Thanks to all for the help, especially David Lieb. Yes, the ground strap
was connected to the engine. And yes I have 12.1 Volts on the positive
connection to the coil. It appears that I have a bad condenser (and the
points needed to be cleaned). If I measure continuity where the points
actually make contact I can watch the continuity come-and-go as they open
and close. If I measure continuity at the spade connector on the outside of
the dizzy I get continuity all the time no matter whether the points are
open or closed (continuous or "dead" short). Does everybody agree it is a
bad condenser?
Thanks again,
Tad
-----Original Message-----
From David Lieb [mailto:dbl at chicagolandmgclub.com]
Sent: Sunday, November 30, 2003 10:51 AM
To: Richard Rivenbark
Subject: Re: 1275 coil
> 74 Midget 1275 ignition problems:
> Does it matter which terminals on the coil I connect the white and
> white/black wire? My coil has - and + terminals. I just got the clutch
> fixed and now I have no spark at the plugs. I tried pulling the HT wire
> that goes from the coil to the dizzy and attempted to get it to arc to the
> body of the car.....no spark. The car has not been started in about a
year.
> At that time I replaced the condenser and points and the engine ran great
> but I couldn't get the clutch sorted out.
> (1) Battery was bought today. No problem there.
> (2) Coil reads 3.1 ohms resistance between terminals. (Based on Haynes
> no problem there).
> (3) Time to troubleshoot the points and condenser.
Richard,
Yes, it makes a difference. The coil expects to see positive voltage at the
positive (+) terminal of the coil whenever the ignition is on. Given the 3.1
ohm reading you got, the coil is internally ballasted and therefore you
should see +12vdc between there and a good ground (the negative post of the
battery is handy there, use it). If you are only seeing around +9vdc, there
is probably an external ballast on the circuit.
The function of the points is to turn the ground off and on, so the signal
wire from the dizzy goes to the negative (-) terminal of the coil.
With the signal wire disconnected, you should be able to hook up that
afore-mentioned ohm-meter between the engine block and the signal wire and
see the points switch on and off as the engine turns over.
If it is continually open, there is a need to clean your points.
If it is a continuous short, there is a problem with the way the points are
installed or the condensor is dead.
If it is going on and off, hook it back up and do a voltage test across the
coil terminals. You should see +12vdc across them whenever the points are
closed.
HTH,
David Lieb
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