I've had it with this car.

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ValiantBandit

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You know...I was thinking about transporting this Valiant back to Rhode Island with me next June...And then I thought about how unreliable carburetors are up north, etc...

Anyways that's not the point. The point is I'm enraged. The Goddamn $%^&*^ing car is doing the same crap it was doing before.

It's just cranking,cranking,cranking. There's fuel getting to the carb. The choke closes/opens.

What am I not getting? Spark! I took one of the plugs out and did the spark test and there's nothing. I checked the ignition coil with an ohmmeter, but of course my book says I have to connect some lead to some point on the distributor which I can't even see. It doesn't say anything about if I'm supposed to crank it while I'm doing this or not. In fact the diagram of where I'm supposed to put these leads on the ignition coil blows.

So can someone please tell me what the HELL is going on with my car before I just scrap the piece of crap? I love how I'm probably going to have to take the damned bus tomorrow to work. :mumum:
 
does it have points or electronic ignition?
if it has points they may be dirty or out of adjustment (clean and adjust)
if it is electronic ignition it may be a bad module (about $15 at any auto parts store)
 
Ballast resistor gone bad???

Got power to the coil??? If not run a jumper wire from the positive battery post to the coil and see if it starts.



Wylde1.
 
Most of us carry a ballast resistor in the glove box. Don't scrap something out of frustration - it's old and it's going to have issues. We'll help you get back on the road. Where is the spark missing. Check the plug wires first, then the coil wire. If not at the coil wire, check to be sure you have power at the coil. Simple test. If so, you will need to move to the points that I am sure you still have. Take the cap off and see if they look burned up and be sure they are opening and closing. They are the old school hall effect switch that lets the coil fire. They fail quite often and are a cheap fix. Basically you need to backtrack the spark to find where it is lost. I'm sure others will weigh in with better suggestions than I have. We will see you back on the road!
 
caferacerx said:
does it have points or electronic ignition?
if it has points they may be dirty or out of adjustment (clean and adjust)
if it is electronic ignition it may be a bad module (about $15 at any auto parts store)
Click to expand...


It has points.

..Oh God that would mean I'd have to take apart the whole distributor...Ughhhhh ><
 
convert it to electronic ignition and be done with it
best upgrade you can make
runs better, get's better gas mileage and is WAY more reliable
 
Mopar to ya said:
Most of us carry a ballast resistor in the glove box. Don't scrap something out of frustration - it's old and it's going to have issues. We'll help you get back on the road. Where is the spark missing. Check the plug wires first, then the coil wire. If not at the coil wire, check to be sure you have power at the coil. Simple test. If so, you will need to move to the points that I am sure you still have. Take the cap off and see if they look burned up and be sure they are opening and closing. They are the old school hall effect switch that lets the coil fire. They fail quite often and are a cheap fix. Basically you need to backtrack the spark to find where it is lost. I'm sure others will weigh in with better suggestions than I have. We will see you back on the road!
Click to expand...

Thanks. I'm getting power to the ignition coil so I guess I'll go check the points right now.
 
Mopar to ya said:
Most of us carry a ballast resistor in the glove box. Don't scrap something out of frustration - it's old and it's going to have issues. We'll help you get back on the road. Where is the spark missing. Check the plug wires first, then the coil wire. If not at the coil wire, check to be sure you have power at the coil. Simple test. If so, you will need to move to the points that I am sure you still have. Take the cap off and see if they look burned up and be sure they are opening and closing. They are the old school hall effect switch that lets the coil fire. They fail quite often and are a cheap fix. Basically you need to backtrack the spark to find where it is lost. I'm sure others will weigh in with better suggestions than I have. We will see you back on the road!
Click to expand...


The points look great - they look brand new.
 
Your coil should spark everytime that you ground the ground side of the coil when you have 12v to the hot side. That is what the points are doing - making the connection to ground. So, armed with that knowledge you should be able to troubleshoot the electrical side of things. Now as for the spark timing, the retard / advance changes based on engine speed and load - that is what the advance is about. Either one of those is causing you problems. Just fix it. Hell, if a 16 yr old kid can fix his VW bug based on that little bit of knoledge...
 
one side of the coil has power going to it
the other side of the coil goes to the points
and one side of the points goes to the coil
the other side of the points goes to ground
when the points are closed the power goes through the points to ground
when the points OPEN the power HAS TO go somewhere SO it goes THROUGH the coil where the voltage is increased and sent through the heavy center wire back to the distributor CAP, then through the rotor to the plug wire and finally to the spark plug
 
airwoofer said:
Your coil should spark everytime that you ground the ground side of the coil when you have 12v to the hot side. That is what the points are doing - making the connection to ground. So, armed with that knowledge you should be able to troubleshoot the electrical side of things. Now as for the spark timing, the retard / advance changes based on engine speed and load - that is what the advance is about. Either one of those is causing you problems. Just fix it. Hell, if a 16 yr old kid can fix his VW bug based on that little bit of knoledge...
Click to expand...


I got pissed at your comment. So much so that I went outside just to prove to you that there's spark every time I ground the ground side of the coil. I started doing that and I heard this *click* noise, like a relay click. Something clicked in my head to go start the car. It started right up.

So something's up with the points, correct?
 
ValiantBandit said:
I got pissed at your comment. So much so that I went outside just to prove to you that there's spark every time I ground the ground side of the coil. I started doing that and I heard this *click* noise, like a relay click. Something clicked in my head to go start the car. It started right up.

So something's up with the points, correct?
Click to expand...

Hahahaha! It pissed you off enough to fix it! :) It sounds as if the points are sticking. I would replace them and the condensor. It will cost you $10 or less most likely.
 
Mopar to ya said:
Hahahaha! It pissed you off enough to fix it! :) It sounds as if the points are sticking. I would replace them and the condensor. It will cost you $10 or less most likely.
Click to expand...


Lol!! I know right?

Nothing beat when I got a 1985 Jaguar XJ6 into my shop. This car had a multitude of electrical problems such as:
-Radio randomly turning on & scanning for channels. (Even with the key off.)
-Heater blower motor randomly turning on. (With the key off.)
-Antenna randomly going up and down. (With the key off.)
-Headlights/blinkers randomly going on. (Yes with the key off again.)

It pissed the owner of the car off so much that he gave the car to our shop. I automatically thought of "Christine" by Stephen King.

Well me and all of my mechanics were stumped as to why it was doing this and lol I'll never forget one night....haha..
I was drinking at the shop to celebrate my speedy overhaul of a 1988 Jeep Cherokee engine and I remember seeing the Jaguar in the parking lot with the headlights and blinkers on. (I hated Jaguars at the time.) lol I started swearing at it, got the battery jumper pack, took the negative cable on the pack,connected it to the battery and just started smacking stuff everywhere in the engine bay with the positive cable on the battery pack...(omg I can't stop laughing as I type this lol..) ...There were sparks going EVERYWHERE. (Hey I was 21 at the time what do you want lol...)

Everything just shut off on the car. lol the car never had an electrical problem ever again after that. How do I know? I ended up driving it for 2 1/2 years ahahaha.
 
HA! I drove a 76 XJ6L over a cliff backwards once just like in a movie
went to back out of a steep driveway and when I got to the bottom I went to hit the brakes and the pedal went down to the floor
before I could get the emergency brake we (me and my girlfriend, the one sitting on my old pickup) went across the road through a fence and part way over a rocky embankment,
there we are teetering on the edge of a 20-30 foot drop and I am telling her to S L O W L Y open the door and very carefully get out, (it was my drummers car)
 
ValiantBandit said:
Lol!! I know right?

Nothing beat when I got a 1985 Jaguar XJ6 into my shop. This car had a multitude of electrical problems such as:
-Radio randomly turning on & scanning for channels. (Even with the key off.)
-Heater blower motor randomly turning on. (With the key off.)
-Antenna randomly going up and down. (With the key off.)
-Headlights/blinkers randomly going on. (Yes with the key off again.)

It pissed the owner of the car off so much that he gave the car to our shop. I automatically thought of "Christine" by Stephen King.

Well me and all of my mechanics were stumped as to why it was doing this and lol I'll never forget one night....haha..
I was drinking at the shop to celebrate my speedy overhaul of a 1988 Jeep Cherokee engine and I remember seeing the Jaguar in the parking lot with the headlights and blinkers on. (I hated Jaguars at the time.) lol I started swearing at it, got the battery jumper pack, took the negative cable on the pack,connected it to the battery and just started smacking stuff everywhere in the engine bay with the positive cable on the battery pack...(omg I can't stop laughing as I type this lol..) ...There were sparks going EVERYWHERE. (Hey I was 21 at the time what do you want lol...)

Everything just shut off on the car. lol the car never had an electrical problem ever again after that. How do I know? I ended up driving it for 2 1/2 years ahahaha.
Click to expand...
Yet another succesful act of stupidity :cheers:
But seriously sounds like the points are sticking,take some sand paper and scuff them up alittle.
 
caferacerx said:
HA! I drove a 76 XJ6L over a cliff backwards once just like in a movie
went to back out of a steep driveway and when I got to the bottom I went to hit the brakes and the pedal went down to the floor
before I could get the emergency brake we (me and my girlfriend, the one sitting on my old pickup) went across the road through a fence and part way over a rocky embankment,
there we are teetering on the edge of a 20-30 foot drop and I am telling her to S L O W L Y open the door and very carefully get out, (it was my drummers car)
Click to expand...
How bad were the skid marks????
 
I am guessing you have a single point distributor. Get on the Summit website and find yourself a Pertronix kit. You can install it in a half an hour with minimal knowledge and a few simple tools and it will last years with no troubles. Mike
(not a bad thing to upgrade and if it doesn't take care of your problem you know it's not points and condenser)
 
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