Help!! No juice

[usraptor]

Decided to take the '70 Cuda for a quick drive this morning.  It was hesitate to start but with a couple of squirts of starter fluid it fired right up.  Backed it out of the garage and it died!    Just as if I had turned off the ignition and it will not restart.   Checked for loose connections at the ECM and distributor and everything was tight.  Put a test light to both sides of the coil and with the ignition key on I had juice to both the neg and pos sides.  Put an in-line tester light on plug no. 1 and plug wire and it didn't light up while cranking the engine.   Pulled the plug and had the wife crank the engine while I held the plug and wire to the ground on the engine and nothing.  Changed the coil with a spare I had and still nothing.  I could trouble shoot this if it was still a points and condenser but quite frankly I'm a little lost with all this modern electronic ignition stuff.
Engine is a 440.  I upgraded (I beginning to wonder if that was a good ides) to an Summit racing Proform Parts 440-427 - Proform Mopar Licensed Electronic Distributor Conversion Kits when I did the restoration.   The only thing I've done recently is disconnect the Rallye Tach at the dist. and install a Summit Mopar tach.  After installing the Mopar tach the car fired right up with no issues.  Regardless, I disconnected the Mopar tach wire from the neg lead on the dist. and it still didn't have any spark to the plugs.  (FYI, I didn't disconnect the power wire to the tach from under the dash but I doubt that would make any difference??   )  I also checked all the fuses under the dash and they were all good.  Any ideas?  The way it was running and then just died it seems like some electrical component failed.  How do I test the ECM and the dist to determine which, if any, is bad? 
Thanks in advance.

[Rich G.]

There is no way I believe to test the control module, you basically test everything else. Best thing is to swap the module with a known hood one. ( I always carry a spare anyway ) I'm sure you checked the ballast resistor. Is the distributor actually turning?

[MoparLeo]

Read thee following article.

[usraptor]

Rich G.,  Dumb question but how do I check the ballast resistor?  I do have a spare control module.  Does it need to be grounded to work (bolted to the firewall) or can I just plug in the connection with it laying lose on the engine?  I didn't check to see if dist. was turning.  I'll do that now.  Thanks for your reply.  There is a plug that comes off the control module and connects to the plug on the dist.  I was thinking there should be some way to check (if I disconnect the plug) for current in the wire coming off the control module but don't know what I'm supposed to be looking for, volts, amps, etc. and on which of the two connectors, male or female?  Thank you for your response.  It's much appreciated.

[usraptor]

Okay, just checked and the dizzy is turning.

[DeathProofCuda]

If the ballast resistor was bad, the car would start with the key in the "start" position, but would instantly die when you released the key to the "run" position.

Spare ECM will need to be grounded to test its function.

Do you have a multimeter, or just a test light?

[usraptor]

I do have a multimeter.  I don't think it's the ballast resistor then as now it won't even start.  It did start and ran while I backed it out of the garage and then died, as if I turned off the ignition.

[DeathProofCuda]

I do have a multimeter.  I don't think it's the ballast resistor then as now it won't even start.  It did start and ran while I backed it out of the garage and then died, as if I turned off the ignition.

Best advice you're likely to get is to download the troubleshooting guide that MoparLeo posted and follow that.

[usraptor]

Where do I find that?  I did a search for no start issue and didn't see it?  thanks again for responding.

[DeathProofCuda]

In the post from MoparLeo above in this thread, there is a link to a pdf file that you can download that is a copy of an article by Rick Ehrenberg that previously ran in Mopar Action magazine.

[usraptor]

Thanks, I somehow went right over his post.      I'll read it now.  Thanks again for the help everybody.  Hopefully my dumbass will be able to figure it out with your help.  I'll keep you posted. 

[DeathProofCuda]

I'd start with a cranking voltage test at the positive side of the coil.  If you have 9.5 volts or higher while cranking, then try the spare ECM.  If you have less than 9.5 volts while cranking at the coil, then check the primary circuit feeding the coil, including the ballast resistor (assuming you are still running one).

[Jay Bee]

I had a similar problem last summer. One time it died as if the key was turned off (like yours) when I was on a city street.
Mine was the red wire on the ignition plug.

https://forum.e-bodies.org/electrical-and-audio/11/intermittent-no-start-issue/18179/msg272810#msg272810

[HP_Cuda]

Get your multimeter out and check the ohm's (resistance) for your ballast resistor.

Pull the two connectors from the ballast resistor and then put one prong from your multimeter on one side and the other one on the other side. You should get a reading of 1.2ohms to 1.4-5ohms. Stock should be 1.2ohms. If you are way higher than this then you ballast resistor is kaput and you need to get a new one.

Remember the whole idea of the ballast resistor is to save the coil. After you start the car it is supposed to supply resistance to keep your coil between 8.5-9.5V or thereabouts.

[usraptor]

Okay, sorry I just saw the last three posts so I haven't done any of those suggestions yet and naturally it's starting to rain outside now.    Anyway, this is what I did do so far.  I read the trouble shooting guide that Mopar Leo posted along with the http://www.fourforty.com/techstuff/ignition.html.  I also reread the installation instructions for the electronic ignition conversion and everything was correct as I assumed it would be since I've been driving the car that way for three years.  One thing I forgot to mention was that I did replaced the ECM unit this winter since I kept having problems with the plug not making a good connection on the original ECM.  The engine started right up after the swap and has started several times since with no issues.  FYI, I did have the wife wiggle the plug and then the wire harness while cranking, just in case, and it still didn't even attempt to fire.  This new ECM doesn't even have a hour run time on it.  The plug is tight at the new ECM.  Quad triple checked.  I stripped all the electrical tape off the harness to check my connections where I spiced into the OEM harness with the electronic ignition ECM wires.  All the connections looked good and I then tested all of them for continuity and they all tested good. I unplugged the main OEM connection at the bulkhead and nothing looked burnt or bad.  I reconnected it to the bulkhead connector and made sure it was tight.  With the ignition on I tested the volt reading at the ballast resistor.  I had 11.5 volts on both sides of the ballast resistor.  Battery tested at 12.5 volts.  I checked both the positive and negative side of the coil and they both tested at 11.5 volts, static, not cranking the engine.  I unplugged the plug from the ECM and checked the voltage on the inside at both the no 1 and 2 wire and both registered 11.5 volts.  I unplugged the distributor pick up plug and the hot side only showed .5 volts.  Again, this was with the ignition on but not while cranking the engine.  That seems low, but I don't know if it's normal or will change when cranking the ignition.  I have a friend coming over after he gets off work to help me push the Cuda back in the garage and then I'll try the tests while cranking the engine.  So far does anything stand out as bad or wrong??