Frustrating no spark issue

[ital]

Check that the thick positive wire from the battery is not loose on the starter solenoid. Disconnect battery first!

[ga.spyder]

Thank you micbrody and ital.Those are both excellent suggestions,and areas I have not even looked at! I am making a list to try and progress thru in a systematic way.I am determined to find my problem area.

[Nitrate]

The capacitor on the dist. must be "Case Grounded" in other words it must be clean of paint and grease and mounted on a clean surface on the dist. This drove me to distraction until I scraped all the new detail paint I had applied to the capacitor. Picked up on the solution looking thru an old Popular Science mag. Case Grounding is a term I will not forget. RB

[divace73]

The capacitor on the dist. must be "Case Grounded" in other words it must be clean of paint and grease and mounted on a clean surface on the dist. This drove me to distraction until I scraped all the new detail paint I had applied to the capacitor. Picked up on the solution looking thru an old Popular Science mag. Case Grounding is a term I will not forget. RB

Many people often forget the circuit needs to be complete and often the outside of many metal sensors are part of the circuit. The same for the heat sink the coil is mounted in, that need to be earthed well.

[sshukes]

I have the same problem and have been following this thread. I also have the engine turns but no spark from the ignition coil. Dumb question, can the ignition coil be put in backwards? If so, what would happen. Thanks

[ga.spyder]

The coil can definitely be hooked up backward.The + should have the pink wire from ignition,red wire from control module,and the wire (black?) from the condenser.The - post of the coil will have the the black wire from the control module,the brown tach wire and the remaining yellow wire. Unfortunately,I can do this in my sleep as I have had them off and on so many times! I think I may hooked mine up wrong on one occasion,as I was switching coils
I have made some progress!!! The car is running.I had a member here ship me his entire spare ignition system(Thanks John) to try and sort out my issue.Since I had no spark from the coil,I started by installing his heat sink,coil,control module assembly.And...no fire. His original Marreli control module didnt test well,so I bought a new Borg Warner control module.I installed it ,and my MSD coil into Johns heat sink assembly.And...instant start!I never installed his dizz,or mag p/u,etc...
Now,the question is what is shorting out my control modules? It isnt the alternator overcharging,as I was able to check that while it was running.To add to the issues,apparently when I had a big backfire(weeks ago) I must have cracked a pipe or manifold as I have an exhaust leak that I never had before! But ...she lives!!!

[spider2081]

Great that you are on the road again. Hope to see you at Freakout

The ignition control module can be one of the most difficult components to troubleshoot. It appears to be a simple part because it only has a couple wires and one connector on it. Inside the module is an electronic circuit that converts the pulses of the distributor pickup to an on off ground circuit that mimics a set of opening and closing points. This makes the internals of the module a complex electronic circuit. Failures can be complete where it does not work at all, or intermittent like rpm related, or heat related, or just plain random.
Without knowing the history of a used ignition control module I would not put a lot of faith in its reliability.
I would not expect one to work properly if there is a possibility it has ever been installed incorrectly.
Like all products some brands are better quality that others, I personally like the module sold by Standard Automotive Products Part Number LX301T. I have used this module in 4 or 5 cars with good results.

[ga.spyder]

Thanks David. I am not going to be able to make it to FFO. The car is running though not running really well. Wouldn't go so far as to say on the road again. LOL Heck,I'm afraid to take it out of the driveway at this point. It may take a while to build confidence back .

[spider2081]

Too bad Wife and I always enjoy your company. We will miss you.

[ga.spyder]

We will miss you both.I have a prior commitment.Even if the car had been running correctly,I wasnt going to be able to go this year.You and Rose have a great time!!