Utahcarguy

Ok, I think I'm getting somewhere Jim. So two wires should be coming out of the distributor ( one + and one -)?

I have a + from points going to right side of ballast resister. It's the only thing on that side of the BR. Everything else is on the left side.

Instead, I should have both + wires from points and + coil going to right side of BR?

Where does the - coil wire connect to in the distributor?

jim lockwood

You should have one(1) wire coming out of the distributor. It is black (if your car's wiring follows standard GM color code) and connects to coil(-). Inside the distributor this wire connects to one of the sets of points.

There is no other wire coming out of the distributor when you have points ignition.

Utahcarguy

So, I hoping the Petronix went bad and when i installed the points, I did it wrong.

I'm pretty sure I attached the distributor wire to +. I will fix it and try again! Thank you so much for your help.

jim lockwood

Huh? Since the points replace the Pertronix thingy, anything with the word "pertronix" on it ought to now be over on your bench.

Utahcarguy

Correct. Petronix is off the car. What I'm saying is that I think I installed the points incorrectly. I attached the wire coming out of the distributor to a +, not a - to the coil like you are saying.

MikeM

I made an error above. There's too much hopping around here for me to keep up with.

If you try the test light method, hook your test light to the (-)minus side of the coil. That's the wire that goes into the distributor.

I mistakenly said above to put your light on the (+)plus terminal.

For what it's worth, I've wired coils backwards before and they ran.

jim lockwood

Earlier today I gave incorrect wiring advice. I wrote:
Delete, ignore, flush, dump, dispose or whatever, but pay no attention to that drivel.

This is more better:

There are two wires from the ignition harness which connect to opposite ends of the ballast resistor.

One wire is a heavy brown wire and usually connects to the left or driver's side of the resistor. The wiper motor wire, the harness pigtail for the cold enrichment heater, and the solenoid valve wire should connect to this terminal also.

The other harness wire, usually connected to the right or passenger's side of the resistor is green. The wire which connects to coil(+) and which is normally also green connects to this terminal.

You can see these connections here:



At the coil, the connections look like this:



The green wire connects to coil(+) and the black wire (looks blue in the photo, but it's really black), which comes from the distributor, connects to coil(-).


I apologize for the bad info previously.

Jim

MikeM

I guess he got it cranked up.

jim lockwood

One can get a lot more accomplished when one is being given accurate information.

Utahcarguy

I followed your pictures Jim and I now have spark at the plugs. It still would not start so I put a drill on the drive cable and I got it to stumble (didn't seem like it was spinning fast enough for fuel). I got it to stumble and it backfired. I think I am too advanced. I tried retarding the distributor by about 1/8 turn clockwise. It was cranking then it struggled to turn, so I stopped cranking. Thoughts of hydro lock keep going through my head.

What should I do now?

MikeM

Did you ever fix this problem?

https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...-advanced.html

Y0GI

There are 2 ways to set points:
1) Feeler gauge, and
2) Dwell meter

If you did not use one of the above, you're wasting your time. The points MUST be accurately set, especially a dual point set-up.

Yogi

jim lockwood

The good news is that with points in the distributor you can set the timing fairly accurately with the engine off.

Say the plugs should fire at 10 degrees BTDC. Manually rotate the engine until the timing mark on the balancer aligns with the 10 degree mark on the timing tab.

Connect a test light to coil(-) and, of course, to ground.

Loosen the distributor clamp above the cross shaft which drives the tach and the FI pump.

Turn on the ignition. The test lamp may or may not light.

If the lamp lights, rotate the distributor cap clockwise until the test light goes out. Then with a delicate touch, rotate the cap counter clockwise until the test light just lights. Stop! Lock the distributor clamp.

If the lamp did not light when you turned on the ignition, turn the distributor cap counter-clockwise until the lamp just turns on. Stop! Lock the distributor clamp.

The timing is now set to within +/- 2 degrees of the goal and will not be an issue.

Try to start the car.


Oh, and regarding the pump turning over enough..... that's a "positive displacement pump". If it turns, it will pump fuel. Period. The use of the drill was an interesting experiment, but honestly, I don't know how to interpret the results.

Jim

Y0GI

That's all well and good for setting the timing but why would you go to all of that trouble if the points haven't been properly gapped yet??

Yogi

MikeM

They don't have to be gapped properly to start. Just open and close. A little.

Just wonder if the OP tried my test light method? Doesn't sound right. That'd tell him if the points are working and gapped in the ballpark, among other things.

jim lockwood

He said that a fellow with experience with early Corvettes had made his best stab at getting the points adjusted. That's good enough for me.

Better to have the spark happen at the right moment than requiring dwell to be spot on while getting the starting problem resolved.

Utahcarguy

Yesterday I did properly gap them to .016 while lobe on distributor shaft was touching the plastic contact thing on the points. Sorry, I forgot to mention that.

I'm headed to the car now to try the engine off timing method and I have one question.

I don't recall a way to turn the engine manually with a breaker bar. Isn't the crank pulley in the way? I think mine is smooth in the middle with no place for a socket to turn the crank.
If that's the case, should I loosen all plugs to release compression and bump the engine with the ignition?

jim lockwood

Hmmmmm...... It's true that as the engine was originally built by the factory, there isn't a convenient way to grip and rotate the crank.

However, I would expect that your car's crank snout has been drilled and tapped for a balancer bolt. The head of that balancer bolt is a convenient place to put a socket and to use a breaker bar.

It is a little awkward to turn the engine this way but it can be done and it's the only way to precisely position the timing mark like you need to do.

So has your crank been tapped for a balancer bolt?

Jim

Utahcarguy

I don't think I have a balancer bolt. It feels conical in shape when I stick my finger through the center hole of the crank pulley.

Nothing is easy on this car! Any suggestions? I'll just be staring at the car until then...

wmf62

take the spark plugs out and, if the belts are tight enough, you may be able to pull on them to turn it. otherwise, with the car sitting on it's wheels, and in gear, you can rock it back or forth to rotate the engine no more than it will take to make the adjustments you want, spark plugs won't need to come out.. BUT leave the ignition OFF.
Bill