280 se won't start

i made sure the firing order was right and everything, but
now my car won't start

[cth350]

tell us about the last time it was working, and what happened since. Also, what year 280se is it? There are no less than 4 different 280se's out there.

-CTH

my car is a 1972 280se 4.5, ok first of all this all started because i wanted this one little wire changed that went on the outside of the distributor because when
it would move a certain way my car would try to stall and
i would have to get out and move it a certain way then it would run fine again. so they fixed the wire but my
car has not been running right ever since because they also changed the disributor cap and points spark plugs and wires
air filter, and when i would drive it, it back fired. so
they checked the firing order which is fine and tightened the distributor down, which was loose, then it wouldn't
idle,and now it will turn over but it won't start...
sometime even makes a poping noise.. please help.....

[ctaylor738]

We seem to hear this a lot ...

Sounds like you have a timing problem. Do you have access to a timing light? Can you check and adjust the point gap if needed?

We can help, but we need to know your knowlege level

Chuck

[cth350]

The loose distributor did you in. The timing is completely out of wack.

Hand crank the motor until you get to the 0 mark on the
crank AND the marks on the camshafts line up.

Use the cam marks as your guide for coarsely setting up the motor. Use the mark on the crank as the "final word" on getting it right. (Timing chain stretch will make the cam mark off a little bit).

Oh, and you CAN'T turn the thing backwards, it will mess up what we are going to try and acheive next.

Now, your Cam and crank are at TDC, we have to get the distributor there too. First off, lets see how bad it is...

Remove the distributor cap and observe where the rotor is in relation to the mark on the top of the distributor. The lip that seats the cap has a small grove. The rotor should be a little to the left (counter clockwise) of the grove (I think). No matter. Just make sure that it's not a million miles away. If it is, STOP. Something else is wrong. Either way, put the cap back on. And don't forget where the mark is.

- Turn the key to the #1 position (as if the car were running). Do NOT start the car.
- Hook up a voltage meter to that green wire you replaced. The meter will tell you if the points are open or closed.
- Hook up a timing light on the CENTER WIRE.
- Loosen the distributor (a 5mm LONG allen key is needed for this).
- Gently turn the distributor just a few degrees. The idea is to get it back to where the rotor is over that mark. Keep your eyes on that light. When it flashes, stop.

You may have to repeat that last step if you overshot the mark. Remember the distributor position and rotate back the other way a bit until the meter tells you the points opened again. The meter and the light are redundant. Your eyes and your hands should be more sensitive to the light instead of the meter.

Once you have the distributor just right, you now have your timing set to 0 TDC, which isn't ideal, but it will get the car started so that you can set the timing correctly. be sure to tighten the distributor back down again.

Also, turn the key back off before you take the cap off and check the rotor position. Do this just so you know where it shoulda been to begin with.

-CTH

PS. Christy, you got all that? These instructions apply to your car too.