Ignition system Question

Hello, I recently got a new engine wiring harness... everything seems to be hooked up correctly, but when I turn the key,.. my starter has a very hard time turning over, and there seems to be no spark going to the ignition coil/distributor... so i disconnected the yellow wire that splices into the pink wire going to the ignition coil, and then turn the key.. the starter turns over much faster like normal. Can someone here help me understand why the starter has a hard time turning over and there is no combustion in the chambers when i have everything hooked up "correctly" ? I dont want it to be the coil, can these burn out? just a few weeks ago everything was working out fine, had a spark, starter was turning over when all hooked up. the new harness i got was off of a two door smaller size wildcat, and the connectors to the regulator also look different.
thanks, Andy

 

Hi Andy,

I don't know if I can help or not. Can we get some more information about your car? What year, make and model, and engine - transmission?

 

Hey thanks for the reply, My wildcat is a 1964, with an automatic transmission, and im new to cars, this was my uncles car and I inherited it when he passed away. I do believe its a 425 7.0 litre engine. Id be happy to post some pics of what everything looks like, im gonna go out there now

 

Thanks Jason, it was starting right up, but now it seems like there is no power getting to the coil or maybe not enough, I only know very little about cars to begin with, I have read about the resistance wire, and seen on the diagram I have that it connects to my ignition switch and to a neutral safety switch. Ill post some pictures of what i have going on. When iI have that yellow wire connected, the starter slows wayyy down, almost sounds like it doesnt wanna crank at all. I disconnected the wire and then cranked the starter and it sounded fine again, so Maybe its the battery? but the battery reads 12.5 on the meter, and also 12.5 when I connect it to the charger, I HAVE been charging this battery for some time now though, maybe the battery is messed up somehow? i dont know much about batteries. I also havent bought the manual for this car yet... plan on it very soon. thanks for the help!

 

Sorry for the late replies! Ill be on here checking more often now! Im gonna go take those pics ill be back:bglasses:

 

ou: This is after i untaped the harness that came from the two door wildcat.. I dont know how the wires were set up in that cat but every wire was there. i just hooked it up this way seemed like common sense at the time, but maybe there was a better way to hook up the harness, but It seems like when it was still taped up, the wire going to coil wasnt there, Im sure it was but i couldnt find a diagram for the other car. also the connector to the voltage regulator has an extra wire on it that my old harness didnt have.

 

Yep, seen that. When you put full 12v on the coil and it cranks slow, it is because the coil is shorted out and pulling all the power from the starter. Proof is when you remove the wire, it cranks at normal speed.

Well, I waited 20 minutes but no one took the bait!

You didn't give much history or back story on the car. My first impression was that the timing was too fast and trying to kick back. Have you fooled with timing or distributor?

 

How Did I manage to short out the coil? And yes, before I switched the wires out, the firing order was wrong, and engine was backfiring quite a bit, so i rotated the distributor just a tad to advance the timing a little, because smoke was shooting from the exhaust... at first black, then a bluish smoke. so when i advanced it, flames shot from the carb. I had no clue that the firing order was wrong, until I went out to the car after getting frustrated, and noticed it had been switched around. Since then Ive put it in the right order.

 

Thanks Everyone, Ill keep you guys updated. Makes perfect sense... Why would the coil short out? Thanks again! when i get the new coil ill Hook er up and let ya know how it goes!

 

Don't sweat the coil, it shorts out every time the points close, just check your firing order again and retard the timing. Set timing with light after you get it running. Let us know how it goes.

 

I retarded the timing a little, and the starter sounded like it was turning over a little faster, but thats about it..., I checked the battery again, this time it says its 12.55 and the post got warm to the touch after a few cranks... bear with me Im completely new to this stuff. I replaced the starter myself before, got the carb rebuilt, and it fired right up. no engine probs, still need to change the oil, but thats about it, my fusebox is pretty rusty, and the car could use some new connectors and I believe there is a wire under the dash that runs to the fusebox that has been melted a little, its a red wire. Im not sure how this works, but my uncle had a killswitch in the car before, and no condenser on the voltage regulator, soim not sure if the alternator even works. i had it hooked up before, like i said, and it ran, but i only drove it around the block to test it out.