Ok, if you've been keeping up, my car quit running..just wouldnt fire...So today i replaced my POints/Condensor...still wont start. So now thinkin its the coil. Both wires going and leaving the coil are hot..My dad wasnt sure if they should both be. There is nothing coming out of the coil though. No spark. GUess thats probably it, just thought id see what the rest of you thought.
I think you're right. The coil should only have power on the + side. 12 volts cranking and 7.5 running. The neg side is the "signal" that the coil receives, from the points, to discharge a spark. So it would seem there is a short in a primary or secondary winding inside the coil. Good luck:TU:
I think the points just complete the power circuit for the coil by grounding it when the points touch contact. The coil will be hot on both sides if the points are open. This means that no spark event is taking place and the coil is not energized. Close the points and your coil circuit is complete and if you are using a test light it should not light up on the dist side post of the coil, since the coil has a ground through the points. Be careful probing while doing this ...... you will have a tickle of 20,000 volts or so to play with if you grab something while it's energized. :eek2:
Load will read on both sides of the primary side of the coil, they are connected with the primary windings. Points just ground and unground the system to allow for coil charging. A points system will only make enough voltage, up to about 6,000 volts max, to bridge the plug gaps, no more, no ,matter the coil used, no matter the coil avertizing hype. The tests to do are: Voltage to and through the coil, should have 11.00 or so with the key on, engine off. Engine running, same test, will show lower ops volts at coil plus side to between 9.0 to 10.50 if OK. Points, connect lead wire to ohm meter, check for grounding by rotating the crank by hand, should have, then lose continuity, 8 times for each per two crankshaft revolutions. Always continuity, points/wire grounded, open, points too far open, not closing/dirty contact faces. Disconect the wire from the coil, condenser from the points to do this test. Condenser, no easy check, replace. There is also a ground wire on a GM points dist, from the points plate to the vacuum advance hold-down screw, if disconnected, can lose spark, check, fix if damaged. Must ground points/condenser to the main distributor body. Easy check, pull cap off, alligator jumoper wire the points plate to an engine ground, like a carb stud, spin engine while holding coil wire 1/8 inch off something engine cruounded, like a carb stud, etc. Spark, need ground, no spark, other problem, see above. Coil and feed wires run excessively hot, coil is layer shorted ihnternally, toast, replace.
One of the mods should consider moving this to the Buick FAQ section. Dave - That's some pretty thorough advice - as usual!!:TU:
well. They couldnt test my coil, So i got a new MSD Blaster coil...And guess what. Still no spark. Coil is getting power..points are how they should be, Cap and rotor are fine...not the spark plug wires. Im completely clueless now.
I once helped a neighbor with a similar problem. It was on a 70 Caddy. We replaced the points... nothing. We replaced the coil...nothing. Then we replaced the points again.... presto, it works. It was a set of bad points, even though they were brand new. Bought a '69 Caddy limo with a no start. It had power going to the coil but it was too low of voltage( We didn't realize it at the time, worked on it for days). Ended up that the resister wire going to the coil pos side was bad. An easy check for this would be to connect a jumper wire to the pos side of the battery to the pos side of the coil. DO NOT make this a permanent fix because constant 12 volts to the points and coil will burn it out. I once pinched a coil lead wire in between the cap and base of the Distributor on my 67 GTO this caused it to short out, check for broken wires. Also owned a 70 Torino ran like total crap. Replaced the cap, rotor, points, and spark plugs. Still ran like crap. Ended up that the spark plug wires were junk although they looked ok. Checking the wires for excessive resistance is easy with an ohm meter. I forget the rule of thumb, it varied for the length of each wire, because they are carbon core supression wires. Please let us know what it was once you get it solved, hope some of this helps!
If that is a RED Blaster II or III coil, p'n's 8202, 8203, 8223, then TAKE IT BACK AND GET YOUR MONEY BACK. These coils can be easily identified by the "MADE IN MEXICO" sticker on their bottoms. Those RED Blaster coils have internal insulation issues you really don't want to have to contend with. They change resistance when heated, overload modules, fry points systems, etc. The chrome ones are OK, p/n 8202. Better ones are the less expensive Accel 8140 or 8140C. Made in the SAME factory as the MSD 8200, these coils don't have insulation issues. Might do this simple test, key in the run position, disconnect distributor black wire from negative side of coil, connect jumper wire to that coil terminal, but don't attach the other end to anything. Take the coil wire out of the distributor cap ahd hold it so it can make a spark to something grounded, then repeatedly take the free end of the jumper wire and ground/unground it. Spark, problem is in the black wire/distributor, no spark, coil/power feed to it. Let's go over the basic wiring for a GM points distributor, just for drill. Depending on what year it is, it will have two different positive coil terminal connects: Up until 1969, a two wire system was used to get power to the coil, One was a resistance wire from the firewall to the coil positive term, the other was a solid wire from the R rterm on the solenoid to the positive side of the coil. This system wiorked like this: Key in start position, R terminal was engaged, full voltage to coil positive term, key to run position, power delivered through the resistance wire from firewall connector to the coil positive term. 1969-later, one wire from firewall to positive term on coil, handled both start and run key position voltages, resistance, not full copper wire. Black wire from distributor, to negative side of coil, handles grounding/ungrounding of the coil to make it produce spark at the proper time. If this wire is grounded somewhere in its length, no spark. If there is a tach or other accessory that is fed by this wire, pull it off and see if you get spark back. If so, problem is in the accessory, it's grounded someplace. A note about the wire connect at the points: The wire connector on some points sets is a screw, good deal, cannot get the wire connectors into it in wrong, or grounded. Some other points sets use an iknsulator and the points return spring to hold the wires in place, it is fairly easy to get the wires on the grounded side of the insulation, and not on the right side of the second style, which would ground the points feed wire and cause no spark. Also, there are two distinctly different designs of points sets, divorced and unitized. Divorced is a separate point set and separate condenser, unitized is both components in one package. Unitized has many bad issues, and should be avoided, stay with the separate components.
Alright heres the update..was going to try to hook a wire straight the battery..check the power wire. BUT, i found a ballist resister on the negative side... Im guessing whoever installed the Accell Super coil put it on the wrong side..Would explain why my points dont last very long. So, i bypassed it... AND IT STARTED!@!!! for about 2 sec, then died....Now its back to not having any spark. the wire i took off the resister had about an inch and half of bare wire showing...covered in oil grease..and all that, not to mention it was touching metal..So..Im thinkin the wire is bad. that is going to be next thing to do. Thanks for your help guys, btw haha this board is great.
Large style Accel SuperCoil needs both stock and the extra ballast resistor to operate correctly. INstructions stated to add the resistor in the box with the one on the car, to positive side of the coil, as you have found out. If the coil doesn't have about 2.40 to 2.50 ohms resistance into it, it will burn the points rather quickly. I'd think not as quickly as you have experienced, but quick all the same. Do you have a stock coil to check the system with? Can you borrow one to make the check with?? Substitute a stocker in place of the Accel and see if you have spark.
Well spent about an hour playin with the MESS of wires..Tested the power wire..didnt have 12 volts...But after messing around abit, did it again, and it did. So we hooked everything back up...Every looked good..all the wires hot in the right places..Turned it over, to make sure points opened and close..Went back to not having 12 volts at the power wire, We are thinking the negative has a short inside the dist. or that the Dist itself is shot...Either way, about to go get an HEI at a salvage yard.
