No Spark

[middlerivermerk]

I have a 74 181, hasnt run in 15 yrs.

I am getting no spark.

I replaced the battery ground, added a ground strap from tail housing to trans mount.

Put on known good carb, known good flamethrower dual advance electronic distro, and two different flamethrower 3 ohm coils.

I have power at black wire from harness to coil.

I also have voltage on both sides of coil at spade terminal.

But I am getting no spark at distro

Any sugesstions

[nemobuscaptain]

I used to run a pertronix in a 034 svda but it has been a long time. Perhaps this will help?

https://dunebuggywarehouse.com/pertronx-vw-electronic-ignition-instructions

Also this as general background.

http://www.nls.net/mp/volks/htm/spark.htm

You also said known good. I'm wondering how you know it's good. I've had plenty of Chinese junk lately that didn't work out of the box.
I wish I could help more. Good luck.
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[Wildthings]

Make sure the rotor is turning when the engine does.

[kenj06]

[middlerivermerk]

here is an update.

I have tried 4 different coils. 2 of them brand new, i have tried with all combinations of distros and coils.

i even refurbished the original distro and replace the points and condenser.

points are gaped properly to .4 and open/ close thin no binding.

i re cleaned the grounds to ensure that i have no issue there.

i also still have full voltage at the number 15 wire at the coil, but i am still getting no spark

rotor turns when cranked. I ensured that is is seated in the drive gear properly. I also put on a clear cap from empi so i can see if i got spark while engine was cranking

i am running out of ideas

[mondshine]

Last Summer, I had an ignition switch failure, where terminal 15 (the black wire at the coil) was powered with the key in the "run" position, but was not powered when the key was in the "start" position.

Just for fun, have an assistant crank the engine while you watch your volt meter back at the coil.

Good luck, Mondshine

[kenj06]

You have power to terminal 15 while cranking? If not the ignition switch may be bad. (mondshine beat me to it!)
The points ground the - terminal of the coil. Make sure no power to the coil, use an ohm meter, put one lead on the - terminal and the other to a good ground, rotate the engine by hand until the points close and make sure you have a 0 reading. The hold down clamp grounds the distributor and paint or corrosion may prevent it from making a good ground.
Bad coil wire? Hold it in your hand while cran… no, don't do that, have a friend... Grab a couple jumper wires and a spark plug, ground the plug with one jumper and connect the other to the coil wire, have the plug where you can see it while the engine is cranking, do you see spark?
nemobuscaptain gave a link to a really good troubleshooting procedure.
Going through that step by step should reveal the issue.

[Wildthings]

You can supply power directly to the #15 terminal on the coil from the B+ terminal on the regulator (if you have a generator) or the B+ terminal on the alternator. Having a fuse in your jumper wire gets you extra points.

The voltage on the #1 terminal on the coil should jump between 0v and 12v as you turn the engine by hand with the ignition on. Do remove the coil wire from the distributor when you do this. Having the engine start while you are turning the pulley by hand is not desirable.