Killing Dist pickups ?

Another way to check your pick-up is to drag anything with iron in it, across the pole piece, in either direction. Or just wave it(the iron thing) if you can, within the limits of zero to .030inch. This will generate the signal that the amplifier needs, and it will send a spark each time the iron passes over it, assuming the amp is fired up and grounded.
I do this by pulling the amp out of the D, and turning on the key. But you could just pop the reluctor off for access.

You can use the same method to test the amp,using a known good pick-up.(I always carry a spare)

Of course the coil has to be proved separately. I do this by isolating it, jumpering the coil+ to the battery, and dragging a wire from the Coil -, across a grounded file. A stream of sparks should issue from the near-grounded coil wire. Your file is acting like a breaker point-set, and that is all the coil needs.
Once all the components are proved, then you are down to wiring.

If in fact you are "burning out pick-ups", then check your alternator for an A/C output, which should NOT be there. I have no idea how A/C could get into the pick-up, but if it did then I doubt the amp could respond to it. Yet all the components could check out perfect with the engine NOT running.

Tachs have occasionally been known to be troublesome.

Good luck.

67Dart273 said:

So you are saying? that you have the TS switch unplugged, and that you are checking pins to ground? NONE of the actual TS pins should be grounded. Only the horn wire (black) should ground. I'd have to look up anything else.........What year / model?

Click to expand...

My mistake ... the switch side is not grounding. It is the dash side that every other pin is grounding . That may be normal since they appear to all be lighting Related ?

When you are troubleshooting with a meter you can see things that aren’t really there sometimes. You can be reading a ground through bulb filaments and other devices that might look like ground when they are really not. I like to use car bulb test lights to troubleshoot to eliminate some of that.

Yeh Mike's 69 is correct. If you are on the "body side" of the TS connector, there are many series paths to ground.....including the flasher power coming in. With the key off the flasher is inparallel with other loads in the car

A bulb is only a couple Ohms, resistance increases when lit. Most continuity test in meters beep for less than 40 Ohms.

Ok ... I now have fire in the hole again .
No smoking wires , tail lights , blinkers , headlights,park lights , and 2 E Flasher circuits ! Lol ...when I put the trany in reverse the flashers come on ! And the hazzard switch activates them . WTF?
I think it may be a wire in wrong hole in T Signal connector . The white one pulled out and I had to resolder it and shove it back in ...