74 Bay Window Westy - No Spark

[Leiif]

74 Westy, 1800, dual carb, sig goes to rebuild

Was headed for a short drive and started the Bus up. Seemed fine and moved to a different parking spot so as not to push exhaust fumes toward the neighbors. Just before shutting off and going in to get a couple items for the errands I had to run the Bus cut-off.

Would not restart. I thought maybe I flooded it and waited a few minutes then tried starting with the pedal down. Cranks fine but no spark. I have a kill switch under the dash and checked the wires. All good.

Check for spark from coil, 1/4 inch gap to ground, NO.
Power to the + side of coil, YES.
Continuity between + and - , YES.
Power from - side to ground, YES.
Even tested a second coil I keep under the front seat, NO spark.
I get 6 to 8 ohms between each end of coil wire to dist, just to check wire.
I get 6 to 8 ohms between + side and center of coil.
I get the same between - side and center.

(6 to 8 is a guess from memory. I have an old small analog meter and there is def some resistance. Needle is about half way to the 0 mark on rt)

Took out distributor, without changing adjustments, and all seems good.
Did not check plugs as dist isn't getting spark.
Am I testing this wrong?
Totally baffled.
Any help appreciated.
Thanks

BTW - I read through about a dozen threads first
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My Rebuild Thread

[busdaddy]

Connect your test light between the 15 and 1 terminals on the coil (+ & -), does it blink when you crank?, or remain steady?
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[Leiif]

Test light? I have a meter but can rig up a test light with a taillight bulb. I will do this test tomorrow as its dark and buggy here in FL.

Will update after test.

I take it it should blink???

If it does, then what?

If it doesn't, then what?

I actually have your reply along the same lines open for review(Thu Mar 27, 2014 11:45 pm)

Thanks for the reply
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My Rebuild Thread

[busdaddy]

A blinking light means the points are working, a steady light means they need cleaning since they aren't making contact. A little scrap of brown paper bag with no greasy fingerprints on it makes a perfect point contact polishing media, turn the engine until they close and lift them with a screwdriver to pinch the paper, then slide it back and forth between them, when you pull it out make sure no fibers remain trapped.
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[Leiif]

I tried between + and - on coil and got nothing, no light at all.
Between coil + and ground light dims while cranking but no blink.
Between coil - and ground light dims while cranking but no blink.

Something is wrong. That is for sure.

Thanks for the help thus far.
Appreciated
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My Rebuild Thread

[Leiif]

Anyone else know what the symptoms indicate?
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[busdaddy]

It says to me that the points aren't pointing, dirty contacts?, missing or broken ground strap in the distributor?, broken green wire?, adjustment way off? (gap too big), distributor not seated in drive therefore not turning?

Turn the engine with the alternator nut until the points close fully, then connect the test light between + & - on the coil and poke the points gently with a screwdriver, watch the light. You can even try bridging the contacts with the screwdriver to see if the light goes on.
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[Leiif]

The bus ran for 1 to 2 minutes before dying.
Ran normal.
Points are gapping.
Groundstrap good.
Distributor/rotor turning fine.
Will do that check
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My Rebuild Thread

[Wildthings]

Remove the distributor cap, set the distributor end of the coil wire 1/4" from a good ground, turn the engine to where the points are closed, and now with the ignition on, open and close the points with a piece of wood or plastic. You should get a spark at the coil wire whenever you open the points.

If you have someone else crank the engine for you, you should see the points opening and closing and if its dark enough you should see a tiny spark across the points as they open.

[Leiif]

The Bus runs.

Here's what happened, what I found and did.
After finding some ohm numbers that apply to a replacement coil I rechecked the coil. The coil was not giving the right numbers. I realized after looking closely that my meter was a ohms X 1K, meter. That is a good thing. I reset the meter needle to be exactly on zero when grounded. The coil was ZERO through the primary winding. BAD.

I tested the VERY OLD (20 to 30 yrs) spare coil and had resistance. Not as much as the one I found online but at least it was in the right direction.

Both coils had resistance between Primary and Secondary which is good.

Another thing I found was an oily + post and after getting the bad/newer coil off I could hear oil when I shook it and you shouldn't. Seems like 1/3 to 1/2 of the oil is gone. Luckily I found the box and receipt BUT CarQuest was bought out by Advance so we will see if they honor the "Limited Lifetime Warranty".

Anyway, after I put the OLD coil in I tested with the light and got the bulb on but it still didn't act like busdaddy said it should so I pulled the distributor and replaced the points and condenser. I had 4 sets of points and examined them closely, one set was new. I put the new set in and kept the best of the other 3 as backup.

Put distributor back in checked the test light and low and behold the light goes on and off as it should. Cleaned everything up and started the bus. She runs and is happy to be functional again.

Thank you BusDaddy for the help. Greatly appreciated.
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[Leiif]

Someone may ask why pull dist?

If you take the whole thing out its a LOT easier to replace and adjust points and condenser.

I take the adjustment bracket and dist together so no adjustments should be needed on timing. One nut and it all comes out. Be sure and clean as much as possible around it before doing this and plug the hole up with a rolled up small rag or paper towel immediately. Then clean some more to make sure no dust or debris is anywhere near the hole before putting the dist back in.
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[busdaddy]

Good to hear!
And pulling the distributor is much easier than installing points with it in place, but...........

[Wildthings]

Did you check to see if the rubbing block had broken off your old set of points? That is a common problem with Bosch points these days, there are better points out there. I run Echlin ventilated points at present myself, and have me enough spares to last for hundreds of thousands of miles. If the points are opening and closing but not passing current, they will often have a corroded look to them.

[Leiif]

[Abscate]

Get the Muir book and read through ho within stuff works. This thread hopefully cleared up a lot of things that will be helpful, next time
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[Leiif]

I have 3 manuals. Clymer, Bently and Muir. Read all 3 on ignition issues.

Quick update. Advance honored the warranty on the CarQuest coil.

busdaddy, Wildthings and Abscate, what are the best resources for instructions dealing with RUST? My bus has been living outdoors near the beach for over 8 years and I need to learn how to replace metal panels, fix rust in every corner and cranny and protect what is still good. Any good recommendations?
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