A few days ago, while stopped at a stop sign, my '69 shut down. I tried to restart it, and only got a few burps, then nothing.
I got it towed home and started to check it out. It has fuel, as I can see the accelerator pump squit quite well, and I can smell it in the exhaust. So, it must be ignition. I checked, and no spark. I pulled the cap and didn't see anything obviously wrong. The points were a little worn, so I changed them and the condenser with a new Napa set, since I already had it opened and had the new ones in the gararge. Cap on, still no start. Get out the meter and I do have voltage to the coil. The coil checked out too. I checked the coil primary lead to the distributor and it was bad, open.
OK, easy fix. I replaced the lead, and still no start.
Weird, I fixed a obviously bad part, but the car still won't start/run. I checked the ground wire from the points to the negative terminal on the coil, and it's good, no broken wire.
Soooo, what could it be?? Points systems are pretty simple. Distributor cap and rotor are fairly new and good quality.
The points open and close and are gapped close enough to start/run.
Grasping at straws, I checked for continuity through the points.
NOTHING, no continuity. They look good, but there must be some contamination or ???
I ran some 1k grit sandpaper back and forth through them a few times, and now have continuity.
Really odd, new, quality set from Napa, but just didn't work. I have never seen such a thing.
The original points and condenser were probably good and just the high voltage lead was bad, but I compounded the problem with the new/bad parts.
Something else to keep in mind if your car won't start.

 

At least ya figured it out! I tend to throw parts at problems like that.

 

Points that sit on the shelf for a few years can oxidize on the contact surfaces. Clean up with a good points file before they are installed to avoid going back in.

 

Sometimes just wipe em with a little electrical contact cleaner is enough.

 

The weird part is that they looked nice and clean. Pristine, new and shiney.
Yea, I know that a file was always recommended back in the day, but I haven't seen mine in quite a while .

 

amazing.
new one to me.
good fix

 

I ran into the new points - no spark problem when doing a tune up on an old Ford 8N. The new points had been sitting on our spare parts shelf for years in a sealed bag and looked perfect.
Our local Oreilly Auto Parts store has point files in stock for about $4., but as 4-vettes said, contact cleaner may be all that is needed before installing. Good suggestion even if points have just been recently purchased.

 

4-vettes is right about suggesting a small spray of contact cleaner as the folks who make the points have to put something on them to protect them while they wait on a shelf to be used.

In the days of ignition points I would clean them with Emory cloth and then a quick spray contact cleaner to prepare them for along life. I have never had to deal with points with either of my Corvettes. My early 1968 C3 came with the Factory Transistorized Ignition system and that system seemed to work with very little attention or maintenance. It was removed when I went to a full MSD ignition system including the MSD billet pro distributor. I have it all bagged up and on a shelf in case somebody wants to make the car original again.

Back in high school there was a auto shop teacher who claimed he could identify "any engine problems" in less than 15 minutes. Having a few sisters I borrowed some or their clear fingernail polish. Then I pulled the distributor cap put a wedge in place to hold the points open and painted both surfaces and let them dry. Needless to say there was a very angry shop teacher the next day. Just because the surface is shiny does not mean it will conduct electricity.