No spark

[Edward P.Bonnici]

I have done the wiring according to the diagram and fixed a new coil and condencer and still i'm getting no spark.
I have also tried to work in a differant way i.e + of coil to battery and - of distributer to coil and - from coil to earth, touched the spark plug to chassis and still there is no spark. The breaker points are slightly pitted but i'm waiting for new ones to arrive.

Can you please advice of other suggestions
Thanks
Edward

[JimG]

I had a similar "no spark" at sea a few months ago, and I just started at the most basic.

First, test just the coil by holding the coil high voltage wire (normally connects to the distributor cap) near ground, and momentarily ground the coil terminal that comes from the points. If the points are closed (just a matter of luck - you can check with a voltmeter), disconnect the wire from the points to the coil before the test.

If that DOESN'T work, check the ground connection from the coil case and verify you have 12V at the "+" terminal of the coil. The coil might be bad if both of those are okay.

If that DOES work, reconnect the points to coil wire, and crank the engine briefly while again holding the coil lead near ground.

If that fails, then the points or condensor are bad. If you have a voltmeter, you can check the points terminal of the coil. If it's always "0" (while cranking the engine), then the points are mis-adjusted or the condensor is shorted. You can disconnect the condensor and see if the measurement improves. If it's always "12v", then the points are glazed or mis-adjusted to be always open. An emory board should fix the glazing enough to get a spark.

If that works, the coil and points are probably ok. That leaves the rotor.

Usually, by the time you've done all that, things mysteriously start working because you've wiggled all the connectors.

I think I've left out some possible sub-steps, but in a nutshell, test the coil, then the points/condensor, then the rotor. Divide and conquer!

[Edward P.Bonnici]

Re-no spark

Thanks for your advice, i will definetly try your suggestion tomorrow morning

[RJD]

Still No Spark

I read over your comments as I have been having the same problem ever since Hurricane Wilma made her way through South Florida. No local mechanics are willing to work on a sailboat so I am muddling through on my own for several months now. I checked for spark and none could be found. Changed the coil, spark plugs, points, and condensor. I ran power directly from the battery to the coil. Still no spark. The spark plg wires were changed less than a year ago so I feel that they should still be okay. The motor turns when cranked but no spark. Any other suggestions other than the local marine owner who told me it's time to say good bye to the atomic 4!!!

[Don Moyer]

RJD,

The most rudimentary way to create a secondary discharge from your coil is to manually open and close the primary circuit while holding the secondary lead approximately 1/4" from a good ground.

If I were on your boat, I'd:

1) Remove the distributor lead from the negative terminal of the coil and install a temporary wire long enough to reach a good grounding point (like the head),

2) With the ignition switch on, I'd insure that the voltage to the positive terminal of the coil doesn't drop more than a volt or two when I touch the
end of the temporary grounding wire to the head.

3) I'd then remove the secondary coil lead from the center of the distributor cap and hold it 1/4" from the head while I manually complete and break the primary circuit by touching and removing the negative lead from the coil to ground. Each time the negative lead from the coil is removed from the grounding source, the coil should create a secondary discharge to the head.

4) If I don't observe a good secondary discharge from the coil, I'd assume the coil is bad. If I do observe a good secondary discharge from the coil, I'd troubleshoot the distributor to determine why the points are not opening and closing the primary circuit to ground. Possibilities include corrosion covering the contacts of the points, a broken wire from the coil to the points, a bad condenser, or (long shot) the breaker plate is not grounded to the distributor body.

Don