C1 No Spark, Hot Coil

[Bob B.]

Hi all,

I am nearly finished restoring my 1960. The engine has been started on several occasions and I have also just turned the ignition on many times to check various things. Never had any problem.

Now the engine just cranks, but I have no spark at all, and if I leave the ignition switch on, the coil gets too hot to touch and the ballast resistor also gets too hot to touch. None of this happened before when it started just fine.

All I have done since last starting the engine is to hook up the steering column wires for the blinkers and horn, all of which work. The car hasn't been driven or moved. Maybe this sounds like some sort of grounding problem, but I don't know how it would develop just sitting there.

Any ideas of what the problem might be and what/how to troubleshoot?

Thanks,

Bob

[Jack H.]

Re: C1 No Spark, Hot Coil

It wouldn't be the first time a guy got the wire from the ballast to the coil 'pinched' against the bottom lip of the distributor shield resulting in a dead short to ground....

[Bob B.]

Re: C1 No Spark, Hot Coil

Jack,

Shielding isn't on, but I just went and checked to make sure that the wire from ballast to coil wasn't contacting something and it seemed fine. Tried cranking it agian a bit and the coil was already getting warm.

Anything else to check?

Thanks,

Bob

[Anthony F.]

Re: C1 No Spark, Hot Coil

Bob,

Take a step backward. I would suggest that you disconnect the steering column wires (especially the horn) and see what happens.

I have had a horn wire short at the upper bearing because I seated it too far into the column. I also have had wires get cut at the opening of the column and even pinched them when putting the little cover on.

Any way, If your problem is not present with the wire NOT connected then you can look there.

If your problem is still present, I would look at the points to see if they have moved or they became stuck together providing you with a constant ground circuit.

Hope it is something simple that you notice right off. It really upsets me when I miss something but I am also relieved that the problem is over.

[Gary Schisler]

Re: C1 No Spark, Hot Coil

Try popping your distributor cap off and see if your points have fused together. Very occasionally, when I do work that requires a hot ignition, this will happen. A quick pass of point file across the points will do wonders. Takes five minutes and you might be back to a powered engine.
Gary

[Mike M.]

Re: C1 No Spark, Hot Coil

i "turned the ignition on many times"--- if the points were in contact the many times you turned the switch on, you may have burnt them to the extent they've pitted to the point that they are in constant contact.agree wtih tony----check the points. mike

[David M.]

Re: C1 No Spark, Hot Coil

While your in the distributor verify that the coil wire terminal isnt touching anything but the strap that feeds the points. Had one yesterday with the same symptom. Wish all the gremlins were that easy!

[Bob B.]

Re: C1 No Spark, Hot Coil

I had checked the points previously, but just to see that they were opening and closing. But I went back to the garage and sanded the gap with 1500 and then regapped. Tried it and it started! But... it ran for 10 seconds and quit. I checked and regapped the points again, but is back like it was. Anyone have comments on this brain teaser? Thanks, Bob

[Joseph T.]

Rotor?

Try another rotor and check the rotor to distributor contact points!

Check your starter connections..are they loose?

Joe

[Kent D.]

Re: C1 No Spark, Hot Coil

Replace the points.

[Phil P.]

Re: C1 No Spark, Hot Coil

ran into the same problem with a 67 chevy truck inline 292 motor---kept chasing the points around---truck would run fine, then would run terrible, back fire, no start, etc.. i REFUSED to beleive that the condensor would be the problem---finally changed it after months of doinking around with the points, cap ,rotor,primary lead---the truck was a factory a/c and the dist. was almost under the compressor a real pain to work on--- something to think about---good luck,phil

[Bob B.]

FIXED!: C1 No Spark, Hot Coil

Hi all,

Thanks for everyone's help and suggestions! I replaced the points and condenser and the car started with the first tap of the ignition, as it had before. A couple more questions:

(1) Since I replaced both the points and condenser and I couldn't see anything wrong with the points, is it possible that the condenser could have been the problem? I guess I should have tried them one at a time, but is there any way to test a condenser or a capacitor?

(2) Does it look like the ignition stayed on too much wiht engine off with the points in contact? I am curious about this because it seems to me that people for decades have sat in their cars with the ignition on to listen to the radio, etc. while waiting for someone to come out or whatever. Wouldn't have this been a constant problem over the years?

Thanks,

Bob

[Mike M.]

Re: FIXED!: C1 No Spark, Hot Coil

answer to your question #2-- your dad could have sat in his 49 chevy for hours on end with the ign switch in the on position if and only if the points weren't touching or close enough to arc. if the points were in contact while he was listening to the radio, the points will cook.mike

[Jack H.]

Yes...

You can test a capacitor (the archane term is condensor, because the part 'condenses' DC current flow into electrical charge) by putting it on the equivalent of a Digibridge tester. That will tell you the capacitor's current charge storage capacity as well as its dissipation factor. BOTH tests are needed to validate a capacitor. Why?

Well, think of a capacitor as a water bucket. If the bucket is rated to store, say, 2 gallons but the bottom and sides are filled with holes (leaking), then a raw storage test isn't sufficient to guarantee the integrity of the capacitor. Yep, it's sized to hold 2 gallons but it's leaking like a sieve!

Unfortunately, not too many have access to the kind of electrical lab equipment needed to test/validate energy storage components (capacitor, inductor). So, the old rule of thumb during tune-up was to simply replace the existing condensor with a known-good, new unit. We threw away LOTS of perfectly good ignition capacitors back then, but it was the most economic way to get the job done...

[Douglas L.]

Re: C1 No Spark, Hot Coil

Hey Bob,

I have a 67 - 427 Coupe that has an original unrebuilt motor that sat for a number of years. I had it running fine last year. But, in the Spring, I tried starting it, it started doing the same thing your car is doing. It will start for about 3 seconds and then die. After that, it will sputter - but not start.

So, yours was the points. I will try that - although I put a new set of points in last year. But at this point, I have tried about everything else - so I'll try the points.

Doug Lee