more coil problems...give up?
Thread Starter
Team Owner
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 30,183
Likes: 313
From: Lake Norman NC
more coil problems...give up?
ok, now i got the power back to the solenoid..i can turn the car over..FINALLY! :hurray: but NOW, i don't have hot power to both terminals on the ignition coil and the car won't start? i have hot power from the distributer but now from the 2 wires coming from the car. i don't know what to do?? please help or do i need to get rid of this vette. :confused: :mad
[Modified by REDSHARKONBOYDS, 8:54 PM 4/12/2003]
[Modified by REDSHARKONBOYDS, 8:54 PM 4/12/2003]
Safety Car
Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 4,004
Likes: 2
From: Severna Park Md
Re: more coil problems...give up? (REDSHARKONBOYDS)
Only one side of the coil should be hot and thats the + side. The - side goes to the dist and is a ground and should never register as hot. dis-connect the wires from the + side of the coil and test them for juice with the key in the on position. They should be hot. if not then theres a wiring problem somewhere. One of them connects to the starter and the other to the fuse box ignition side i think. One of them should be a resistor wire that could be bad. You could also connect a jumper wire driectly from the bat. connection at the alternator to the hot + side of the coil to energize it. That might get it started. dont leave that jumper connected with the engine not running as it will overheat and damage the coil.
Pro
Joined: May 2001
Posts: 596
Likes: 0
From: Yardley PA
Re: more coil problems...give up? (REDSHARKONBOYDS)
Whoa!
Don't give up un us now!
You have her truning oer. That's the first step. How did you get that working anyway? Share the wisdom please!
Now on the coil....
When you switch on Ignition, only one side of the coil should have +12V (actually less- bc of the resistor there to keep the points from burning up).
So your coil wiring might be OK. Check if you ge a spark.
Just pull a plugwire and put a sparkplug in it. An old one should do. Ground the case of the plug and crank the engine. Look for spark. If you see a spark, you may have the wires in the wrong order or you don't get gas in the engine.
If you don't check all the connections to the coil. check points. check dist finger and cap.
More details please!
Stefan
Don't give up un us now!
You have her truning oer. That's the first step. How did you get that working anyway? Share the wisdom please!
Now on the coil....
When you switch on Ignition, only one side of the coil should have +12V (actually less- bc of the resistor there to keep the points from burning up).
So your coil wiring might be OK. Check if you ge a spark.
Just pull a plugwire and put a sparkplug in it. An old one should do. Ground the case of the plug and crank the engine. Look for spark. If you see a spark, you may have the wires in the wrong order or you don't get gas in the engine.
If you don't check all the connections to the coil. check points. check dist finger and cap.
More details please!
Stefan
Thread Starter
Team Owner
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 30,183
Likes: 313
From: Lake Norman NC
Re: more coil problems...give up? (Stefan69)
stefan, i backed tracked the hot wire on the solenoid...cut out all the tape and found that the hot wire got disconnected to wiring harness. now i had power to starter and car turned over....then i had coil problems, and got that straightend out.....now i'm ready to go, but something is up with the distributor....its the stock dis. new cap and rotor...new MSD plug wires, i just got now fire coming out of the wires to spark the plugs. once again, another delema...any suggestions? :confused:
Safety Car
Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 4,004
Likes: 2
From: Severna Park Md
Re: more coil problems...give up? (REDSHARKONBOYDS)
Ive had to chase igniton problems before too. When spark was restored I also had to change the plugs. They got flooded and fouled from all the cranking without spark. Try pulling the plugs and cranking the engine with them out to dry the cylinders then slap some new ones in. Keep the gap to .035. If the coil is weaker, larger gaps may make it difficult for the spark to bridge a larger gap. What about the points? Have you changed them? What kinda shape are they in? One time I changed the points I mistakenly hooked the wire on the wrong side of the connection and it wasnt grounding correctly and it wouldnt start. Also check the dist shaft side play. It should have some up and down play, but not side to side. It should be tight side to side.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 5,635
Likes: 4
From: Orlando Floriduh
Re: more coil problems...give up? (Jvette73)
Don't overlook the condenser. A bad conderser will shut the whole system down.. That's what charges the coil and then dicharges). Without a condenser the coil would ground everytime the points(or photo eye closes).
