I have replaced coil 3 times with the same results. No spark!! Test light from positive to dist. side of coil lights at all times. From ground to dist side, never lights. Is dist bad? Also has new cap, rotor, plugs, wires, points and condenser and the dist is a holly. Am going nuts!! Please HELP!!!!

 

It sounds like it doesn't have power to the distributor. You should have a single pink wire that is a resistance wire, it provides about 6-7v at the distributor.

 

Verify that both of the small wires are on the starter relay and that they are on correctly. i.e. check for full battery voltage on the + terminal of the coil while the engine is cranking and about 1/2 battery voltage there with the key in the run position. Also check to be sure that you have not shorted the points or a wire inside of the distributor.

 

i have 6-9 volts with the key on and the wires to the starter relay have been triple checked. the resistor wire has full continuity. the points are not shorted and the wire from the distributor is good. any other ideas?

 

Obviously something is wrong or you would have a spark. It is not likely that you have had 3 bad coils, but it is not impossible. There are a couple of things that could help to isolate the problem. #1. Get a piece of fairly heavy guage wire, #14 would be OK, and hook one end directly to the battery (+) and the other end directly to the + terminal (ign) on the coil. Turn the engine over using the starter. If you have no spark under these conditions, either the coil is bad or you have a problem in/with the distributor or wiring. #2. I don't remember from the previous post, but did you verify that the rotor is turning? If not, pull the distributor cap and make sure that the rotor is turning when the engine turns over. #3. If it is, then with the distributor cap off and the rotor removed, bump the starter until the points are closed. Then with the key on, or with the jumper on from the battery to the coil, take a screwdriver and manually open and close the points. Do you get a spark? Post the results from these tests and we can go from there.

 

There is no spark at the points. Also the headlights do not work but the bulbs are good. parking lights do work. Could whatever is causing the headlights not to work also be causing my engine problems?

 

You did not say under what conditions you have no spark at the points. I cannot see it from here. You have to be the eyes and ears. If you had the wire from the plus side of the battery to the plus terminal on the coil and still had no spark at the points, check for continunity from the - side of the coil to the points. That wire could be broken, shorted or disconnected.

 

If I read your original post correctly, you connected a test light across the two primary posts of the coil, correct? That is, the + and the DIST (or -) posts. And the light was on at all times. If so, there is power to your coil and you have a short somewhere between the DIST (-) post on the coil and ground. I suspect your problem is inside your distributor. Have you replaced the condenser? Have you checked inside the distributor to make sure the points or the conductor strap isn't grounded?

 

I am having the same problem only when I do step #1 I get spark, so what is wrong?

 

Shot in the dark; 12v to the coil pos, and neg side to points? This is what it should be.

 

that is what I have

 

Welcome to FTE Adam

This is where a shop manual, or a Tune-Up manual really comes in handy, because it tells you step by step what to check, and quickly isolates where the problem (at least generally) is. Process of elimination. You can divide the distributor or ignition system in half, more or less, for test purposes.

First pull the coil wire from the distributor cap and hold the terminal about 1/4" from a head bolt or ground somewhere and crank the engine over with the key in RUN using a remote starter switch. Otherwise might need an assistant. There should be a fat blueish spark that will jump at least 1/2". Don't do this any longer than the time necessary to make the test, it is hard on the coil.

If no spark then the fault lays in the primary wiring circuit, from the ignition switch itself, the primary (low voltage) wiring, the points, condenser, or coil itself. If there is a spark at the coil wire to ground, though no spark at the plugs when coil wire is reconnected to the distributor cap, then the fault lays somewhere inside the distributor cap, rotor, spark plug wires, or plugs themselves.

Couple things about points and condensers - contact points went bye-bye for some good reasons. Make sure the points when closed show continuity with a test light connected between ground and the movable arm of the points. They can get a layer of skunge on them really quick (overnight) in high humidity. After a few years sitting, they will almost always need dressing with a point file. Make sure they are clean.

Second, is the condenser. This is simply a high voltage 0.22uF capacitor but the imported el-cheapo no name replacements available today are no good and are often defective right out of the box, or fail within just a few minutes. The condenser is a critical part in the points ignition system.

Always use top quality ignition parts - distributor cap, rotor, points and condenser, they cost a little more but there is a big difference. Make sure the little braided copper ground wire is present on the breaker plate, and check the insulation on the primary wire from the - neg terminal of the coil to the points isn't frayed and shorting to distributor housing.

 

Alright sounds good I will check all of it out and get back to you on it, thanks again.