Ignition: 1960 Lark v8 ignition help

[swampkat]

http://www.jegs.com/i/Mallory/650/501/10002/-1 or would a "Pertronix 1584" ....... would that make my life easier for a complete dumb dumb like myself!!


I did pick up a spark plug test light and a remote starter switch from Harbor freight...(Unsure how to hook up the remote switch) so I can troubleshoot better......


Thanks for any and all help....

[RadioRoy]

Before replacing parts at random, some troubleshooting is in order. It's fairly easy to test if you have spark. Pull one spark plug wire and stick your spark plug test light into it and plug the other end onto the spark plug. Crank the engine and see if there is the occasional spark. If you get a spark, then the problem is most likely fuel related. If you don't get a spark, then try the same thing with the high voltage wire coming from the coil.

Once you start taking things apart, and you are not sure what you are doing, then odds are very high that you will make it worse and cause two or three new problems in addition to the original problem - which you still haven't solved.

Why did you "decide" that you needed a new coil? They don't really go bad that often. If one of the low voltage wires to the old coil came off easily, it may have been broken right at the end, and that might have been the problem.

Do yourself a favor and make some more checks before taking anything more apart. Use the spark plug test light. Put it in series with any of the spark plug wires.

The remote starter switch goes from the hot wire on the battery to one of the two small studs on the starter solenoid (the one that makes the car crank when you push the button). But you still have to have the ignition on to get spark. You can see if you have 12 volts to the coil when the ignition is on with a simple 12 volt test light. They usually look like an ice pick with a light in the handle and an extra wire with a clip on it.

But test the spark at the plug first.
if no spark, then test at the high voltage wire it the coil with the spark plug test light
if no spark at the coil, then test for 12 volts at the coil (small wire)
if 12 volts at the coil, but still no spark, then test the other small wire on the coil that goes to the distributor. Putting a light there should alternately light up and go off as the motor turns the distributor. If it either stays on, or never comes on, the problem is in the points or in the wire going from the coil to the distributor. Check the wire first.
If no 12 volts at the coil, then there is a problem with the ignition switch or, more likely, the wiring from the switch to the ballast resistor to the coil

Don't just assume something is bad. test it before you replace it. The most likely things are the points or the ends/connections of any of the wires.

But don't just rip them out. Test, test, test and think.

[swampkat]

Thank you for your explanations on the procedures for testing....Thank for clarifing the proper use of remote starter switch- I was unsure if the key needed to be on....I now have something to go on to check! Let you know this weekend!

[Dwain G.]

Got any sandpaper? Take a narrow 2 inch strip and fold it over so there is abrasive on both sides. Drag it through the ignition points several times and see if that restores the spark.

[Chicken Hawk]

The first thing I would try is removing the distributor cam and use a point file (or one of your wife's finger nail file) and file the points. Then use a clean piece of cardboard like a 2 x 3 index card and run between the points. Put the cap back on and see if it will start.

Setting that long in a dirt floor building can cause the point to corrode and not make contact.

Good luck.

Ted

[Chicken Hawk]

Dwain, I see you beat me to it.

Ted

[Dwain G.]

Ted, you cited the proper method. Mine was the dirty roadside break-down method.