• Hi Guest!
    If you appreciate British Car Forum and our 25 years of supporting British car enthusiasts with technical and anicdotal information, collected from our thousands of great members, please support us with a low-cost subscription. You can become a supporting member for less than the dues of most car clubs.
    There are some perks with a member upgrade!
    **Upgrade Now**
    (PS: Subscribers don't see this gawd-aweful banner
Tips
Tips

No fire in the hole!??

Share this page

M

markclark1556

Member
Offline
Today, trying to start a 1963 3000 and there is no spark. I know this because I removed each of the spark plugs and while attached to the sparkplug wire leading from the distributor I grounded the plug to the motor's block while cranking the starter and could not see a spark in the gap of the plug. The coil, rotor and condinsor are brand new, the distributor cap and spark plug wires look nearly new. I also removed the white wire from the (-) side of the coil (it shows SW on the original coil I replaced) to see if it would spark as I grounded it to the block, it did not. I wondered if anybody had a checklist of where I should go from here. [the battery is new, the starter sounds up to the job, the points are gaped 0.015, the rotor rotates when the starter cranks]. Thank you as always. Mark
 
I don't know a lot about this stuff but check that the carbon brush at the center of the distributor cap is properly spring loaded and making contact with the rotor. Mine didn't once and I had the same problem.
Good luck
 
The rotor is suspect as a common cause even new ones. Were you able to drive after you replaced the coil. Check for the wiring of the condenser and other dizzy wires. Be sure you have the points wired in the proper order under the nut.
 
Mark,

I'd recommend you get a simple 12V tester (about $10 or so) and see if you have a hot wire to the coil from the ignition switch. If you are grounding out wires to check for spark, you definitely need the tester before you blow a fuse, or worse. If you are unfamiliar with the tester, it is a sharp probe on one end, with a wire and clip on the other, has a light bulb in the handle.

Once you have established there is current to one side of the coil with the switch turned on, hook up your tester to the other side of the coil. As you turn the engine over with the starter, the tester light should wink on and off. This means the points are doing their job.

Good luck. Let us know what happens.

Jeff
 
Fairview, If I buy the tester you describe do I 1) place the clamp on a ground and 2) place the sharp end on the wire from ignition to the coil at the point where the wire slips onto the coil bracked marked (-), and its hot if the light comes on?
 
markclark1556 said:
Fairview, If I buy the tester you describe do I 1) place the clamp on a ground and 2) place the sharp end on the wire from ignition to the coil at the point where the wire slips onto the coil bracked marked (-), and its hot if the light comes on?
Click to expand...

Mark,

Here is the kind of tester I'm talking about- readily available at any automotive store. Yes, clip the little clamp on a ground, such as engine block, etc.. Then the probe end touch to the connection and the light in the handle will illuminate if you have power there. Hope this helps. Jeff

2218308062-L.jpg
 
Follow the electrons.

Voltage at the battery?
Voltage at the coil?
Spark out to disti?
Spark out of disti?
 
It is easy to mix up the order when replacing the contacts (pigtails) on the post that the points pivot. You may have grounded the connections to that post.
 
to tahoe healey. you suggestd that I ensure that I did not ground the connections to the post that the points pivot on. What connections are you referring to? The pigtails? What are the pigtails (contacts) that you are referring to? Thanks for the info and suggestions. Mark
 
Thanks, Tim, that is what I meant. Also, condensers have been known to be faulty from new. I'd start by putting the old rotor back in as a check for the new one. Many new rotors are crap.
I would retrace every thing you did step by step.
 
There is a comprehensive check list in the Good Book.

You should have a wiring diagram and you could use a lamp instead of a volt meter.

Examine all HT cables - presumed done

Test all plugs - done

Low tension checks -

You are required to release the instrument panel from the dash, you may be able to get away by just realeasing the ignition switch to get at the terminals.

Turn engine until dizzy points are open and switch on ignition

Cable - battery to starter switch - connect voltmeter between supply terminal of starter switch and an earty - no reading - faulty cable.

Cable (Brown) - Starter switch to 2 way fuse unit A1 terminal - connect VM between fuse unit A1 and earth - no reading then faulty or loose cable

Control box - connect vm between A1 terminal of the box and earth - no reading - faulty control box.

Cable (brown and blue) - Control box to lighting and ignition switch - connect the vm between the lighting terminal and earth - no reading indicates faulty cable or loose connection

Ignition switch - connect vm between ignition switch white cable terminal and earth - no reading faulty switch.

Cable (white)ignition switch to fuse unit A3 terminal - connect vm bewteen fuse unit A3 terminal and earth - no reading - faulty cable or loose connection.

Cable (white ) fuse unit A3 to ignition coil connect vm between ignition coil terminal (SW) and earth - no reading indicates faulty cable or loose connection.

Ignition coil - connect vm between ignition coil terminal (CB) and earth - no reading indicates faulty ignition coil.

Cable (white with black) ignition coil to dizzy - connect vm between dizzt terminal and earth - no reading - faulty cable or loose connection.

Dizzy - connect vm across dizzy contacts - if no reading is obtained remove the capacitor and test again - if no reading the capacitor is faulty.

If all above is actually OK then the good book says remove the HT cable from the centre terminal of the dizzy cap, switch the ignition on and crank the engine to close the contacts. Flick the contact breaker lever open while holding the end of the HT cable from the coil about 5mm away from the block - iff all the ignition equipment is in order there should be a strong spark - if not then the ignition coil is faulty.

This seams long winded but it does check every step along the ignition system. When I had a similar problem, I must confess that I started half way along the route and found that the low tension wire from the coil to the dizzy had broken internally at an end, whilst the insulation looked Ok, also the centre spring loaded contact in the dizzy cap tended to stick a little and just needed a little lube.

Best of luck

:cheers:

Bob
 
No luck yet!!? I have a coil that works. I think my contact points are grounded. With battery attached, ignition switch on , and the points gap at their max I placed a jump wire from the center of my coil to a test plug ( a plug attached to an alligator clip that is grounded to the engine block) and repeatedly placed a flat head screw driver between points. I should have seen a spark in the test plug but I didn't. I wonder if anyone has a photo of the inside of the distributor that shows the ground wire that is attached to the distributor body and contact breaker plate, the location of any washers that are placed under the contact breaker plate, the placement of the plastic insulator on the points' pivot post,the placement of the condenser lead and wire from the coil around this pivot post, etc. That may be my problem. Thanks for all the advise that got me to this point. Mark
 
To everyone that pitched in "THANK YOU!!!" I just my 1963 AH 3000 started. I found that I was grounding out the white/black wire from the coil where it entered the distributor. The last time this motor was started was March, 1984. Thank you all. Now I just need to time it and figure out why I am not getting that "Clunking sound" in the front carb. Again, thanks and God Bless. Mark
 
Back
Top