Re: new to packards and have a lot of questions please help

Posted by HH56 On 2012/9/18 19:14:53

First would be check for 12v on the ballast resistor. The single yellow wire should be the feed and straight battery voltage from ign switch. There should be a lower voltage on the other side going to coil.

If that checks OK, then do the same at the coil. If points are open, voltage will be on both coil terminals, if points closed then voltage on only the side from resistor. If those are good, remove the wire from dist and touch to block and see if you get a spark. Perhaps the coil has failed.

If you get spark by touching the lead from dist to ground but not when cranking I'd look at the distributor again. There is a fabric covered wire inside between the points and outside terminal. Several have been caught by the fabric insulation rotting and then falling off when disturbed. Frequently the bad spot is out of sight but once that fabric fails, wire grounds and kills point action.