I'm not getting any fire out of the coil. I have the two wires out of the harness (one with cloth cover) and the wire from the condensor/suppressor (?) mounted on the coil bracket to the +, and the wire from the points to the - terminals on the coil. I have power to both terminals when the ignition is keyed to "ON".

I'm testing the coil output by putting the timing light on the coil wire, but it doesnt light it up while the engine is turning over. So I changed the coil with a new one from another car thats in progress of resto, but hasnt been run. No difference. Is it possible that both are bad, or is there something else that could be wrong?

Electrical is not one of my strong points, so any help is appreciated.

Thanks
dave

sounds like you have a ground a problem. The coil is getting grounded out and not firing.

sounds like you have a ground a problem. The coil is getting grounded out and not firing.

close Joe. The coil is NOT getting grounded, therefore you're getting no spark.

open the distributor up and check the points. They are not closing. You need to adjust your point gap (dwell). With the points rubbing block on the high point of the cam, adjust the allen screw for a .030" gap between the points. Then, with the cap off and the key on, verify that when the points close, you get ZERO volts on the neg side of the coil. The next time the points open, you will get a spark.

thanks for the help

Like I said, I'm not good with electrical. I would not have thought that points would cause the coil not to work at all. I wouldve thought that the coil would still put out something, but maybe not fire the plugs with bad points. But I'll give it a try.

This is a very low mileage survivor car, so I dont think that its a dwell adjustment, but maybe its the points not working right from sitting for so long. The cap and rotor still look brand new inside, but I havent inspected the points closely.

As for setting the gap on the points when theyre up on the cam, is that something that can be done with the dist installed? I'll try new points, but is there any adjustment I need to do prior to installation, or are they at least close enough out of the box to get it to fire? I know the dwell is usually adjusted once its running, but I have to get it running first.

Im guessing the wiring to the coil is OK? I went to pull the coil off of my 70 RS Z that runs perfectly fine, and noticed that the wires to the coil were opposite, +/- wise. The 2 out of the harness were on the - side, and the condenser/suppressor and points were on the + side. But the wiring diagrams I have show the other way.

dave

While the most accurate way to set the points is with a dwell meter hooked up and the engine idl;ing, you can and should set them with a feeler guage if it won't fire.

You can usually move the top of the distributor (where the advance weights are) enough to get the points on and off the peak of the cam.

The 2 wires coming out of the harness, and the condensor if there is one mounted to the coil, should be on the PLUS side. The points and tach wire go on the NEG side.

Even a "calibrated eyeball" can make sure the points are actaully opening and closing. When the points are closed, your voltmeter will read ZERO volts from the neg coil terminal to ground. This is when the coil "charges". When the points break (open) is when the spark occurs.

Be carfeul when your testing. If you manually closed and open the points with the ign. on, the spark might knock u on your @ss! It won't do u any permanent damage tho.

Thanks guys. Put a new set of points in it and fired right up.

dave