Re: Electrical systems

Posted by HH56 On 2023/2/9 19:52:41

First, did you do this test suggested in post 12 and if so what were the results.

Before going much farther test for shorts. Put the meter on volts, one lead to ground, the other to the coil terminal coming from the ign sw. You should have around 6v with the ign sw on. Put the lead on the other terminal connecting to dist. If the points are open you should have the same 6+ volts and if the points are closed, close to zero volts. Crank the engine and the volts should swing from 6 to 0 as the points open and close. If nothing moves and volts stays high, either the points are not closing or there is an open wire. If it stays at 0 there is a shorted wire or condenser or the points are not opening.

If you have a voltage substantially less than 6v say around 5 or slightly over when cranking, there is a voltage drop that needs to be found and corrected or the spark will be very weak and may not be strong enough to jump the plug gap. Voltage drop is usually caused by dirty connections, too small of battery cables, a battery not large enough, improper timing, or a dragging starter that is pulling too much current. Doing the tests -- particularly the cranking voltage tests -- will let you know if there are points or voltage issues.

Second is this a car with a recently running engine or are you trying to start an engine that is in a long sitting car.