8n wont stare

Soundguy · Feb 12, 2018

I want to see that light blinking, and no spark before he even thinks about putting a new coil on there.

Bandit2026 · Feb 12, 2018

Well I tried all the checks and everything seems to be ok. The only thing I've found is the blade that goes down into the slot is worn, a lot! I tried turning it 180 degrees but it wouldn't go at all. When you install everything correctly the rotor has about 5 to ten degrees movement. Not spot on as you would expect. Don't know what to try next.

Dollar Bill · Feb 13, 2018

The tongue and groove being worn would not cause a loss of spark. It may fire imprecisely but it will still fire.

To help us troubleshoot the problem, we're gonna need more details. Since we aren't there in person we are depending on you for information. The quality of our troubleshooting steps are dictated by the accuracy of your replies.

"Well I tried all the checks and everything seems to be ok." The word "seems" does not instill confidence. Did you do the continuity checks and obtain the expected results?

What were the results of the light/meter checks posted by K7LN?

If the distributor passed the continuity checks, the next suspects are the condenser or the coil.

Condenser Test

Discharge the condenser by disconnecting the lead and shorting it to the condenser case
Using an analog Volt Ohm Meter; select X1 on the ohm scale.
Connect one VOM lead to condenser wire and touch other VOM lead to condenser body. If the condenser is good, the meter should swing from 0 ohms to infinity as the VOM charges the condenser.

Testing the coil gets a little more imprecise - About all we can do is take a resistance reading between the top and bottom coil terminals with a quality, digital Ohm meter.
You can tell if it's bad by checking resistance, but you can't tell if it's good. I don't recall if yours is 6 or 12 volts but here's what you're looking for:

12 volt coils should read 2.5 ohms or more
6 volt coils should read 1.4 ohms or less
If it's open (VOM reads infinity) the coil is bad.

Soundguy · Feb 13, 2018

in addition to the above, you can test the secondary of the coil by measuring from the top to the tab on the bottom and look for 4-7kohms.

If a test lamp inline with the wire to the coil blinks when the engine is turned over, then the points are opening and closing, and the condenser is at least not shorted.

post what coil it is 6/12v, what elextrical system you have, 6/12v, and what resistors are inline.

for testing purposes, it's ok to jumper from bat hot to coil top to check spark. if that gets you spark, but not thru key/resistor, then you have a bad connection/too much resistance back in the primary circuit.

Bandit2026 · Feb 13, 2018

Sorry my post have been vague sometimes my brain and my hands don't work together. Next let me thank those who held my hand and walked me through this so far, it was deeply appreciated. All of the continuity test found no problems. Dollar Bill sent a post on testing the condenser, BANG dead as a hammer not trusting my findings I waited till my son [N2Dfire] who has a engineering degree checked it and came up with the same results so I'll replace it with one from NAPA. It may be a week before I get back as my grandson is in from Australia and I going to the beach, but I will get back with results. Once again thanks!

Dollar Bill · Feb 13, 2018

Glad you found it - Enjoy the beach with you grandson!

Bandit2026 · Feb 23, 2018

Well I wanted to say it cranked this morning but nothing not a **** thing. I installed new Echlin points, condenser and rotor. nothing! I know everyone is saying he is doing something wrong and that is a possibility but why did it run when it went into the barn and not a lick since. I know that its something simple but what it is just stumps me. I reckon I'll go back and start over maybe I'll catch something.

Dollar Bill · Feb 23, 2018

Bandit, please re-read the entire thread. Surely someone has given a troubleshooting step that will highlight the fault.

Start at ignition switch and verify voltages/continuity all the way to spark plugs.

How was your visit with grandson?

Bandit2026 · Feb 24, 2018

Well I'm back to square one. Distributor on work bench with 6volt battery charger hooked to top of coil along with test light. Probe on light touching dist. housing. Points open light bright, points closed light dim. Now what?

Soundguy · Feb 27, 2018

Bandit2026 said:
Well I wanted to say it cranked this morning but nothing not a **** thing. I installed new Echlin points, condenser and rotor. nothing! I know everyone is saying he is doing something wrong and that is a possibility but why did it run when it went into the barn and not a lick since. I know that its something simple but what it is just stumps me. I reckon I'll go back and start over maybe I'll catch something.

if it won't crank, check the battery voltage, check battery connections, check the starter button connection to the relay.