standard 88 gas

[rusty tractor]

i have a 88 gas that has spark right to the distributor cap but it seems to lose it from there, im a little too young to know all the in"s and outs of point ingnition. the unit has been coverted to 12v but the ignition circuit is still on 6v. i"m very confused. the points will work and make the coil spark but when it hits the cap nothing. i suspect it may be a timing issue. but i have rotated the distributor 360 degrees with no spark. my opinion is the distributor is grounding to the engine. am i missing something? i hope i have given enough info and if not please replay with any question. this would be awesome to get the old girl running again. and plaese any idea is a good oneim out of options here. thanks in advance

 

[Dick W.]

If you have spark on the coil wire to the distributor and not at the plug wire terminals you have a cracked cap or rotor. If it just won't start you could have the timing too far off or the problem could be in the fuel system. To make an engine run you need fuel, spark and compression all at just the correct amount and time.

 

[Bryce]

If you have spark at the points my next check would be the rotor.

 

[rusty tractor]

i have checked the cap and think it could be the size of the rotor. i am a mechaninc so the whole suck squeeze bang blow thing i know well. but its the whole point ignition thing i have trouble with. thanks for the keep it simple attitude though. like i said every bit counts. the cap and rotor appear to be new so the only thing i can think of is perhaps timing or maybe they are the wrong parts. i will try to get a new cap and rotor. as for timing i have spunthe cap right around and still no consistnt spark from the wires. thanks again and keep it coming

 

[J.Wondergem]

That 6 volt coil should work fine with 12 volts running through it. The rotor tip should be about a 1/16th distance between the cap prongs when it turns inside the cap. Should spark just as the points are beginning to open. Make sure you have the copper center spark plug wires.