No spark...need a refresher

[njpatera]

Greetings All! Well finally getting some Darrin time...changed almost all the electrical tuneup goodies under the hood(plugs, wires, cap, rotor, coil, regulator and cleaned all the contacts....only thing left to do are points and condenser under the cap. Before I get those tackled(too hot in the garage right now) I cleaned the old points and I still have no spark at the plugs( not surprisingly since it last ran in 1973😂)...what else should I hit that im not thinking of?

[joefrazer]

Do you have six volts at the coil on both sides with the key on? If so, then the issue is probably within the distributor. Is there spark at the points if opened manually?

[njpatera]

Trying to find the old man’s volt meter to check and am having no luck...probably need to order another:-(

[DTort96646]

I find it better to use a 6 volt test light or even better is a 6 volt turn signal bulb with test leads when checking power to a coil or other load. A voltmeter won't tell you if there is resistance in the circuit when checking voltage. I do the same for 12 volt systems. If the bulb is bright, you know that there is a good 6 volts.

[njpatera]

Ok...new points and condenser in...grabbed a multi meter and nothing on either side of the coil? (New coil and all terminals and ends cleaned) car turns over and no hits...even though it turns over could the ignition switch be bad? I’m going to throw another set of points and condenser tomorrow and try, ...I’m melting in the garage after 20 minutes 😂

[MarkH]

Ok...new points and condenser in...grabbed a multi meter and nothing on either side of the coil? (New coil and all terminals and ends cleaned) car turns over and no hits...even though it turns over could the ignition switch be bad? I’m going to throw another set of points and condenser tomorrow and try, ...I’m melting in the garage after 20 minutes 😂

Yes, your ignition switch could very well be bad. For my maiden voyage after 40+ years I had the same issue, all new components but no spark. Discovered 3 volts feeding the coil. Grandsons & I were ready to roll so I ran a jumper from the battery to the coil, fired right up so off we went. Noticed the gauges working intermittently which clued me to check the switch posts later and it was faulty, and loosely fitted together upon removal. Bench tested another and installed, problem solved.

Similar issues with light switches, even NOS. Apparently the brass contacts can develop enough patina sitting idle for decades to be an issue.

Edit:
However...………… I did install a new defective condenser once that was good for a bout of head scratching one afternoon.

[njpatera]

Thanks Mark! As soon as I don’t melt after a few minutes (in a couple days) I’ll go stand on my head and clean the contacts at the switch to see if that gets me anywhere...on the hunt for a new switch just in case.

[joefrazer]

I have a known good switch for your car. It came out of my Darrin when I thought I lost the keys...only to find them after swapping in a new switch.