As the title states, I almost had to push my car off the road today, luckily I had some momentum because of a hill.
I was sitting at a light, waiting for it to change and the engine quit, like the switch was turned off. No pops or anything, and it had been running fine up until then.
I tried to start it several times and all I got was a couple random firings, then nothing ever after.
I checked everything...the rotor turns and there's voltage at the coil and the ballast. The ballast is good. I have the factory service manual which outlines several ohm tests regarding the control box and the pickup module. Are these reliable?
I noticed the distributor still has the "rivet" holding the pickup to the plate, so it's never been changed. The other distributor has had that drilled off so the pickup can be changed without disassembly....good idea?
This is all 1973-vintage electronic ignition w/4 wire box and single ballast. Is there any advantage to using a 5-wire box and dual ballast if I have to replace some bad parts?
BTW the control box doesn't appear to have overheated and lost it's goo.
Thanks...