This is a long story, so please bear with me. I developed a hard miss, and after pulling plug wires determined it was the number 5 cylinder. All the other cylinders were doing ok, so I thought it must be either the plug, or the plug wire. I changed both, no luck. Same story. My next move was a new distributor cap. Same story. No change. In fiddling around with the distributor I discovered the wire from the condenser to the points seemed a little loose, so I tightened that. The problem only got worse. Now the truck won't start at all.
I used a multi meter, and I have continuity from the point side of the coil through the closed points to the stem the rotor sits on. When I put the rotor on I no longer get a reading from the top of the rotor. Shouldn't I get one?
Using a test light, with the ignition switch turned on, I get a light from the battery side of the coil, but nothing from the other side. Should there be current there also?
Before the truck quit completely, I could put a timing light on any of the plug wires except the number 5 one, and I would get a flash. The number 5 was completely dead.
As you can see I am just replacing parts, in the hope something works. My next move is to replace the rotor and condenser. The really aggravating part about this is that all these parts are new. The truck just had a complete do over, and everything was replaced. I did use the old distributor. Does anyone have any suggestions? I despise working on the electrical system. I don't understand electricity, and there are no moving parts to look at, so I'm usually a total idiot. Help.
