No Spark .....help resuscitate my 02 pls...

[Chris_B]

2 hours ago, Schnellvintage said:

Is there 10.5-12v at positive side of coil in the run position?

This is a good question. Typically, resistor/coil mismatch is not going to stop your motor from firing, except perhaps in really cold weather. It seems odd that your motor just died suddenly- suggests sudden component failure. 

[AirDoc]

3 hours ago, airborne85 said:

Maybe try replacing the spark plug dist/coil wire.........The one that goes from distributor to coil......funnier things have happened

 

 

ira

 

New wires...however...I also verified that wire is good...swapped with the old wire back/forth  Thanks.

[AirDoc]

6 hours ago, jimk said:

Is there 12v at the coil positive with key on?  It will be 12v resistance wire or not.  No 12v, chase for the open connection/circuit.

 

We have 11.95v measured / confirmed..power with key on.

[AirDoc]

8 hours ago, TobyB said:

Test first- you need to see if you have switched ground

at the negative coil terminal.  You can do it

with a small light bulb- unhook the coil negative,

and wire in an indicator lamp, dash bulb, something like

that that draws 3-5 watts.  It should blink on and off

when you crank.

 

When that doesn't happen-

Time for a set of points.   

I bet both your electronic modules are toast.

 

t

 

 

@TobyB I put a small Trailer LED Lamp in series as you mentioned....the light stays on with ignition..and during attempts to crank...no blinking on/off ...whatcha think?  Thx

[Schnellvintage]

Did your tach wire , located at the back of the tachometer gauge get shorted or fall off and short against the body.. a loose terminal could fall off / short and kill the engine. It’s happened to me before. It comes off the negative side of coil and won’t allow the points to work properly.



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[Chris_B]

This suggests that your dizzy is not functioning as required. I just read through this thread and I can't tell whether you are running an aftermarket ignition or the stock configuration (sorry- perhaps too many beers on my part). 

[AirDoc]

7 hours ago, '76mintgrün'02 said:

The square tail light cars have a resistor wire feeding the coil.  It replaced the external ceramic coil on the ealier roundier cars.  The wire looks like a speaker wire, with a clear jacket that's usually yellowed with age.  The wire is spliced into the loom at the firewall, just behind the distributor.  If you are using a blue coil, you do not want to add the resistor wire to it.  You can dig out that splice and take full 12V from there and run another wire to the coil, to bypass the resistor wire.  I'd leave the resistor wire in place though, in case you ever want to run a black coil.  Assuming the resistor wire is still good.

 

Which plugs are you running?  Resistor plugs + R5 rotor + resistor wire + blue coil = too much resistance.  (Toby even says so).  Problems usually arise at higher rpm though, so I've read.  You have something else to contend with, it seems.

 

 

During the smog delete, the resistor wire was bypassed from the fuse box to the coil (new wire).  thanks for the input

[AirDoc]

46 minutes ago, Chris_B said:

This suggests that your dizzy is not functioning as required. I just read through this thread and I can't tell whether you are running an aftermarket ignition or the stock configuration (sorry- perhaps too many beers on my part). 

 

Current configuration is backdated to stock (points, condenser).

[AirDoc]

49 minutes ago, Schnellvintage said:

Did your tach wire , located at the back of the tachometer gauge get shorted or fall off and short against the body.. a loose terminal could fall off / short and kill the engine. It’s happened to me before. It comes off the negative side of coil and won’t allow the points to work properly.

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  @Schnellvintage  Just removed the cluster.....ground wire is connected surely...however I disconnected from tach..still no spark...unsure this would make any difference.   thanks for the input/brainstorming.

[ray_]

That tach wire comes directly from the (-) on the coil. Grounding it will ground... things....

['76mintgrün'02]

Could you please post some photos of the inside of your distributor.   

I like points. 

It sounds like yours are not opening.  

 

You've tried a few different condensers, right?  Apparently condenser quality control is lacking these days. 

 

I hear that's what drove @wegweiser replace his beloved points with Pertronix! 

[Dudeland]

If you manually open and close the points, do you get spark?  Like open the top,  put it to a point where the points are closed and then reach down to manually open and close the ponts, does it spark?

 

If it does, then look at the cam on the dizzy. Make sure that they are gapped properly.  I had a dizzy on a VW bug that had a mostly stripped screw on my points,  A little bit of running they would work loose enough to change the gap and cause the car to misfire. 

 

[Chris_B]

 

You've tried a few different condensers, right?  Apparently condenser quality control is lacking these days.

 

Someone correct me if I am wrong, but I believe the condenser only functions as a buffer, to keep the points from frying. A bad condenser will not stop the ignition from firing unless it is a dead short to ground. A quick test is to disconnect the condenser and see if you get spark. The alternate and preferred test is to check the condenser with your multimeter to make sure it is not shorted to ground.

[Dudeland]

I have a pertronix set if you need/want them.  I will even lend it to you to see if it fixes it.   PM me if you are interested.  

 

 

[Mike Self]

Are you quite sure your points are opening--and opening at the proper time and the proper gap?  Since you've traced the voltage path from ignition switch to the coil and distributor, and your description of sudden failure, not a gradual engine dying with coughs and sputters, it sure sounds like the coil simply isn't discharging spark--and that's due to points not opening.

 

mike