haven't found a way to) is the capacitor. I am wondering if this is the problem. Is there a way to test it? Are there Any HEI experts here that could lend some advice of what to check or what might be causing this condition?

TIA

I'm assuming you have a new rotor installed. One of the more common HEI problems I have seen is for the rotor to burn through under the center terminal and ground the system to the shaft underneath.

Is that a coil in cap design? If so make sure the ground strap is under the coil and clean.

It is a coil in the cap design. I checked that ground strap initially and it looked like it needed to be cleaned so I did so. I may check that part again just to be sure.

All of the internals (cap, rotor, coil) were supposedly new about 1,000 miles ago. It was supposedly running fine when this guy pulled it. I will double check the rotor though. Good thought.

Those modules are tricky. I have messed with one for a week straight. It tested fine and everything. Finally out of desperation I replaced it and all worked well.

I hate those things!

Another thing that was a common problem is the wires on the pickup coil. Since it has vacuum advance, the advance moves the coil back and forth and can cause the wires to fray inside the insulation.

Thanks for all the advice. I got it to run yesterday. I took everything apart and cleaned every contact very carefully. Then I went ahead and replaced the ignition module. It took a few tried, but it did fire up. I need to redo some wiring and clean it up now that it runs. It is strange though. The timing is very advanced now (15-20 degrees btd). Peviously it was at about 6-8. I would think to time it where it runs best, but it just seems odd.