Ignition wonders......
 

I'm having a hard time deciphering just what you are saying. Some wires pulled out of the what? How many wires, and what is your ignition setup?

Put down the hops, step away from the truck and try again in the morning :-X14

I responded at net54 Bobby. Call me if you want.

Just to confirm some recent findings. After talking with Hyp last evening, we did the only tests that daylight/tools would allow. The batteries in the ohmmeter were toast so best we could do was with a test light. Verified that the coil post (DIST) should go to the dizzy/points. And that the wire connected to the (BATT) post is from the ignition. The only other wires on the setup are a green line coing from the Tach(aftermarket) to the (DIST) post on the coil. And there is what I assume is a condenser mounted next to the coil. Hyp thinks this is a radio suppressor thing ? No idea was there when I got it.

So with just a test light we turned the key on and points open or closed I get a signal on both the DIST/BATT posts on the coil. Then we tried the test while cranking and same results. Constant signal at both posts. Does this sound as though things are correct ?

You mean, you get power at both posts on the coil?

That means that you have an open connection between the points and the coil.

See, the (+) side of the coil (I'm assuming that's BATT) gets power. With the points OPEN, you will see power on the (-) (DIST) side of the coil.

With the points closed, you should not get power at the (-/DIST) side of the coil.

That is, if you have one side of the test light grounded to the engine/frame, and you're hitting the coil posts with the other (pointer) end.

Take the test light, ground one side, and with the points OPEN, probe the points where the wire from the coil connects to the points. If you don't get any power there, the wire from the points to the coil is bad.

I'll give it a shot tonight. What your stating matches what Mike said as well. However that is not what we found. The - or dist side of the coil is always showing it's hot when the key is in the on position and or cranking over. No pulsing to it. So maybe the points & or condenser are toast ? Should the tach move while cranking the engine or only while the engine is running? I noticed it doesn't move while cranking the engine over. I may try taking the tach out of the equation this evening as well just to see what happens.

Depends on the tach I guess - they usually do wobble a bit when cranking. The condensor isn't the problem. If the condensor was bad, it would short out and you would see NO voltage at the (-) side of the coil.

The points GROUND the (-) side of the coil. If the points are closed, and you still get +12 on the (-) side of the coil, you have an open connection between the points, and the (-) side of the coil.

Either that, or the ground is bad between the dizzy and the engine (almost impossible) or the points and the dizzy housing (somewhat possible) or the ground is bad between the engine and the battery (not possible if it's cranking).

I suspect the wire going from the points to the coil is broken. Just take a piece of stranded wire and go directly from the coil to the points and see if you get spark when cranking.

great advice, we'll give it a shot. thanks

Lol
 

simple as that. Krewat and Mike, thanks for listening to a complaining little ahaha yeah my guess is when the wires from the Xri snapped they had internal breaks. There was a small section of wire left which I was using to attach the points dizzy and repaired Xri one to while swapping them in and out in trials. At first the engine ran with the points dizzy but was rough, I guess handling the wire finally ruptured what minimal connection was there. Connected the solid wire 40yr old piece lol to the coil and walla saw spark at the points while moving the dizzy. Hooked it up with a new connector and she fired right off. After warming up she idles well and fired right off at the touch of the key with what looks like 14-16º of timing at idle(650) anything less and she starts to get the hives ? maybe the damper has moved a little ? We'' try the positive stop method and mark her for final say so.

On the up side, I'll admit I dunno **** about electrical.. however I must of done ok on the rebuild because I was trying to break the bitch to be honest LMAO!! Few beers and a fowl mood had me flogging her to 6k several times when the belts finally came off forcing me to shut it down. I think she ran rough after putting the belts back on do to a cool intake full of really rich fumes. But now with some fire and a little rest she sure seems solid. Hell I didn't think the 352 could take 6K lmao ... guess thats what I get for thinking. In the end I'm glad she's ok cause there's nothing like a running backup motor for that 390 when the time comes. :-drink

That's great Bobby! I'm glad you got that sorted out.

I have to admit, I like the way breaker-points fire right off the bat. It's fun to watch someone who's never had any experience with them as you bump the key.

Crazy part is the dizzy in it now was in an ebay parts lot like 2 years ago. I tore it down and cleaned it like new then boxed it as a backup. Figured the shaft was tired and all. Hell the thing fires off better now than when it had the Xri in there. I pleased. Just need to get a rubber seal for the dizzy. Or hijack the one from the old one. HAHA Planning to buy a new dizzy for the 390 build so hopefully we'll see an improvement in ignition related areas there. :-drink

If you don't have a lot of side to side play in the shaft...drive it 'till it drops! LOL