Help, my car won't get a spark

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Did you wash the engine compartment?

If so, you're gonna have to get things dried out. Distributor, dist. cap inside and out etc. It doesn't take a whole lot of moisture in places it isn't supposed to be to create headaches.
 
Do you have a test light?

Put the clip end on a good ground and then poke around to find where you have power and where you don't.

Try on both sides of the ballast resistor with the ignition key in the "run" position.

then check for power to the ignition coil.
 
Bad Sport said:
Did you wash the engine compartment?

If so, you're gonna have to get things dried out. Distributor, dist. cap inside and out etc. It doesn't take a whole lot of moisture in places it isn't supposed to be to create headaches.
Click to expand...


Yes, maybe water in the bulkhead connectors....
 
This thing has POINTS? This should be easy

(For now and future, you should get and already have a bag of Radio Shack clip leads, a multimeter, an auto parts spark tester, and a 12V automotive test lamp)

Hook your test lamp to the coil NEG. This should be the terminal going to the distributor

Hook the other lamp terminal to ground. Turn on the key. Get a screwdriver or pliers, and bump the engine by jumpering across the two large exposed terminals on the starter relay.

If the lamp is OUT, bump the engine until it LIGHTS

If the lamp is LIT, bump the engine until it goes OUT

Both these actions tell you that the points are opening and closing with distributor / engine rotation, and that they are conducting current.

MEASURE voltage at coil + terminal with key on, and the lamp OUT. You should see anywhere over 4 volts and anywhere UNDER about 11 volts.

This tells you that the coil is drawing current through the points, and is getting power

"Rig" a clip lead from the starter relay stud (battery) over to coil POSitive terminal. Don't leave this on longer than you need for test, 30 seconds

"Rig" a clip lead to ground and up to the coil tower with some sort of coil gap tester. Now jumper the starter relay as mentioned earlier and look for a spark.

If the points are opening and closing

If they are drawing current (IE not corroded)

If the coil is getting power (your clip lead at the present)

You should get a nice fat blue spark at least 3/8" long

IF NOT

you have a bad condenser (in the distributor)

or bad coil

or you have mis--interpreted a test result.

WHEN YOU clip a test lead onto the coil POSitive terminal to the BATTERY you have basically created a VERY basic, simple, "least amount" of components ignition system

THE CURRENT path is From STARTER RELAY battery stud.........through the CLIP LEAD.........to COIL POS.........through the coil......out the COIL NEG.........to the DISTRIBUTOR........to the POINTS.......and SWITCH TO GROUND

IF THE above fails, try it differently...............

Remove the dist. cap. Bump the engine until the points are visiably open. Hook your clip lead from coil POS to the battery stud on the start relay

Take a second clip lead and hook to coil NEG. Repeatedly touch it to the engine block while looking for a spark with your test gap. Each time you ground / unground the wire, you should get a spark.
 
Is there water/moisture inside the distributor around or on the points and condenser? It doesn't take much to ground it out.
 
67Dart273 said:
This thing has POINTS? This should be easy (For now and future, you should get and already have a bag of Radio Shack clip leads, a multimeter, an auto parts spark tester, and a 12V automotive test lamp) Hook your test lamp to the coil NEG. This should be the terminal going to the distributor Hook the other lamp terminal to ground. Turn on the key. Get a screwdriver or pliers, and bump the engine by jumpering across the two large exposed terminals on the starter relay. If the lamp is OUT, bump the engine until it LIGHTS If the lamp is LIT, bump the engine until it goes OUT Both these actions tell you that the points are opening and closing with distributor / engine rotation, and that they are conducting current. MEASURE voltage at coil + terminal with key on, and the lamp OUT. You should see anywhere over 4 volts and anywhere UNDER about 11 volts. This tells you that the coil is drawing current through the points, and is getting power "Rig" a clip lead from the starter relay stud (battery) over to coil POSitive terminal. Don't leave this on longer than you need for test, 30 seconds "Rig" a clip lead to ground and up to the coil tower with some sort of coil gap tester. Now jumper the starter relay as mentioned earlier and look for a spark. If the points are opening and closing If they are drawing current (IE not corroded) If the coil is getting power (your clip lead at the present) You should get a nice fat blue spark at least 3/8" long IF NOT you have a bad condenser (in the distributor) or bad coil or you have mis--interpreted a test result. WHEN YOU clip a test lead onto the coil POSitive terminal to the BATTERY you have basically created a VERY basic, simple, "least amount" of components ignition system THE CURRENT path is From STARTER RELAY battery stud.........through the CLIP LEAD.........to COIL POS.........through the coil......out the COIL NEG.........to the DISTRIBUTOR........to the POINTS.......and SWITCH TO GROUND IF THE above fails, try it differently............... Remove the dist. cap. Bump the engine until the points are visiably open. Hook your clip lead from coil POS to the battery stud on the start relay Take a second clip lead and hook to coil NEG. Repeatedly touch it to the engine block while looking for a spark with your test gap. Each time you ground / unground the wire, you should get a spark.
Click to expand...
and then convert the bastard to HEI lol
 
If you hosed the motor down, take the cap off, wipe it with a paper towel.
Spray with WD-40.
Put it back together start the car, unless the car had problems before the wash.
Dart67273 is a good guy and knows his electrics.
 
Actually, if you "hose down" either Mopar ECU or GM HEI, it probably won't run, either.

The heat sink and transistor on the Mopar is hot at coil NEG. This is high voltage, IE several hundred volts, and if you get it wet and dirty, it won't run. These "open air" HEI conversions are the same way.......only not as much exposed.
 
67Dart273 said:
Actually, if you "hose down" either Mopar ECU or GM HEI, it probably won't run, either.

The heat sink and transistor on the Mopar is hot at coil NEG. This is high voltage, IE several hundred volts, and if you get it wet and dirty, it won't run. These "open air" HEI conversions are the same way.......only not as much exposed.
Click to expand...

no washed car with hood closed the cap to the dist had little water droplets on it but i wiped it off coil and the resistor are getting very hot going to try what you said tomorrow
 
unhook the battery before you go to bed, something is bad wrong.
 
Picked up what? A ballist resistor or a ECM? I have a 74 Valiant I bought, the previous owner bought all kinds of parts. They gave up. Put a new ECM Electronic control module and it ran. Also you must have a good ground from the engine to body.:banghead:
 
67Dart273 said:
From what I've gathered he has a points distributor. I believe 72 could have come with either
Click to expand...

yea its points I'm going to try the by pass that 67dart said to do. if i get a hei will that get rid of my resistors and stuff. cause I'm hearing about a diet that is just two wires one to the key one to the motor
 
Well, get it running first with points and figure out what is the matter. 'Adding' to your problem won't help

"All you need" for points.......a coil and a distributor. The distributor must have properly adjusted points that open and close and carry current, and a good condenser

You wire power temporarily right to the coil. That's it. That's all you need. You get it working in those two simple components and go from there
 
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