It's been one of those days that nothing seems to be going right. I installed a new set of points and condensor in my truck tonight thinking at least I could finish my day on a good note. Tried to start the truck and nothing. Did a basic check and discovered there is no spark between the points when I turn the key on and open them them with a screwdriver. However, the is a spark between the arm of the points and the metal plate in the distributor. I can't see any bare wires. What should I check next? It's cold tonight here in Michgan and I don't want to spend any more time in the garge than I have to.

 

Sometimes there is no electrical contact between the stationary point and the part of the points plate that it is attached to. It sounds like you have a bad set of points. Try the old one and see if it starts.

 

check the wire that goes into the distributor. It often cracks or breaks just inside the distributor housing where it's hard to see.

 

If your ignition is really old, you may have accidentally broke a wire.

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C0DF-12216-A .. Primary Wire (Motorcraft DW-10)

7RA-12216-A .. Ground Wire (Motorcraft ML-290)

There are two different sets of points used 1948/56.

Look and see if the new set matches the old set.

They look similar, but are not the same.

 

It sounds like you may have gotten some grease or oil on the contacts themselves. If you have an ignition file, clean them off with that. If not, a piece of paper out of your printer (cut to fit) should do the job. If you have some electrical contact cleaner, spread the points apart and spray them off. I don't think it's the primary wire or the points wouldn't arc to the breaker plate as you described.

Lou