Pete Phillips Posted August 13, 2004 Share Posted August 13, 2004 Perhaps someone can tell me what I am overlooking. I am working on a nice '39 Special that has been in a garage and not run in about 5 years. When I take out the #1 spark plug and crank the car, it gets no spark when I try to jump it from the plug to the engine block, plug wire attached. I have fire on both sides of the coil. I have even replaced the coil with another one, to see if one coil was bad. Made no difference. The ignition switch is on. I have fire at the points, because the test light comes on when I touch it to the points, with ignition switch on. I primed the carburetor with gas and starting fluid, but cannot get the engine to fire once. It cranks over fine, so I do not think the timing is off by much. All spark plugs are new and clean. I replaced the condensor with a new one. Made no difference. The points are clean, not burned nor worn. They look new. Plug wires appear to be new and are not cracked nor brittle. Distributor cap is clean, with no cracks, and no corrosion on the copper contacts. Distributor rotor is new and in good shape. The engine has compression, because I can feel it at the top of the carburetor. I have cleaned out the gas tank, and there is fuel in the fuel pump bowl. I'm not too concerned about whether the fuel pump is pumping fuel at this point, because it should at least fire once or twice when I prime the carb or spray ether in it and crank it. But I get no spark at the plugs. What am I overlooking??? ANY suggestions are appreciated.Getting frustrated...Pete Phillips, BCA #7338 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles2 Posted August 13, 2004 Share Posted August 13, 2004 Offhand, I would guess that your points are dirty either with corrosion or with oil that has creeped onto them over the years. All your test light tells you is that you have current to the points; it doesn't tell you whether it is passing through them (In fact, if the test light lights when the points are closed, it likely means that current is not passing through). Open the points a bit and wipe them with mineral spirits, then rubbing alcohol, polish with #400 grit sandpaper and then another wipe with alcohol and give her a try. I hope it is this easy; good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Old Guy Posted August 13, 2004 Share Posted August 13, 2004 Pete, the first thing I would do is pull the coil wire from the cap and turn the engine over and see if you get spark . If you don't, then you know the problem is not from the cap out. If you do not get any, the next thing to do, is short across the points and see if that does the trick. Sometimes even new points don't work. Have you run anything through the points to get the oxidation off/ I usually use 400 paper and it will help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Old Guy Posted August 13, 2004 Share Posted August 13, 2004 I was typing when Charles sent his message, but we think alike, he is just a better typist Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Phillips Posted August 16, 2004 Author Share Posted August 16, 2004 Joe,I did as you suggested, and had no fire on the primary coil wire, so that pointed to the distributor as the culprit, even with a new condensor installed.Today, I finally pulled out the distributor, and installed a used, spare one. The car started almost instantly, and runs great! Charles, I think you were right--the points in the first distributor were probably glazed over. It had no spark when the points opened, but I could get a spark to jump across them when I shorted them out. In any event, it runs fine with the second distributor, that was being saved for parts. Thanks to all for the help.Pete Phillips Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Old Guy Posted August 16, 2004 Share Posted August 16, 2004 I am glad you found the problem! Ignition s can be a pain to trace the trouble. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles2 Posted August 16, 2004 Share Posted August 16, 2004 Glad to hear that you've got it running and glad for the feedback on how you fixed it. Enjoy the car! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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