No spark L head

I have no spark on my Lhead. New cap and rotor/wires points and condenser. The only other thing I can think of is coil. Now, I had the distrib out and went through the whole tdc 5 oclock thing. If I was 180 out it would still fire right???? Kinda baffled ANY IDEAS?????????

 

yes you would still have spark, just not at the right time. i assume you have tested the spark with a plug not installed to check it, have you checked for power to the coil with a voltmeter. Check for the ground as well with a continuity meter.

 

yes I did check with plug out .I have not checked the coil with a volt meter

 

Sounds crazy, but make sure your points are set and that they are opening and closing fully.

 

Dave check where the wire comes out of the dis there an insulater there it might be grounding out there. Did you put the ground strap on the motor to the frame? If your still having trouble i have another dis i can send you .

 

1. Go back to basics (I see you have pretty much done that)

My rule is the more baffling the condition, the simpler the fix.

When did it last run? --go through what changed since it ran last?

find a known good coil, try old condensor, check ballast resister

 

Yup ground srap is on. wire out of dist looks fin too

 

no sparky they're not!! Now where

 

tried another condesor, how can I check to see if the wire is grounding out?

 

Do you have a DVOM? (digital volt-ohm meter)

First disconnect the hot lead and measure voltage with key on. If good, disconnect the lead and test for continuity or resistance from the external terminal to the internal terminal.

You may have a short to ground to the case which isn't allowing the condensor to charge. Although I find this highly improbable, you never know. If it is grounded, move on to next step

This distributor is very easy to tear down by removing the base plate. (You had to take it off to change the point set) The terminal has an insulator where it passes through the case. Maybe there is an issue there.

I actually found an advance spring missing on mine and one weight froze up!

 

I will try but I can tell you this.. I put a test light on the (-) of the coil and turned over the engine. Nothing! I do have 12V at the (+) of the coil. Does this point towards the coil being bad?

 

If you've done everything mentioned above, maybe its the ignition (key) switch or wires leading to the switch. on my mustang, i had someone crank the motor while I held the coil plug wire just off the cap. while cranking, there was no spark, but as soon as cranking stopped, a quick spark would jump. in the cranking position, no spark was being delivered. as soon as it stopped cranking, the motor spun about a half rotation and delivered a spark. i was then able to jump the soleniod with the key in the run position and it started right up. went out and got a new switch and its been fine ever since. check it like i did. if you dont get that quick spark jump when the motor stops cranking, it still could be the switch. you can pick one up at autozone for like 10 bucks. like i said, also make sure all wires and connections leading to the switch are good. on a non computer controlled, carburated vehicle, a lack of spark is usually a simple, inexpensive, quick fix. but it can take some time to track down. good luck. keep us posted

 

Yeah, the coil should energize when (-) is jumped to ground with the key on. Is this a tune up or a re-wire? Is there a Ballast?

My Ballast is in-series from the key to the coil (+). I use a push-button start (on-off key)

 

I dont belive there is a ballast. Update!!!! The insulators for the wire on the distributor was grounding. I now have spark at the points. cant check at the plug because I have noone to crank engine over. Maybe I will try the test light on the plug wire.At this point I think the coil is ok.the test light flashes off and on on the (-) side of the coil when cranking. If at this point, I do not have spark will it still point towards the coil?