Ignition: No spark after changing coil,points,condenser,ballast resistor

[Black Bear]

Can anyone tell me where the ground wire on the breaker plate is and how it is attached to ground it to the distributor? Is there a schematic out there with that detail? I have it apart and no sign of it. I called Standard Ignition after ordering their ground wire from Napa and they had no idea where it went in the distributor. The Studie shop manual shows a Autolite illustration but shows no ground wire!!???Have tried all previous suggestions and it appears all roads lead to the ground.
Hope I can send the pictures of the coil and distributor setup.
I have a 62 Hawk GT with an Autolite distributor IBD 4108 12S Studie manual says this is ok on the 289 v8 I have.
The resistor ballast on top of the coil is part#1931648 DR 5MF. Can't identify ,parts store said it might be Standard Ignition, no luck finding that either. All items have been changed, came from Studie Int. except resistor on coil, generic I have power to the coil and then on to the points. Power to negative and positive terminals of the coil all the time, the points are gapped at .16 I can take a screwdriver and get sparks when I ground the points or condenser to any part of the distributor case. Can't get a spark across points and the negative terminal of coil is positive even when the points are closed. Hope the pictures will tell a thousand words. The car worked with the setup as pictured. Any suggestions are appreciated. Many thanks.

[1961lark]

Are you sure there is continuity between the points? I recently had a brand new set of points that would not let voltage pass through, a little emery cloth and they work great.

[Tom Bredehoft]

Two things here,

Power to negative and positive terminals of the coil all the time, the points are gapped at .16

Power only to the positive terminal, negative goes to ground

And, .16 is ten times the gap you need, I hope you mean .016.

[Dwain G.]

The resistor is a radio noise suppressor, won't affect the ignition unless it is shorted. The pink wire is a resistor and is suspect. Doesn't this car have a green/black wire from starter solenoid 'I' terminal to ignition coil '+' ? You are reading power to the coil minus terminal because the points are open.
Turn the engine a bit to close the points. Remove the coil wire from the center of the distributor cap and hold it close to ground using insulated pliers. Work the points open and closed with a screwdriver. You should get a spark from the coil wire each time the points are opened.

[alex54]

That "resistor" on the coil is actually a capacitor (condenser) that is used for radio noise suppression. Like mentioned, will not affect your ignition unless it is shorted. The ignition will work with out it, but your radio will be noisy. You can disconnect it for testing purposes. If you need a replacement, you can use a generic GM or Ford noise suppressor that was used from the 60's-70's (GM) and 70's-mid 80's (Ford). The connection may be different as they were connected to the regulator, but the mounting bracket on the capacitor is pretty universal. Its a .5mF (micro Farad) value according to the last digits on your part number.

As for the power on both sides of the coil, like mentioned, that only happens only when the points are open. when the points are closed, the - side is grounded by the points, and should be "0". If not, the points are not closing properly, or they may be contaminated. I have encountered that with older points as the will oxidize (Happened to me with my 49 Chevy). New ones may have a slight coating of grease to prevent oxidation, but its needs to be cleaned off before use or you will still have problems. (This happened to me with my MGB). You can clean them with extra fine sand paper. I used my wife's nail file (but didn't tell her.....)

[gordr]

What the others have said. Clean the points. A piece of 400-grit wet-or-dry sandpaper doubled over works great, follow up with a plain business card. Ensure you put a tiny daub of grease on the points' rubbing block to lubricate it and the cam. Points sets used to include a little red capsule of grease.

[Mike Van Veghten]

gordr -

You don't "sand" a brand new set of points (as is strongly hinted at in the title and nice clean parts in the picture)...!
A proper feeler gauge (or dwell meter) is also preferable to a business card..! That's for problems on the roadside..!

Just my nickles worth.

Mike

[Bud]

I agree with Mike, it's not a good idea to sand the points as it leaves a rough finish on the contacts which shortens the life of the points considerably. If the contacts are nasty enough to require sanding, then another set of points should be used. A business card is about .020" thick which is useable on a 6 cylinder engine, but not a V8 plus they can leave lint between the contacts causing the points not to close fully. No spark goes back to an earlier thread where I stated that new production ignition parts can be of suspect quality and will cause you to chase your tail trying to locate the bad part. I'll bet in this case either the coil or the condenser is bad or the points are grounding to the breaker plate. Start by verifying the coil has 9 or 10 volts on the positive side of the coil with the ignition switch in the run position which eliminates the ballast resistor and the ignition switch as being defective. If there is adequate voltage at the coil, start looking at a defective coil, points or condenser. It's possible, but not likely that there is a problem with the cap or rotor too. Bud

[njonkman]

I specialized in auto carburation and tune-up for over40 years and I never installed a set of points without inserting the front of my shirt between the contacts and sliding them up and down a few times to assure there was no trace of oil residue on the contact surface. Never filed new points in my life. The roughness created will cause multi- arcing instead of a good sharp arc between the contacts. Filing points is only for a temporary fix not for permanent fixing. Contact surfaces should be glass smooth. The only touch up I have ever done was with flex stone files from Snap-On Tools. They actually polish the contacts.
Nick

[Dan Timberlake]

If the engine has stopped in just the right place the rotor can be twisted back and forth against the centrifugal advance springs to open and close the points. With the key on, and the coil wire unplugged from the dist cap and stuck onto a grounded test plug (new spark plug with a 1/8 inch gap) twisting the rotor should make a nice spark across the test plug. If not, with the key on and the points closed I check the voltage drop across the points with a VOM set to 12 volts DC. One probe on the distributor housing, the other on the points power lead. Anything more than about 0.3 volts means the points aren't closed, or they are too dirty to conduct well, or there's a bad power connection, etc.

Back in the days of the Plymouth troubleshooting contest painting the points faces with clear nail polish would create a no start/ no spark situation with points that "looked good" and were gapped properly. A voltage drop test across the closed points would show 12 volts, just like if the points were open.

[Black Bear]

Will try this and let you know. Thanks.

[Black Bear]

Sorry about comment on power to negative In have only power connected to positive terminal. When ignition is on using a remote starter the negative side shows power all the time as the points open and close, no spark across points. Gap is .016 opps. Thanks

[Black Bear]

Thanks
Will try the points cleaning and find the noise suppressor. Won't ask the wife for her file could be dangerous!

[Black Bear]

I have power to the minus terminal in the closed position as well. Will check the green/black wire but I believe it is correct. Thanks.

[Black Bear]

Thanks Replaced all and went back to original coil and has the 10 volts.