Fortlauderdalian Posted December 30, 2020 Share Posted December 30, 2020 I started the process of waking Ziggy from his long nap. I put a new battery in, checked the plugs and looked in the distributor. After doing some reading of previous posts I found that the distributor cap was shot, no prong sticking down looks like it got sheared off. I had a new one that came in a parts stash from another car and installed it. Still no spark. I’ve included some pictures of distributor and wires if anyone cares to chime in. The distributor looks like it might be toast and when I put a multimeter on the coil to test continuity I got a signal from the two inputs but when I tested a lead and the output I didn’t get a signal. On another note I noticed my fuel filter was dry so I got my shop vac to see if fuel would make it through the line. It did but my mechanical fuel pump doesn’t seem to be working either. The carb has a stock blue air box and filter I took off to see what’s going on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dlacey Posted December 30, 2020 Share Posted December 30, 2020 First problem I see is the carbon brush in the inside centre of your dizzy cap is broken/missing/depressed. theres nothing for your new rotor to connect to, The dizzy looks a mess, clean the points and it will likely spark and run...but its unlikely the vacuum and centrifugal advance will work smoothly...but is ok for now just to get it started Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fortlauderdalian Posted December 30, 2020 Author Share Posted December 30, 2020 (edited) That picture of the cap is the original, I replaced it as noted in the overly wordy testimonial above I also attempted to clean the points by putting a piece of folded sandpaper in between and moving it about Edited December 30, 2020 by Fortlauderdalian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dlacey Posted December 30, 2020 Share Posted December 30, 2020 Then to eliminate complexities of ballasts and relays, suggest run an extra wire from battery + to coil + (where the green wire goes) and then see if u got spark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fortlauderdalian Posted December 31, 2020 Author Share Posted December 31, 2020 Will running the wire from battery to coil cut the distributor out of the loop? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dlacey Posted December 31, 2020 Share Posted December 31, 2020 9 minutes ago, Fortlauderdalian said: Will running the wire from battery to coil cut the distributor out of the loop? No, the distributor is on the ground side of the coil. When the points open (disconnect ground) then the HT sparks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fortlauderdalian Posted December 31, 2020 Author Share Posted December 31, 2020 I’ll try it tomorrow and report back Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Self Posted December 31, 2020 Share Posted December 31, 2020 When you get the dizzy all cleaned up and you have spark...and before you buy a new fuel pump... Hie yourself down to your local auto parts emporium and buy some new fuel line. From your picture, you still have the cloth-covered lines between the firewall and fuel pump, and between pump and carb. They're probably leaking air because they probably have cracks that you can't see due to the cloth covering. Buy modern rubber fuel line and replace; clamp in place. Then pull up your trunk floorboard over the fuel tank, and replace that piece of fuel line. Don't lose the little plastic ferrule on the fuel pickup nipple at the gas tank end. Use clamps on this line too. A trick to prime one-barrel Solex carbs: see that big brass pipe sticking out of the carb's top? That's the air vent for the float chamber. When the car's been sitting for awhile, use a small funnel and pour a few oz of gas down that pipe. It'll fill your float chamber and the car will start almost immediately (presuming you have a spark!) and allow it to run long enough for the fuel pump to suck gas from the tank (again, presuming there are no leaks in the line and the pump is good). And clean up that dizzy; it should be spotless inside. All that corrosion powder is an excellent path for electricity to follow and short out your system. mike 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fortlauderdalian Posted December 31, 2020 Author Share Posted December 31, 2020 Thanks Mike, I always enjoy reading your posts. I tried the wire from the battery to the green wire on the coil. The orange light on the dash came on but no spark As for the fuel line I started replacing it and went to Auto Zone yesterday to buy motor and diff oil (they didn’t have transmission oil) and the fuel line was out of stock as well. What’s the best route for replacing the whole line to bypass the cabin? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Self Posted December 31, 2020 Share Posted December 31, 2020 10 minutes ago, Fortlauderdalian said: What’s the best route for replacing the whole line to bypass the cabin? You don't want to do that...the translucent plastic line that runs through the passenger compartment is self-sealing. If it gets hot it will melt and seal itself off (ask me how I discovered that!). The lines in both my cars are original, and I suspect the same in most 2002s that haven't been damaged or aren't tii's. It's the rubber lines that need to be replaced, and surely there's an auto parts store in Ft Lauderdale that has the proper 8mm (5/16") fuel line... The orange light on your dash (you have a pre-modell 71 car, I presume based on the carb) is your oil pressure warning light; isn't your red (alternator) light illuminating when you turn the ignition on? Presume that by now you've thoroughly cleaned the dizzy's innards, made sure the vacuum advance is working and the point gap is correct (.016"). Not enough point gap and the spark will arc across the points, thus not triggering the spark at the plugs. From your description above, you've run a hot lead directly from the battery to the + side of the coil and then when you crank the engine, you still have no spark. What you now need to do is trace the missing spark, beginning at the coil. Disconnect the coil wire from the dizzy and position it so it's close to a metal surface, like the valve cover. Don't hold it unless you're wearing rubber or heavy leather gloves or you might get a tingle. Have someone crank the engine over to see if there's a spark jumping from the end of the coil wire to ground. If there is, then the coil is OK, as are the points. No spark? Then with the ignition on, force the points apart with a screwdriver and see if there's a little spark there. No spark there, then either the coil or its wiring is bad. Spark then, clean/replace the points and gap 'em correctly. From there, work your way through the cap, rotor, plug wires etc; eventually you're gonna find the culprit. But do only one thing at a time; otherwise, when it suddenly starts working, you won't know what cured the problem. mike 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob D. Posted December 31, 2020 Share Posted December 31, 2020 21 minutes ago, Fortlauderdalian said: Thanks Mike, I always enjoy reading your posts. Just have to second that sentiment, and I don’t even have dizzy problems or a Solex, haha. I make a point of reading your posts because I always learn something interesting. Just a quick thank you from the peanut gallery. 😉 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Conserv Posted December 31, 2020 Share Posted December 31, 2020 1 hour ago, Bob D. said: ...I make a point of reading your posts because I always learn something interesting... . +1 And that is just one reason that we all love Mike S.! Best regards, Steve 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
esty Posted December 31, 2020 Share Posted December 31, 2020 Mike's not only smart but handsome too... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dlacey Posted January 1, 2021 Share Posted January 1, 2021 5 hours ago, Fortlauderdalian said: tried the wire from the battery to the green wire on the coil. The orange light on the dash came on but no spark No spark where? Did you pull the coil lead from the dizzy cap and (with gloved hand) see if that sparks to ground as you crank the car over? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fortlauderdalian Posted January 1, 2021 Author Share Posted January 1, 2021 No I pulled a spark plug and grounded it no spark at the plug after doing the wire from the battery to the spot you said, green wire on coil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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