Wayne :
The only thing that could cause the "smoke to come out" would be if you
accidently connected both wires to the same coil terminal, or your new
coil is internally shorted. Possibly the wire inside the cap was
defective to begin with. All that happens with the coil connected
backwards is that the engine doesn't run quite as good (and the
difference is somewhat hard to detect).
Note that the wire from the dist cap to the points is a special 'super
flexible' type of wire, since the vacuum advance forces it to flex every
time you open the throttle. (I think the term was 'Litz' wire, but
that's probably wrong. It resembles copper plated string.)
The '+' and '-' markings on the coil refer to battery voltage, so the
correct connection depends on whether your car is positive or negative
ground. For positive ground, the '+' terminal goes to the points. For
negative ground, the '-' terminal goes to the points. In either case,
the other terminal goes to the wiring harness (and eventually to the
ignition switch and battery).
Connecting a voltmeter (or test lamp, if thats all you have) from the
points side of the coil to ground can tell you a lot about whether
everything is OK with the points. Turn the engine until the points
close, turn on the ignition, check the voltage from the points side of
the coil to ground. It should be under 1 volt (test lamp should not
light). The hot side should measure either 11-12 volts (no ballast
resistor) or 6-9 volts (ballast present). Now turn the engine until the
points open. From either side of the coil to ground should be 11-12
volts (lamp lights brightly).
BTW, did you know there's a searchable archive for the entire list ?
It's at http://www.listquest.com/lq/search.html?ln=triumphs
Randall
59 TR3A
Wayne Brazinski wrote:
>
> Hi!
>
> I'm sure this question has been asked before, but I'm blowed if I can find
> the answer in my email archives.
>
> The auld girl is finally ready to start (hopefully!). When I rebuilt the
> ignition I replaced the distributor parts (points, HT wires, condenser etc.)
> and added a new coil. Today when I tried to start the car I could not get a
> spark. I noticed that the wire coming off the distributor (white with black
> stripe?) was disconnected. Not really thinking I attached it to the -ve
> terminal of my new coil. The (white) wire coming out of the wiring harness
> (drivers side inner fender) was connected to the +ve terminal of the coil.
> The new coil only has -ve and +ve labeling on the spade connectors (no sw
> and bg label).
>
> As soon as I turned on the ignition smoke started pouring out of the
> distributor!! I thought the car was on fire! After getting things under
> control I realized that the wire which runs from the points / condenser
> junction to a plastic fitting (connects to the white wire with the black
> stripe) was burned out like a fuse!! I have replaced the wire, and now have
> the following questions!
>
> a) Where does the white wire with black stripe go on my new coil - +ve
> or -ve?
> b) Where does the white wire from the wiring harness go ?
> c) Where can I get a good fire extinguisher? - just kidding :-)
> d) Is anything else likely to have been destroyed by my "mistake"?
>
> There used to be a spark before I tried to "fix what wasn't broke"!
>
> Any help would be greatly appreciated!
>
> regards,
>
> Wayne
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