spark, but not in the right places

R

rusted

Member
Car has been setting for about 6 years. Grandson and I have been working on it and now trying to start it. If I open and close the points with my finger, spark every time. When I turn the key on and crank it with the starter, it sparks once and that is all. No spark when we hold the coil wire near a head bolt. Will a coil or condenser go bad from setting?
 
Another area where corrosion can form is at the stationary point block where the point screws into the block. I had a distributor that checked out with an ohm meter, but would not allow current to pass. When the stationary point was unscrewed the threads were found covered with corrosion.


Tom Endy
 
We cleaned the points. No different than before. Good spark opening and closing points with my finger. 6.25 on both sides of amp gauge and both sides of coil with key on. Grandson is learning troubleshooting and how to scratch his head in frustration.
 
Why am I not getting spark from the coil wire to a head bolt? with the key on, 6.25 volts on each side of the coil. We may just take the distributor out and clean everything as Tom suggested.
 
Check Point Gap.
When you open with your finger, you are opening more than the cam will move the points.
It might be that the cam is not opening the points, therefore no spark. I would think that if you can generate spark by manually opening the points, the problem is in your distributor. Also check rotor and be sure that the spring is making contact with the button on the distributor cap.
Good luck with your diagnotstics
 
What I think I am understanding is that you are getting a spark at the points, but not from the high tension lead. The fact that there is a spark at the points means that the primary of the coil is intact. If you are not getting a spark at the high tension lead it means the problem is in the secondary of the coil. Try a known good coil.


Tom Endy
 
Tom, will coils go bad from not being used? As soon as I can get a good coil I will try it. Are all 6 volt coils the same or do I need one from one of our vendors? By the way, the grandson cannot believe that smarter people than grampa , from all over the country can help get this thing running.
 
Just to be clear, where are you seeing a spark? If at the points only, then you probably have a bad coil. If from the high tension coil wire to a head bolt, I'd go for the condenser. It's probably neither, but those are good guesses. Do the points perhaps bind and not make/break reliably? Are they adjusted properly?
 
Corley, I am getting spark at the points when I open and let them close with my finger. If I turn the key on, the first time the points open when being turned with the starter, I only get one spark and no more. I can see the points open and close, they are set at 20 thousand and clean. I cannot get spark from the coil wire to a head bolt. I got another coil tonight and will try it in the morning. The grandson now knows how the points and spark to the plugs work. He is learning!
 
A weak, failing battery will do this. The battery seems OK because it will turn the engine over with the starter, but there is not enough juice left to power the ignition. Try turning the engine over with the crank instead of the starter, with the switch on, and see if you get a good spark from the coil wire.

W. Michael
 
My 28 Model A did the same thing after being parked during 6 weeks of wet and humid weather. Good spark at coil wire when I opened the points by hand. I cleaned the points several times and still had good spark at coil wire when opening the points by hand, but no spark when the starter spun the engine. I hand cranked it, and it fired right up on the first pull. After it ran a couple minutes, everything was fine.
 
We installed a new battery.getting a good hot spark at the points but not the coil wire. Going to put the new coil in today.
 
GREAT NEWS! Put a new coil on and as soon as I turned the key on we seen a jump in the amp gauge that we hadn't seen before. Stepped on starter and in 8 to 10 revolutions she fired right up. The grandson cannot wait for his first driving lesson. Thank you for all your help in finding the problem.
 
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