No spark, im in the dark.

[Slick Willy]

Hello ladies and gentlemen. After along absence im final back. I have had multiple back and leg surgeries. Im so thankful that i can walk again and i hope finish my car. My trouble is a no fire or spark. My 68 sprite had an old crane cam xr700 ignition. It finally failed. After being on it since the 80's. I replaced it with the new fast xr700. But now it want fire. The little test light lights when you crank it. But when i check for fire on the plugs it went from being barely visible and yellow. To nothing not even a hint of spark. It has a new coil i bought, and the ignition box and wires are all new. Now i have no clue, what to do. Any advice would be deeply an gratefully appreciated.

 

[dklawson]

At this point you don't know if the problem is with the power to the coil/distributor or the module. You won't like to hear this but for the time being, put points back in. Get the engine running on points, then swap in the electronic ignition.

 

[Slick Willy]

I would love to go back. But i dont have the parts. The car was a gift and has been in the family since new but those parts are long gone. I read on the website that if the light flashes on the ignition box it is working.

 

[dklawson]

I have not worked with a Crane/Alison ignition for several years but I remember that the sensor bolts onto the breaker plate (in place of the points) and the amplifier is mounted remotely. Therefore, the only parts you should need to "go back" are a set of points, a condenser, and a wire to go between the points and coil (-).

Is this a 25D4 distributor?

 

[SD Bugeye]

Does your coil use a external resistor

 

[Slick Willy]

No the coil is internal ballasts. Is it possible its the wrong ohms. I read somewhere that i should use a coil rated for 3 ohms. Im not sure on mine. The wife got it at Auto zone and it wasn't marked it just said 12v.

 

[dklawson]

Generally a coil marked "12V" is a standard coil. If in doubt, mark and disconnect the coil's low tension wires, then use a multimeter to check the resistance between the low tension spade lugs. If you measure 1 to 2 Ohms, it's a ballast coil. If you measure 3 to 4 Ohms, it's a standard coil.

Now look at the wiring to the coil. If there is a white/yellow wire anywhere on the coil, your ignition system is the ballast type and you need a ballast coil. If the wiring is original, I am fairly confident that your '68 would have wiring for a standard coil, not a ballast coil.