Removing California Emissions System

[Gary Lewis]

Bill - Good catch.  That distributor does have the vacuum advance unit.  So, with the right wiring harness and a DS-II box he would have been in business.  

[Ray Cecil]

85lebaront2 wrote

Ray, from the distributor and lake of a mixture solenoid on the carburetor, your truck did not have the computer controlled system. You could have kept the DS-II system instead of going to a damn Chevy distributor.

One thing I will tell you from personal experience on an older Chevy truck, you will want to add a relay to provide the needed 12V high current feed to the HEI distributor. If the 1982 ignition feed wiring has a way to bypass the resistance wire easily then you might be ok there. The 1985.5 through 1987 trucks had the capability to have a 12V feed to the TFI ignition or a resisted feed for the DS-II as both systems were used depending on the engine installed.

Thanks. But I am a Chevy guy too, so I am familiar with the HEI. I like it. It works. Its easy. Its new.

If anyone wants this old dizzy, they are welcome to it.

I will scan through some wiring diagrams that I am sure gary has posted on here to see if the Original switched 12v coil wire will suffice the HEI coil. I am willing to bet it will be fine. I am not 100% sure of how coil capacitors work, but I thought they are more concerned with voltage, rather than current. Correct me if I am wrong.

[Ray Cecil]

85lebaront2 wrote

 If the 1982 ignition feed wiring has a way to bypass the resistance wire easily then you might be ok there. The 1985.5 through 1987 trucks had the capability to have a 12V feed to the TFI ignition or a resisted feed for the DS-II as both systems were used depending on the engine installed.

I got a full 12.5V at the original coil wire. If I understand correctly, the trucks that had a ballast resistor, dropped the voltage down to 9-9.5 volts. That doesn't seem to be the case here. I am not sure what gauge the wire is, I can take a look later.

[Ray Cecil]

Gary Lewis wrote

Bill - Good catch.  That distributor does have the vacuum advance unit.  So, with the right wiring harness and a DS-II box he would have been in business.  

But then I would have MORE wiring, and a DS-II box to mount. HEI is all contained, and plug and play. What does the DS-II box do? Control timing? Why? Mechanical and vacuum advance can take care of that right? Does the DS-II dizzy not have mechanical advance? Only Vacuum?

[Gary Lewis]

Yes, there is a ballast resistor.  But, without the engine running there is no current to the coil so no voltage drop across the resistor.

And Bill is telling you the truth.  You have to have a large wire to the HEI and it needs to come from the battery via a relay.  The relay can be pulled in by that wire you found, but power to the relay comes from the battery.

[Gary Lewis]

DS-II has no timing, just fire.  The HEI module doesn't do timing either, just fire.  The distributors in both cases do the timing via the mechanical/centrifugal advance and vacuum advance.  It just so happens that the HEI module is in the dizzy so it has fewer wires running on the outside.

[Ray Cecil]

10-4. Any suggested relay part numbers?

[Gary Lewis]

Electrical/Ignition and then the Ignition Simplification tab and the One-Wire tab.  There's the discussion of wire size, a wiring diagram, and a suggested relay as well as a place to get battery power w/o running wire all around the truck.

[Ray Cecil]

Gary Lewis wrote

Electrical/Ignition and then the Ignition Simplification tab and the One-Wire tab.  There's the discussion of wire size, a wiring diagram, and a suggested relay as well as a place to get battery power w/o running wire all around the truck.

Links to the amazon parts are no longer valid. But I get it, all I need is a Single Pole Double Throw, 20A, 12VDC relay. I'll find one that has a mounting tab.

Also, the wires coming out of my wire harness don't look like that. I will snap a photo tonight.

[Gary Lewis]

It was the socket/pigtail link that was broken, but it's now fixed.  The link to the relay itself works for me.

As for your wiring, you don't have the auxiliary battery relay.  But you should have the big yellow wire with the green connector, although it won't be hooked to anything.

[Ray Cecil]

Gary Lewis wrote

It was the socket/pigtail link that was broken, but it's now fixed.  The link to the relay itself works for me.

As for your wiring, you don't have the auxiliary battery relay.  But you should have the big yellow wire with the green connector, although it won't be hooked to anything.

hmmm. that link took me to a mass airflow sensor. And I don't remember seeing a yellow wire, but I will double check again tonight. Thanks!

[Frank Wyatt]

I would take your DSII distributor if you are determined not to use it. It never hurts to have a spare.

[Ray Cecil]

white knite wrote

I would take your DSII distributor if you are determined not to use it. It never hurts to have a spare.

Private message me.