Set distributor point gap... now no spark at all

[sreams]

My M30B35 has been running now for about a week. I checked the distributor point gap today and found it to be far too small. I reset the gap (.015"), and now I have no spark whatsoever. My timing light indicates nothing while running the starter. I tried setting the points back to about where they were before adjusting them... and still no spark at all.

I have voltage at the coil, and all wiring is hooked up the same as it was when it worked.

I have a spare coil that I know works, but still no spark. Could it be that setting the proper gap allowed more voltage build-up and that I fried the old condenser (that perhaps was about to die anyway)? I have a new cap/rotor/points/condenser on the way, but wanted to know what others thought in the meantime. Thanks ahead.

-Scott

 

[jmackro]

Could it be that setting the proper gap allowed more voltage build-up and that I fried the old condenser (that perhaps was about to die anyway)?

No. Condensers (which we all know are capacitors) last forever. It is far more likely that something got shorted when you moved the points. Check the resistance between movable arm of the points and ground - it should be high with the points open and the wire to the coil disconnected.

This is something simple, but not readily visible. Check with a continuity tester, look for worn or misplaced insulators, etc.

 

[Stevehose]

Pertonix! Set and forget with better performance and no fiddling.

 

[sreams]

I may do Pertronix in the future (I have it on my other cars), but I'd like to figure this problem out before trying to fix what isn't necessarily the source of the problem.

My multimeter shows high resistance with the points open and no resistance with them closed. All of the insulators appear to be in good shape and doing their jobs.

The main coil wire shows 1K ohms and each plug wire about 5700 ohms. The wire from the negative side of the coil to the distributor shows a good connection, and I definitely have 12V at the positive side. If the problem is not the condenser, I am stumped as to what else it would be.

I'm replacing the points and condenser tomorrow... so hopefully I luck out and that solves it.

-Scott

 

[sreams]

Well... I messed with it a bit more, set the gap once again, and now it is working perfectly. I have no idea why, but I'll take it.

 

[deQuincey]

Well... I messed with it a bit more, set the gap once again, and now it is working perfectly. I have no idea why, but I'll take it.

yeah it is a bit tricky, I did it once: the car was ok, I set the gap, i started the car and it was horrible, I stopped the car, set the gap again , and it was ok

probably the problem is the way in which you do it, it is a 0,4mm gap, so a little movement in the last moment before tightening the bolt, and you are done !

congrats