The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area The Electrical Bay I guess I am not smart enough...

Trying to get my '48 216 running. engine turns over with 12 volt battery, have 12 volts from a temp off/on ignition switch, from there to + side of new 12 volt coil, have 12 volts coming off - side of coil, 12 volts at the points, new 12 volt condensor, points are gapped sufficient, fairly new plug wires, ground a plug and wire and turn over.....NO SPARK!! Am I stupid? Pretty simple procedure I thought!
Ps.Poured a little fuel in carb(new) and have fuel in glass bowl of pump!

Hy bowtiefan, are the points actually grounding at the distributor, make sure the points are closing fully. If you know the points are closing and grounding the circuit, then you could test the coil output by taking the coil lead out of the distributor cap, and securing it within 1/4" of a well grounded surface on the engine, with the points circuit energized open and close the points with a screwdriver, you should get a spark to jump from the coil output lead to ground, you can repeat this test many times, you should get a spark everytime, hope that helps.

Was the distributor cap on the dizzy, and was the rotor installed? I always check for spark at the high-voltage tower of the coil first, before going all the way to the spark plugs. There's several places the spark can go astray even if it's actually getting produced by the coil. Pull the coil wire out of the center of the distributor cap, hold it close to the cylinder head (1/4" or so), and spin the engine. You should get a spark every time the points close, then open again. Once it's present there, check for a good circuit through the cap and rotor. I've seen shorted rotors that fire the high voltage right to the distributor shaft rathet then directing it to the plugs.
Jerry

OK Replaced points and cured problem. Now, and I think this was covered elsewhere on here, the distributor was removed by the previous owner, and I do not think I put it back in the correct position. I am having trouble getting the engine(216) at TDC. My "bb" on the flywheel is somewhat obscured (grease/dirt), so I have tried to bring #1 cylinder to TDC by inserting a small rod into the cylinder, and hand turning the belt/pulley until the rod is pushed out, all the time watching the valve/pushrods to fully retract. Is this correct? If it is where should the rotor button be facing? And is this where #1 on the cap should align at? Currently getting alot of pops and backfires when cranking! So I am thinking the dist/timing is way off!

As long as any one of the distributor cap towers line up with the rotor as the points break with the #1 cylinder on the top of the compression stroke, that can be used as the #1 cylinder position. To find top dead center of the compression stroke on #1, watch the valve action on the #6 cylinder. Turn the engine clockwise from the front with the spark plugs removed and the valve cover off, and watch the last valve in line, the #6 exhaust valve. The valve will open, then begin to close. As it approaches the fully-closed position, the intake will begin to open. (next valve in line toward the front). At this point, both the #1 and #6 pistons will be at top dead center, with #1 on compression, ready to fire the spark plug, and the #6 at the top of the exhaust stroke. Insert the distributor into the engine with the rotor pointing toward the sheet metal cover over the valve lifters, and turn the housing clockwise until the points close. Turn the housing back counterclockwise until the points barely open, and lock the housing down in that position. The distributor rotor should be pointed toward one of the cap towers. Use that one for the #1 plug wire, and follow it clockwise with the other wires, 5,3,6,2,4. Install the plugs, hook up the wires in the right order, and crank up! You can fine-tune the timing by slight movements of the distributor housing after the engine warms up.
Jerry

Thanks again Jerry. Engine fired right up after following your Tips!

"I love it when a plan comes together"!

Jerry

Excellent, well worded step by step answer.
Bravo Jerry.

I have one for you Jerry.

I'm installing a new wiring harness with 1 wire delco alternator, stomp start, original ign coil. There was a large external resistor in the old wiring harness. Do I need to re use this somewhere, or will the problem be solved if I purchase a new ign coil with an "Internal resistor"? Or am I confusing two different resistors?

I assume you're using the original 12 volt point-type distributor, not any sort of upgrade to electronic ignition? The resistor should be in a heavy ceramic holder, surrounding a coil of resistance wire with two screw-type connectors, right? It needs to be connected to the wire that supplies ignition switch voltage to the coil with the ignition in the "run" position, and the other end of the resistor connects to the (+) terminal of the coil. The (-) connector gets routed to the primary terminal on the side of the distributor. I don't like using internal-resistor coils, as there's no way to bypass the resistor and supply straight battery voltage to the coil during cranking. The 12 volt stomp-start switch will have a small terminal which allows a jumper wire to be routed to the coil (+) terminal and bypass the resistor while the starter is engaged. Since battery voltage naturally drops while the starter is under load, this allows the ignition coil to get about the same voltage it had (about 9V.) as when the resistor was in the circuit. The coil operates at its best efficiency with an applied voltage of 9 volts or so, specifically so there will be adequate firing voltage while cranking. If the resistor is not used, the points will flow too much current, and they will burn out in a hurry.
Jerry

ahhhh... that's what the little terminal on the starter goes to... I get it now.
That makes sense.
Thanks for the info!