Did I fry my CA coil?

[gintaras]

Readings are as follows..

Be aware, this is for the CA coil, my numbers are way different than others..
15 and 1
.8 just a little high.. range in the book is .55 - .75

4 and 1
3.09 normal

4 and 15
3.09 normal..

About 9 months ago, I was driving and lost the head of a valve, this caused the spark plug to get smashed and grounded out the electrode.

Fast forward to today, new heads, rebuilt engine.. I still have NO SPARK..

If I put the inductive pickup end of a timing light on the coil wire, I get SOME intermittent pulses, but not steady..

I get NONE when the pickup is attached to number 1 spark plug wire, ZERO

I verified 13+ volts at terminal 15 with the key on the ON position..
I changed the distributor to a known, working one..
I tested the coil as listed above, and followed the Bentley to test the ICM, and it tested good per the book.
I installed a new rotor, but I also tried with the old rotor

Is there anything else that I may be missing? What could cause a no-spark/no output from the distributor?
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1979 Deluxe Westy in Mexico Beige

[SGKent]

make sure the distributor is locked in place - meaning that it is all the way down and that the shaft spins when the engine is turned. If could be that the drive dog is not seated so it is not properly spinning. I don't think grounding the plug would have killed the coil unless you left the key on for a long time while you were troubleshooting it.
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“Most people don’t know what they’re doing, and a lot of them are really good at it.” - George Carlin

[gintaras]

Yes, it is fully seated.
I was hoping that there was something else that i could look at that perhaps I am missing.
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1979 Deluxe Westy in Mexico Beige

[gintaras]

What causes the coil output to pulse? is it a crank position sensor? I always thought that the center coil wire was always energized, but I guess not since mine pulses. How do the pulses from the coil happen to line up with the rotor meeting the plug terminals?
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1979 Deluxe Westy in Mexico Beige

[TomWesty]

[SGKent]

if it is the 1979 California system you have a hall effect sensor that triggers a pulse to the coil. See page 33 of the FI manual in technical. https://www.thesamba.com/vw/archives/manuals/afc_f...Manual.pdf
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“Most people don’t know what they’re doing, and a lot of them are really good at it.” - George Carlin

[Wildthings]

There is a test for the Hall sender in the Bentley, but if you swapped distributors this should have eliminated the Hall as being the problem. Did you try a different rotor and cap when you tried the different dizzy?

I would suggest checking one more time that the distributor shaft is properly seated in the slot in the drive.

Have you tried a different set of plug wires?

[SGKent]

[gintaras]

Ran all of those tests, everything checks out. I verified the sequence as well.
I have not yet tried a different set of wires, that's next.

I can only work on this on Saturdays, and 90 minutes from home, so I had to wrap it up for the weekend. I'll order wires and get them delivered by Saturday.

Thanks
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1979 Deluxe Westy in Mexico Beige

[SGKent]

have you done other tests like check fuel pressure, put a teaspoon of fuel in the S-boot or plenum to see if it fires?
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“Most people don’t know what they’re doing, and a lot of them are really good at it.” - George Carlin

[ChrisFred]

Are you sure you are not getting spark? Silly question, but test if all plugs or one is just not firing.

When was the last tune-up that adjusted timing and checked dizzy points?

[gintaras]

[gintaras]

[ChrisFred]

[gintaras]

[Randy in Maine]

I think you need to test the ignition module. I think it describes how to do it in the Bentley manual for Vanagons. I will poke around it at home tonight to see if it is indeed in there.

That cable that goes between the distributor and the ignition module really likes to chafe IIRC.

Order up the Bosch noid light to confirm that the injectors are firing and leave the fuel pressure gauge on the fuel rail as you sort this out.

[gintaras]

Well, I don't know what fixed it, maybe I was just being impatient at first.
I ended up replacing the plug wires, even though they were only about a year old.
What really helped me though, is a new battery cable and starter. I guess the old starter was tired, because with the new starter and battery cable, I was able to get a whole lot more cranking out of my battery, which would previously die after 10 seconds of cranking.
So, in short, it's running, and running well. I have doubts as to whether the builder replaced my lifters or not, because the engine sounds exactly the same as it's always had, with a ticking lifter. I'll take that up with him though, and there's not much I can do about it unless I want to pull the engine again..

BTW, my CHT is reading 380, only going about 40 MPH within a 5 mile radius.. I hope it's not already running hot, timing is set correctly, hopefully a valve adjustment (they are hydraulic) will make a difference.
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1979 Deluxe Westy in Mexico Beige