Gil 1965 sparkless Valiant

"Some stuff."

1....Condenser WILL and DOES affect spark. Now, I assume we are talking about the condenser IN the distributor and not the one on the + side of the coil, which is for radio noise Breaker points systems MUST have a good condenser.

2.....Measuring voltage is a great start, but Mopars have TWO sources of ignition

A...."Igntion run" or IGN1 traditionally dark blue. This is ONLY hot in the "run" position and goes COLD during cranking

B...."Bypass" or IGN2, traditionally brown. This is where STARTING voltage for the ignition comes from, is only hot in cranking, and is the ONLY source of starting voltage

3....So take your meter and clip to coil + and crank the engine USING THE KEY and not by jumpering the starter relay. You should read "close to" same as battery during cranking

4.....You measured voltage in run...............This reading you got seems wrong. Here's why. With key in "run" and engine stopped, and with a factory ballast and coil, AND WITH the points CLOSED, that coil voltage will typically be 6-8V or so. It varies. THIS IS DETERMINED by the points resistance when closed, whether the points are closed or open, by the coil being used, and the ballast being used, and of course the charge state of the battery.

If points are open, this reading will be "same as battery," or about 12.6

5...Most dwell meters have a "points resistance" test. This essentially measures voltage drop across the points when closed. Hell, I can't even remember what this is supposed to be, anymore, but I'm going to guess less than 1/2 volt and probably less than 1/4 volt (250mv) What I'm getting at here, is if the points are closed, the worse the points resistance, the HIGHER the coil + voltage reading will be