Make sure the points are opening and closing. 

Condensers don't go bad very often. Pull it out and check to see if it is good. With a digital multimeter set on OHMS put the + on the wire and - on the case and it will charge the condenser. Quickly switch the VOM to volts and read the voltage. The condenser should have some small amount of voltage and drop fast. If it does it's good.

I don't understand setting the timing to TDC before pulling. What did you pull? If you pulled the distributor you need to recheck that the engine is indeed on TDC on #1 and reset the distributor to match. Air, fuel and spark (at the right time) is all that is needed.

The engine was stripped down to a long block for painting. Before I pulled the engine and while everything was running well, I marked the location of the distributor housing and block for reference as well as the position of the rotor at TDC. I did all this to prevent the very problem I'm having. 
I've cleaned all the grounds, engine turns over fine, just no spark from the coil. I'm thinking the only thing left is the distributor components. 

GPatrick wrote:

Is your I wire connected properly at the solenoid - if not you may not have spark while trying to start but show 12 v at the coil with key on?  Got the rotor in it?  Yep, I've done that one myself. 

 
This gets my vote.

I'll check the solenoid wiring, it could be???
Engine spins over fine, rotor rotates, points are gaped and working visually as is supposed to. I get your point about the 40K volts. I only tested with the switch on. It's got to be something simple, thanks for the ideas/help.

351MooseStang wrote:

Pull the coil wire at the distributor and set it close to a ground where you can see a spark when it fires. Pull your points wire off the points connection, turn the ignition on, and ground the points wire. Does the coil fire? If not, verify power at the coil and if there, replace coil.

If the coil fires, turn off ignition and connect back to points (w/condenser). Turn distributor body until points are open, turn on ignition, and rotate the distributor housing to close the points. If coil does not fire, disconnect the condenser and repeat the test but instead of rotating the housing and maybe pitting the points, just use a screwdriver to bridge close/open the gap. If the coil fires, replace the condenser.

Good luck!

Great info!  A method for troubleshooting points isn't something you're going to come by easily. 
 

I m thinking you have a bad coil.  But you can check the points very easily.  With the distributor cap off and the rotor in place, grab the rotor and twist it back and forth. Move the engine or the distributor so the points are just about ready to open. With the key in the run position twist the rotor by hand back and forth. You will manually be opening and closing the points. Every time they open they should spark. You can also do the same test with the key off and a VOM. If you have continuity do the key on trick and see how long your coil works.

Since your ignition is firing, next is to check your distributor positioning/timing. A quick way to check initial positioning (pointed at #1 TDC, either stroke) is to turn the engine to TDC on your timing pointer, pull #1 plug and check that the piston is at TDC with a screwdriver. If not, your timing marks on your harmonic balancer are wrong. They should be OK but still verify this. Now check to see if your rotor is pointing in the area of #1 or the fifth cylinder in the firing order (#6), which is 180 from the #1 rotor position. If not, your distributor is in wrong. If pointing at #1 or #6, place finger over plug hole for #1 and bump starter until compression starts to build. Move to TDC and check your rotor position to make sure it is pointing at #1 tower on the cap.

As far as setting points after installing the distributor, I turn the engine over until the rotor is pointing at #1 and then position the crank at 12 degrees BTDC. Pull the points wire from the coil and hook it up to a test meter, connecting the other end of the meter to ground; set the meter to diode check or the lowest OHM scale. Rotate the distributor counterclockwise until the points close and the meter reads grounded. Now slowly rotate the distributor body until the meter shows a break with ground. Lock the distributor in place and you are ready to go!

Good luck!

Last edited by 351MooseStang (7/02/2019 10:30 PM)

67 Fastback wrote:

The coil works. With the points open, and the switch on, I can take the tip of a screwdriver, bridge the gap and the coil fires every time. So why does it not work like it is suppose to? Thanks for the help.

Will the coil fire when you crank the engine? I once had a no-start condition after the car hibernated for the winter. Points were opening and closing while the distributor turned but no spark was produced. I checked the point gap and condenser and all were good. Still no spark. I took a little 600 wet/dry sandpaper to the points and it suddenly ran. Those points are still in the distributor working fine.

If you have spark each time the points open then you need to follow all of the advice given above to make sure you have the distributor stabbed correctly and that the plug wires are indeed correctly install. 



 

There should be an internal ground wire that is connected to the base of the points and to the distributor going down under the point plate. It is possible that the whole distributor is not grounding because of the gasket and dirty hold down clamp and hardware. Check it with a VOM. Also check the points like RV6 said. You only have to make a couple of swipes. When you are working on it, do it as low of light as you can. Sometimes you can see the electricity coming out of other areas that you shouldn't be.

You may also want to verify that you have a constant 12v with ignition switch on. If it is intermittent, you may also have a bad ignition switch or wiring too. If still having a no start condition, temporarily place jumper from battery positive to coil and then start. Hopefully it’s just dirty points that you can clean as suggested earlier.

Could be if the coil is firing, the spark is not getting to the plug wires.  Suggest checking the distributor cap for cracks, check the rotor for continuity from the tip to center point, ensure the rotor is properly contacting the distributor cap center point, and clean these contact points.