Hi Guys, Just finished re-assembling my engine after painting it. Now I have no spark from the coil. Of course I didnt take pictures. Can anyone help get this beast started? 1955 Century. Thanks, Gene
First, check; that the resistor is not burned in two. (It's in the ceramic insulator on the firewall).
Have you checked to make sure there is power at the coil yet? The ignition power goes to the + of the coil and the - on the coil goes to the distributor, as you crank the engine over the points open to cut off the path to ground and close to complete the circuit 4 times every revolution for an 8 cyl and 3 times every revolution for a 6 cyl. A test light or a dwell meter will confirm this for you, a dwell meter is a great way of checking your point adjustment without popping the cap. I think the setting for the 8 cyl was 30 degrees? Maybe you already know that, you didn't adjust the points already did you?
Did you pull the distributor when you cleaned the engine up? If you did, did you mark where the rotor was pointing when you pulled it? Or did you set the engine at TDC and install the distributor with the rotor pointing at the #1 wire post?
Get a test light and hook it up to the positive side of the coil; - it should light with the ignition on. If not, there's your problem, either a ballast resister or one of the fusible links let go.
If the car ran prior to the work, then lets go back to step one and re-check what was done when it was taken apart. Its probably something very simple that was overlooked. You definitely need a digital volt ohm meter or at the very least, a test light. There's not much to the ignition system, so diagnosing it shouldnt be too difficult. Did you remove the engine harnesses from the car? And the ignition wires all in the right place starting at #1 on the cap? Not to sound like an ass, but you have them going the right way on the cap?
Get a test light. If you don't have one, a 12 V bulb will work. Disconnect the wires to the + terminal of the coil. Turn the ignition on and touch one of the wires that you disconnected to the terminal on the center of the bulb base or use a test light probe. Ground the base of the bulb or the test light lead. one of the wires should do nothing, the other should make the test light bulb light up semi-dim. Now, test the wire that did nothing; hook your test light to it, and have someone crank the engine. the test light should be on fairly bright. If that all works, your problem is not in the car's wiring. It has to be coil or distributor, or the connections.
Ive gotten bad parts right out of the box in the past. Chineese made points and condenser. Just a thought.
As has been said, you're spinning your wheels until you can check things out with a test light or multimeter. Devon
