Mr. MAD writes:
> I have to get the car going by saturday for the local British Car day show.
Whoa! Better put a rush on this one... ;^)
> ...when I put in a replacement coil (new), it still would not fire. The
> car had been running fine and quit absolutely. Due to the sudden nature of
> the stop, even if it was not as spectacular as another recent net failure,
> I suspected the ignition. My question is, what voltage readings should I
> get from the + and - terminals on the coil? I know one side goes to the
> ignition and it should have 12 volts. What should the side going to the
> distributor read?
Points open: 12V. Points closed: 0V.
While you're inside the distributor checking the points, you can check for
basic coil operation: make sure the points are closed; remove the coil
lead from the distributor; turn on the ignition; with the free end of the
coil lead about 1/4" avay from the engine block, open and close the points
with a screwdriver or some other suitable tool - you should see a bit of
sparking at the points, and if the coil is working, a spark jump from the
free end of the coil lead.
If this checks out okay, then your ignition problem is in the distributor
or beyond. Of course, it might not be an ignition problem at all ...
(I assume you've already pulled a plug, held it against the engine block,
cranked the engine, and checked for a spark?)
> Since the car had been running great, I have not checked the points and
> condensor in depth yet. I am under the impression that these typically
> fade as oppose to catastrophically fail.
Points, condenser, rotor, cap, wires, spark plugs (tho not usually all at
once!) can catastophically fail - check 'em out!
Pat Vilbrandt John Fluke Mfg. Co., Inc. Everett, Washington USA
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