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Power to and out of ballast, power to coil, test light and volt meter confim. There is no spark from the coil, both old and new one installed. Just purchased new one today. Confused....help.
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If you can leave two black stripes from the exit of one corner to the braking zone of the next, you have enough horsepower. - Mark Donohue -
what kind of conversion? If it doesn't have points, that's where I'd start poking.Flying south, with a flock of bird dogs. -
why would I look at the points if there is no spark out of the coil? I ask, not to be disrespectful but to clarify something I may not know.
I suspect the battery doesnt have the juice to light it off, it has all the right voltage but I suspect the amps are poo....could I be too far off base here?If you can leave two black stripes from the exit of one corner to the braking zone of the next, you have enough horsepower. - Mark DonohueComment
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Seen a lot points wear, get wet, get crap between them, or corrode to the point where they no longer "break", the coil never gets to discharge.Flying south, with a flock of bird dogs.Comment
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gotcha, this is a electronic conversion but I think it has issues as well. First thing I am going to do is take the battery in for a test to see if the amperage is good....if thats good then I may or may not burn the car to the ground...wait, no thats the last step....I want to get rid of the distributor and pertronix system in it. I found a new dist and electronic guts for $140. If that doesnt work THEN I will burn the car to the gound...If you can leave two black stripes from the exit of one corner to the braking zone of the next, you have enough horsepower. - Mark DonohueComment
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Yep. Even points that look okay (no tit or pitting, obvious corrosion) can have a thin coating of something like oxidation on them that prevents them from functioning.
If that is the case (and the gap is somewhat correct) put a dollar bill between them while closed, rub it back and forth a dozen times, and try again.
If they are not closing (or opening) then start there.
If they are pitted or have a "tit" on them, file lightly, reset the gap, and try again. Also pickup a replacement set ASAP....filing isn't a long term answer, but can get you home or to work.
Be real sure to make sure the coil is the correct type. There are "Resister coils" and "Non-resister coils". The difference is one has an internal resister imbedded in the top plastic stuff. If you try to run one of these in conjuction with an external resister, it will start real hard, run like crap briefly, then probably have you dragging it home on a chain.
Fortunately the solution is simple - remove the external resister and enjoy, or replace resister coil with the correct non-resister type.
Keep us updated! We'll best this beast!
EDIT: Oh crap. After typing all that I see your post that it is a conversion with no points.
Anyways.....we've run a bunch of those point conversions. The china cheaper ones are junk, don't last long at all. The pertronix brand is pretty good, but you don't DARE hook them up backwards, not even for a micro-second. Fries them right now, and no smoke or fried wiring/bakelite smell either.
Dare I say it? How about an HEI conversion? Too sacreligious?Last edited by STINEY; October 25, 2013, 07:15 AM.Of all the paths you take in life - make sure a few of them are dirt.Comment
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NO resistor, NO points...... basic round coil...ran on it before...should run on it again.
Test light on both +/- sides of the coil...light....crank the car...no flickering, solid light...yet no spark...from the coil (new and old coil---same result)If you can leave two black stripes from the exit of one corner to the braking zone of the next, you have enough horsepower. - Mark DonohueComment
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Stiney - file them until the pit is gone and they last a good while... at least until you can get an HEI. lol.
SpiderGearsMan may have a comment on the Pertronix. Probably not a nice comment...
This is worth checking (from Pertronix site) :
- The position in which the Ignitor red wire is attached to is not supplying sufficient voltage.
- The air gap between the module and magnet sleeve is too great.
- The ground wire inside the distributor is not connected.
- The wire connections are not tight.
- The polarity is not correct.
Something to check anyway. Don't cost nuthin.
Last edited by Beagle; October 25, 2013, 07:22 AM.Flying south, with a flock of bird dogs.Comment
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you can test the coil by grounding the "-" side of the coil; take the coil wire off, put the end near a ground, then briefly ground the "-" side of the coil. (and it should have power to both sides, that's how they work - the points ground the coil closing the circuit and it discharges.)
whatever you do, do it momentarily.... you can fry the coil doing this test if you dead ground it for long periods of time.Last edited by SuperBuickGuy; October 25, 2013, 07:29 AM.Doing it all wrong since 1966Comment
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Brand new coil....
So, to clarify...in order for the coil to fire...it not only needs voltage from the battery/ignition system but it must get a signal to fire from either a electronic unit or the points...is this a correct statement?If you can leave two black stripes from the exit of one corner to the braking zone of the next, you have enough horsepower. - Mark DonohueComment
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Coils fire by losing voltage. The standard tesla coil design is a magnetic field is generated by running power through the primary winding of the coil and when the power is disconnected when the magnetic field collapses it generates a HUGE momentary voltage in the secondary windings of the coil, which the spark plug is attached to.
So simply having voltage ran through the coil isn't enough, and actually having continuous power in the coil can burn them up. Points and electronic ignition systems break the ground connection of the coil to kill power so always have a positive voltage fed to them. Checking it with a test light does nothing because there is always a positive power wire connected. You have to check the ground side.
Look at pictures or such of points ignition and it makes my description look real obvious, when the points are closed (flat of the lobe) it is setting up the magnetic field in the coil, longer it charges the stronger the magnetic field, then when the points ride up on a lobe point and open up, it breaks the ground side of the circuit, field collapses, etc etc. Electronic conversions operate the same, just solid state electronically.
I've never tried it with an electronic system, but you might be able to trigger the coil by simply grounding and ungrounding the negative side of the coil. I've rocked a distributor with points back and forth on a lobe to achieve that before or with an MSD box simply grounding and ungrounding the points input wire.
*I may have primary and secondary backwards, but that is the jist of it.Escaped on a technicality.Comment
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neato...makes sense to me.
Okay, so...going to decide on a new distributor...which puts me back at square one, exactly where I was over a month ago. I never did like the one in the car anyway nor did I have much faith in that pertronix unit.If you can leave two black stripes from the exit of one corner to the braking zone of the next, you have enough horsepower. - Mark DonohueComment
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For less than $50 - a reman'd stock electronic replacement is tough to beat - you may have to modify the advance mechanism to really optimize the combination - but given how wonky the advance mechanisms can get in an old distributor - you're probably way ahead for the price of a tank of gas.There's always something new to learn.Comment
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yes, there needs to a be a break, that is the kick..else it wallows, doing nothing. Describing by normal instructions learned seems backwards to me.. but that is electricity in all its glory. Instead of all the testing, a tach sitting on the fender can tell you rheostatically where what is doing good or bad.Originally posted by Beagle View PostPreviously boxer3main
the death rate and fairy tales cannot kill the nature left behind.Comment
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