i have a 68 f-100 and i have replaced the plugs, plug wires, points, condenser, and coil, i believe the timing is correct but i have no spark. can anyone tell me where i should look or what it might be?

 

You should have 12 volts at the points and the + side of the coil. Are the points shorted?

 

Convert it to duraspark and be done with melted points. You should have 6-7 volts at the coil or you'll cook points, or any other ignition module. Rich

 

Can you get a spark at the coil wire?

Sounds obvious, but make sure you've got a rotor in the distributor and that it is making good contact from center to each outer connection.

Other things to consider might be the starter relay. The ignition circuit for the coil is routed through it while cranking.

Could also be the ignition switch.

Good luck and let us know what happens.

 

no i do not have any spark at the coil wire. im not sure about the starter relay, i really dont know how to check that or the ignition switch( which is not factory and is kind of rigged up), but when i turn the key the engine will turn over. also with my 12 volt tester i have power to and from the coil but i am at a loss until i can get a haynes or chiltons manual so i can go through the wiring diagrams. if you have any suggestions please let me know i cant wait to get this thing running and looking like it did 40 years ago.

 

Replace the points and make sure the fiber washers are there and intact.

 

the points are brand new and i have 6 volts at the points, but what the hell are fiber washers?

 

I think Alex from GA is talking about the felt pad that goes in the center of the distributor just below the rotor. This is to hold a small amount of oil to lubricate the points cam and centrifugal weights in the distributor. Shouldn't have anything to do with the "sparking".

I'm still leaning towards a faulty starter coil contact or the ignition switch. Get a hold of a wiring diagram and figure out how to trouble shoot from there.

Cheers!

 

Actually I was talking about the insulator on the points where the wire connects. If they're new points I defer to the others for help.

 

The coil receives power from the points in interrupted pulses and ups the voltage and sends it to the center of dist cap and thru the rotor to the appropriate spark plug wire. You may have a bad coil or coil wire or bad rotor in dizzy.

 

One thing did this just happen ?? Or tell us..NOW See if you can get it started by Hot wiring it..Put jumper Hot wire from +side of battery to + side of coil. Now crank the motor, should start. if no start recheck little ground cable in distributor points plate to ground, if this is broken it may not start. ???
orich

 

i have no idea if this is a new problem, this truck was given to me by an old man i met while fishing, he said it ran 5 years ago when he parked it. all of the wires are good i have ohmed them out and i have checked voltages at all of the terminals. i am starting to think i have a faulty coil or that i bought the wrong one because, i was led to believe it was a 289 and bought 289 parts, after running the vin i discovered that it is a 360 so i am going to buy a coil for that and see what happens. other than that i do not know what else it could be.

 

Hey, I haven't read any one mentioning gapping the points, You may or may not have done that, I don't know. Is there spark at the points when the key is in start position and the engine cranking over? =no spark at points = no spark at coil.

 

should be the same coil, Points? remove the (-) wire from the coil, then with key on you will have voltage to the (-) side of the coil. If yes put the dist. wire back on coil. Then check for voltage points if none then remove points wire. Now check wire for voltage. If you do have, then look for broken ground cable or you may have shorted points or bad condenser. Points setup on the high side of the cam at about 0.17 With the smog pump it's about 0.21 ...Get some feed back on this..
orich

 

well fellas i feel like an idiot, i sadi screw it and bought a new distributor and on the way back from the parts store i was lkooking at the way it was wired and realized that the original one was wired together wrong, so i redi the connector end and it fired right up, now it has some ticking in the valve cover so i am investigating some stuck valves or maybe a stuck rocker arm. but IT RUNS!!