I fired up my new engine, it fired up immediately, no issues. I did the break in for 20-30 minutes, shut her down and changed the oil. During break in, the charging system was charging and I did get the characteristic burn off of oil residues etc and hotter coolant temperatures that leveled off to normal during the break in.

Now she won't start. It looks like my coil is making spark, but I'm not getting spark to the plugs. I have one of those in line testers with the light in it. I played with the coil wire connections, tried another coil wire, swapped out the button and cap, still no spark to the plugs (at least my tester says so). Should I get a real gap tester to see if the spark from the coil is too weak (i.e won't jump the gap)? The light is showing spark from the coil, but it's not exactly looking like an intense light event, maybe the spark is too weak?

I'm using a Pertronix flamethrower with the resistor built in, no ballast resistor. I've never had an issue with this coil.

Any suggestions?

Brian

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https://tinyurl.com/yynpj4v2

It's down to the module if it's EI or the distributor. Is the rotor still turning?

I'd 'nix the spark testers and whatnot... just hold a plug wire 1/8-1/4" from a clean ground and see if sparks jump while cranking.

Yes, rotor is turning, every time I pull the cap the button is in a different position and it's fixed, doesn't turn by hand, so I'm pretty sure the dizzy gear is OK.

I can try the jump the gap test, good idea.

brian

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https://tinyurl.com/yynpj4v2

1/4" min would be my standard for a good spark. And nice and blue, not a weak, yellowish color.

Inside of the cap clean and dry? Just making sure the spark is not being shorted/diverted.

Get an adjustable spark tester (such as Thexton #458 or AMPRO T71240). It's really useful to QUANTIFY coil output when you're trying to diagnose a problem, Chrysler electronic ignition should put out enough to jump a 1/2 - 5/8" gap. HEI systems can do 3/4 - 1". Read my post here .

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63 Valiant Wagon
225 - 4 bbl

I agree, that's what I was asking about, the gap type testers. And, BTW, very good article you wrote, thanks so much.

brian

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https://tinyurl.com/yynpj4v2

Yes, the cap and rotor are new, very dry (I live in CA, we're in a drought and it is practically desert here). The plugs are new, gapped properly, but I can pull one and see if it's fouled for some reason (maybe some oil got in there, it was a smoky break in for the first few minutes at least but I would expect that).

I'll pull the dizzy and check the plastic gear (goodness knows I've had problems in that department) but when I turned the crank to TDC, the dizzy button was pointing about at tower 1 (a little advanced, but where I had it, and where it ran/started up no issue during break in) so I think that's OK.

Hey, do me a favor, somebody send me a pm. My inbox is broken, I can't read the first message in my inbox, and DD sent me a message, so I want to read what it says. Thanks!

Brian

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https://tinyurl.com/yynpj4v2

I pulled the distributor, it appears to be mechanically fine, turns freely, gear is (still) new, reluctor gap still good and the button was pointing slightly advanced of tower 1 when I put the dampener at TDC (I checked the mark using a piston stop tool, it is true TDC).

As I said, I see some spark at the coil, just none at the plug wires (I tested a couple different ones to be sure). The button's tab is making contact with the cap's center contact, so that's not it.

I'll check the spark with the gap method, see if I get a good spark from the coil when I get time this week.

In the mean time, should I suspect the distributor's electronics? I have a volt/ammeter, are there tests I should run on the dizzy while I have it out?

brian

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https://tinyurl.com/yynpj4v2

Ah, I see, the article said the dizzy's coil should read about 750 ohm resistance when between the reluctor teeth, I'll check that. The article also said the Airtex aftermarket units have a 25% fail rate out of the box....hmmm

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https://tinyurl.com/yynpj4v2

You're headed in the wrong direction. If you have spark at the coil, there's nothing the matter with the pickup coil or reluctor. Your problem is in the coil-to-cap wire, cap, rotor, or plug wires.

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一期一会
Too many people who were born on third base actually believe they've hit a triple.

School me Dan, electricity is my weak point.

If the coil has spark, then yes, it sends said spark to the cap via the coil wire, then through the cap center contact to the button then the spark would jump across the gap from the button end to the tower and into the respective plug wire. So, I'm assuming at this point it's simply weak spark, because I tested the wires, they all have conductivity, and worked fine during break in, but now my inline tester is showing no spark getting to the plugs. I swapped out caps, buttons, coil wire, etc. same result. I suspect the coil. I'll do a spark jumping the gap test when I have time, had to go to work.

Am I on the right track?

Brian

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https://tinyurl.com/yynpj4v2

Weak spark is a possibility, but so is a short to ground at the top of the coil (where the coil wire plugs in), or at the distributor cap/rotor.

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一期一会
Too many people who were born on third base actually believe they've hit a triple.

I can't see how that would manifest itself in the current set up, there are no wires or wetness or any other means for such a short in the vicinity of the coil output prong or center tower of the cap

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https://tinyurl.com/yynpj4v2

It is possible to have a distributor rotor "burn through" & allow spark to jump from the cap's center button to the rotor contact & then to the distributor shaft. Or you could have one of several ignition coil faults that could cause "weak" spark output. Or, or, or... Gotta do some more testing to figure out what's going on. (carbon track damage to the cap or coil can also cause the spark to "short out" at higher kV demand- & this doesn't require dampness to manifest)

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63 Valiant Wagon
225 - 4 bbl

Yes, I checked the cap, rotor, etc. all in good shape (new), no carbon tracks of any kind.

And yes, more testing is needed for sure.

I'll report back my findings...

Brian

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https://tinyurl.com/yynpj4v2