No spark

[mikem503]

Case 320 148 motor prestolite. Of course worse possible timing. Got 15 of snow coming and it is sitting right in the middle of the driveway.
New battery, new coil, new wires and relatively new condenser and points.
Got 12V to the coil and out of coil. 12V to inside center of distributor cap and to the stud on the outside of distributor.
Wont fire.

 

[kenbob]

Not an expert on electronics but crappy condensers now being sold have kept lots of tractors and cars from running lately. Since time is important try putting old condenser in if u have it

 

[old]

12 volts on both side of the coil say that the points need to be cleaned since there not conducting power as they should be. If you have the cap and rotor and dust cover off an ignition one if you open the points by hand you should see a small spark. No spark say point need to be cleaned. Or the new condenser you put in is bad which sadly is very common now days. I have not changed a condenser in well over decade due to so many being bad right out of the box.

Another simple way that even a caveman can use to this the points is run a hot wire from the ignition side of the battery t the ignition side of the coil. When you touch the coil with the wire you should see a small spark. Not spark point need cleaned. I use the hot wire test a whole lot because it is so simple

 

[097Clint]

Are the points opening when you crank it over? Possible it wore the plastic tab off,clint

 

[kevinthefixer]

Had a "mechanic" I worked with once, he had a small-block Chevy with no spark, an HEI model with the coil and all built into the distributor. He'd replaced every part in the distributor and still no spark. I suggested he make sure the distributor was turning, and sure enough, that silly plastic cam gear had disintegrated and it needed a timing chain.

 

[45cole]

Unfortunately I speak from experience, all scenarios BUT I'VE LEARNED. I assume it ran to the driveway and now doesn't run?

1. Bad condenser. Got 2 runs out of the first, one run out of the second. Less than 1 hr out of both, high end NAPA brand. Went to Pertronix for this reason

That doesn't work, then this should take 10 min. Check it out as new parts = garbage nowadays. This will get the timing correct, as long as you have spark and fuel, she should fire.

1. if you have >+12.3V at battery to coil wire before resistor you're good (check primary and secondary resistance of coil, mine is 1.4 ohm prim, 5.4k secondary). You should have a balast resistor between the + source and + on coil.
2. pull #1 plug (clostest to fan) and use long screwdriver in it to find TDC as you turn motor over. Verify by timing mark on flywheel. Rotate over again to get IGN point lined up with mark.
3. pull cap off and verify rotor is pointing to #1 wire lead. Take rotor off and ensure that breaker points are open (you may even set them to hair before from opening)
4. make sure that the distributor is not freely turning (adv / ret the ignition) and then turn the motor over a little to ensure rotor is spinning correctly
5. should start

I pull the coil to rotor wire off and give it ~1/4 air gap to jump, turning the motor over (with starter) will produce snaps/arcing if the electric is correct. I gave my plugs a little more gap too. The timing on my pertronics unit was a hair off (late I think) and wouldn't start, advancing the timing and more gap on the plugs finally solved the problem.

 

[45cole]

(quoted from post at 20:18:17 11/29/19)
3. pull cap off and verify rotor is pointing to #1 wire lead. Take rotor off and ensure that breaker points are open (you may even set them to hair before from opening)

Should be hair after opening, can't edit the post for some reason

 

[old]

Ah but a tractor does not have a timing chain it has gear just like the Chevy straight 6 engine have

 

[mikem503]

Well new points and new condenser. Still no spark.

 

[mikem503]

Is there a way to check if the new condenser is good?

 

[kevinthefixer]

True but my point is--always check the basics first. I once had an International Scout with a gear-to-gear cam, the cam bearings gave up just before the gears did. Is the distributor cam turning and opening the points here?

 

[rvirgil_KS]

Points come with a protective film and can develop a film if the set for awhile. Fold a dollar bill a couple times, draw it through the closed points. Re check points gap

 

[old]

Ah but you did not say it that way. That is sort of like a IH340 I have. It would not start and long story short the gear at the base of the distributor stripped out and the rotor would not turn as it should but it was a bear to find since it would turn some times

 

[kevinthefixer]

That isn't a Mopar motor, is it? I recall that happening to some Chrysler V8s 40 or 50 years ago.

 

[old]

No the IH340 is a 4 cylinder IH engine