Troubleshooting no spark

[Simeon]

2 hours ago, '76mintgrün'02 said:

 

People often confuse crimping with skwishing

 

 

Amen. 

 

Such a good spot on the shorting. Amazing what difference a photo makes. 

 

Oh and for the interest of our American brethren, RHD cars were NEVER fitted with ballast resistance ignition. 

Edited April 16, 2019 by Simeon

[Mike Self]

Wiring the ignition through a pushbutton on the dash must have been a PO's anti-theft device, as that was never factory!   or at least not on US cars...And those pushbutton switches do wear out--witness all the problems owners have with a hazard flasher switch that won't stay off.

 

mike

[Austin weiss]

Hi guys I am also having a no spark condition on my 1972 2002. I was trying to understand what the course of action was from this forum and this is where I got. The car was sitting for about 7 years from its last start. The car does not have a Bosch coil ( I’m not sure which one to get either). I checked the ground straps from the battery and all is well. The car turns over fine but no spark. I verified the coil is getting 12 volts and outputting 12 volts. I then tried the test light from the negative coil terminal to a ground and nothing happened. I guess indicating that something inside my distributor is wrong. The inside of my distributor has some weird stuff going on like silicone over the ground and a corroded wire that I attempted to clean. The car has fresh rotar, cap, plugs, and plug wires. I’m not sure where to go from here. 

[2002iii]

1 hour ago, Austin weiss said:

Hi guys I am also having a no spark condition on my 1972 2002. I was trying to understand what the course of action was from this forum and this is where I got. The car was sitting for about 7 years from its last start. The car does not have a Bosch coil ( I’m not sure which one to get either). I checked the ground straps from the battery and all is well. The car turns over fine but no spark. I verified the coil is getting 12 volts and outputting 12 volts. I then tried the test light from the negative coil terminal to a ground and nothing happened. I guess indicating that something inside my distributor is wrong. The inside of my distributor has some weird stuff going on like silicone over the ground and a corroded wire that I attempted to clean. The car has fresh rotar, cap, plugs, and plug wires. I’m not sure where to go from here. 

Please look at factory blue book repair manual in the articles section: technical articles: history and Reference. You can find how to properly diagnose the ignition system.

 

My guess is probably the condenser (silver cylinder on the side of the distributor) has gone bad. But I would check the coil and wiring first.

['76mintgrün'02]

10 hours ago, Austin weiss said:

The inside of my distributor has some weird stuff going on

 

How weeeird is it?

 

Photos please.   

[Dudeland]

On 6/10/2022 at 9:27 PM, '76mintgrün'02 said:

 

How weeeird is it?

 

Photos please.   

.... always photos.. 

[WhoIsSea10]

Hate to bring you guys back into this thread, but I have a situation where only cylinder 1 is not firing.

 

Setup: 123 Ignition BT, Bosch Blue Coil (resistor wire removed), and IE 8mm plug set.

 

I used a timing light to make sure the timing is correct. And also to check spark. #2, 3, & 4 show spark with the timing light but # 1 dead. This makes sense since the car shakes at low idle and sounds like a Harley when it rev (not mad about that). I've checked the wires and even replaced them with no results. Coil is firing. The spark plugs look ok with the exception of #1 being saturated with fuel.

 

I suspect there's something strange happening with the distributor, but It's been on the car for a few years now and it's never ran smooth. Is it possible that I've been chasing my tail and this 123 Dizzy is defective? Hard to believe but I'm reaching the end of my patience with this thing. I did have slight oil under the cap, but I believe that is due to an issue I had with the distributor housing/oil sensor.

 

Currently, I've ordered a new 123 (I know they're pricey) with the modified shaft to prevent oil creeping up from crank case pressure. I've also ordered another set of NGK BP6ES. 

 

Any idea what else I can do to sort this out?

[Chris_B]

If #1 is not firing and you have replaced the wire, it has to be something with the dizzy. Have you swapped the cap?

[Hans]

Swap #1 and 2 plugs. See if problem moves. Same with wire. Or just test with plug pulled. But how did you time it if #1 is dead?

Edited August 2, 2023 by Hans

[WhoIsSea10]

8 hours ago, Chris_B said:

If #1 is not firing and you have replaced the wire, it has to be something with the dizzy. Have you swapped the cap?

I was thinking to use the cap from the old distributor that used to be on the car. It fits ok but the notches dont line up. I may try that later today to eliminate that factor

 

1 hour ago, Hans said:

Swap #1 and 2 plugs. See if problem moves. Same with wire. Or just test with plug pulled. But how did you time it if #1 is dead?

I timed it by hooking the light to a different cylinder. Idled the car around 1400 and set my Innova 5568 light to match the timing advance I have set on the 123 Ignition app. I think I did a quick baseline curve so 14° at 1400 just to get the timing light advance to match.

[WhoIsSea10]

Update: Tried a new distributor cap. No luck. Checked the timing. No Changes. I have new spark plugs but I'm waiting to put them in till I figure out why cylinder 1 isnt getting power. I'm at a dead end. Might just bite the bullet and take it Carl in La Jolla to have it solved. I prefer to learn and work on the car myself, but I've exhausted all the possibilities that I'm able to do myself. If it does end up at his shop, I may have him do a valve adjustment if he thinks it's necessary. 

 

If anyone has any input at all, please let me know.

[Chris_B]

This is one of the more bizarre questions to come up on the FAQ. I don't really know the answer to this, but I believe to get a signal on the plug wire with a timing light, the plug wire must be connected to a grounded (and perhaps functioning) plug. Have you swapped out the #1 plug?

[WhoIsSea10]

3 hours ago, Chris_B said:

This is one of the more bizarre questions to come up on the FAQ. I don't really know the answer to this, but I believe to get a signal on the plug wire with a timing light, the plug wire must be connected to a grounded (and perhaps functioning) plug. Have you swapped out the #1 plug?

Yes, I have switched it out. I actually changed out all my cables because I had IE 8mm set still in the box. I’m leaning towards having Carl at La Jolla Independent look at it. I really think it’s a possibility that the 123 Ignition is faulty. It’s sounds improbable but not impossible. Did a quick double check on the timing today with the timing light.

[Hans]

3 hours ago, Chris_B said:

This is one of the more bizarre questions to come up on the FAQ. I don't really know the answer to this, but I believe to get a signal on the plug wire with a timing light, the plug wire must be connected to a grounded (and perhaps functioning) plug. Have you swapped out the #1 plug?

I was trying to get my head wrapped around using  #2 to set timing. I guess it would work. However, this does not sound like a timing problem

 

The most bizarre question for me is why OP hasnt  popped a known plug into #1. If 2 ,3, and 4 work, the obvious things to check are the #1 wire (EVEN IF NEW), and the plug. 

[jimk]

7 hours ago, Hans said:

using  #2 to set timing. I guess it would work.

No.  Cyls 1 & 4  fire at the timing marks, Cyls 2 & 3 fire 180 degrees away from the marks.

 

No 4 can be used but the 123 needs the initial synchronization set with no 1 per the 123 instructions.  No 4 can be used to do the engine running final synchronization .

 

If No 2 were used, and a timing light on a crankshaft/flywheel mark, the timing would be 180 degrees advanced (distr would be 90 degrees off)