6 volt coils

[dusty]

6 VOLT COILS-- don't know if it's good?   Use an OHM METER connect the probes to each terminal. The resistance"" should read 1-43 to 1.58.."" if it reads ZERO it is shorted and NO GOOD or if it reads infinity resistance then it is bad

[Fid]

Unfortunately, it's not that simple. A coil can have several "turns" shorted and an ohm meter would never pick that up. The only way to truly test one is on a coil tester or a "ringer" where it not only sends current through it, it also pulsates it to see if the windings break down under use. An ohm meter is really pretty useless unless the coil is open, then you know for sure it's bad but if the coil has shorted windings a meter won't pick that up.

[dusty]

OK FID, i,M IN MY GARAGE AND SCRATCHING MY HEAD WONDERING ? do i just start replacing everything to do with the ignition or is there some way this 80+ year old guy can get the car to run evenly. where to start, when it won't keep running to test any thing out??

[Fid]

Spark plugs are always a good place to start when a car won't run smoothly, I'm guessing you've tried that. Ignition parts are cheap. A  new set of points, condensor and plugs usually takes care of it when my cars run rough. Check the distributor cap, are any of the terminals green/corroded? That happens a lot on cars that are not driven regularly.
What all have you tried? What tools do you have available? A dwell meter and timing light can do wonders on these old cars. Also, a compression tester is a good piece of equipment to have if a car runs rough. Run a compression test - all six cylinders should have relatively the same compression. If not, you could have a tappet that needs to be reset, or a burned valve which is fairly common in the KF 226 engine. Possibly a leaky head gasket, but a leaky head gasket would cause white smoke and visible leaks when the engine is warm.  Modern fuel also causes problems with the accelerator pump diaphrams in the carburettor.

[HJ-ETEX]

Hey Dusty, there used to be devices to check auto coils, but I really question just how effective they might have been. The best way I know to check a coil is remove the distributor cap, unplug the 7mm coil wire from the cap and place it near a ground, turn on the ignition, and open & close the ignition points using a screw driver.
A good coil should produce a fat blue spark across a 3/16" gap.

[Corsairdeluxe]

My favorite spark tester is a spark plug with a large alligator clip like the ones used on battery chargers attached to its barrell by a screw type hose clamp. clip the alligator clip to a convienent ground, attach the plug wire and turn it over.