Spark In no Spark Out!

[Geoff 2]

It was never the rotor. When you look at the pic & see where the rotor blade is positioned, the black mark on the underside of the rotor does not line up. For it to have punched through the rotor, you would expect to see a black mark on the top of the rotor, to the right of the blade.
The red material is not bakelite, it is Rynite which has very high dielectric strength, better than the biscuit coloured Alkyd that was used previously.
The only 'electronics' this dist has is the p/up coil. Rarely do these fail electrically, such as grounding internally or go open circuit. Check the air gap, should be 0.010"; make sure none of the rel tips make contact with the p/up coil; rusty reluctor will not affect operation.
If this checks out, look at the coil, ign box or module & check supply voltage to the box.

 

[72 Satellite]

It was never the rotor. When you look at the pic & see where the rotor blade is positioned, the black mark on the underside of the rotor does not line up. For it to have punched through the rotor, you would expect to see a black mark on the top of the rotor, to the right of the blade.
The red material is not bakelite, it is Rynite which has very high dielectric strength, better than the biscuit coloured Alkyd that was used previously.
The only 'electronics' this dist has is the p/up coil. Rarely do these fail electrically, such as grounding internally or go open circuit. Check the air gap, should be 0.010"; make sure none of the rel tips make contact with the p/up coil; rusty reluctor will not affect operation.
If this checks out, look at the coil, ign box or module & check supply voltage to the box.

If you read my initial post, you'll see the Coil, Ignition Box, and Supply Voltage all checked out fine. I did not check the air gap, or Reluctor tip contact with the Pickup yet. I'll be replacing the Distributor tonight after work, and rebuilding this one for a good spare. Thanks for the input.

Rob

 

[72 Satellite]

Verified TDC @ #1 Cylinder, and am embarrassed to say that I indeed installed the new Rotor 180 degrees out, duhhhhh. Flipped Rotor and attempted to start engine. It would fire, but not stay engaged, as if Spark was still very weak. This was the closest it's come to actually running since it died while driving last week. Double checked all my connections and Supply Voltage. I did make an improvement to my Positive Battery terminal lead, as I didn't feel it was quite tight enough. Today I will setup and install the Springs in my new Distributor, and drop her in after work this evening. Fingers crossed that she'll fire up and purr like a kitten.

Rob

 

[RM23M9A]

2 days ago I'm cruising along and suddenly the engine dies. The first couple attempts at restart produced very weak and short firing. After that, no firing what so ever.

Troubleshooting results so far

-Battery (Redtop New) 12.6 V
-Alternator (Tuff Stuff 130 amp New) 12.3 V
-Ignition Box (MSD 6AL New) Spark Test = OK
-Coil (MSD Blaster2 New) P = 1.2 ohms/S = 4.94k
-Coil Spark Test to ground = Good & Strong
-Distributor (MSD #8546) Mag P'up = 555 ohms
-Cap/Rotor = Seen Worse/Carbon Ball still there/minor Carbon & Corrosion
-Distributor Shaft =Spins Good While Cranking
-Plug Wires = OK
-Plug Wire Spark Test to ground = No Good
-Plugs = Clean

After latest call to MSD, the tech says to send the Distributor in for repair. He says the "Internal Ground" is probably bad. Says it's around $60 to fix.

I've done some searching on similar Ignition problems, and have seen ZERO mentions of this. Most of the "Spark in and no Spark out" scenarios were Cap/Rotor related from what I've read. I do have a new set coming tomorrow to rule that out.

Have any of you guys ever heard of or experienced a bad internal ground on a dizzy before? Thanks for any and all help.

Rib

View attachment 1252588 View attachment 1252589 View attachment 1252590 View attachment 1252591 View attachment 1252592 View attachment 1252593

100% OEM is the only way. Harnesses, ECU, EVERYTHING. Its only uphill from there....

 

[72 Satellite]

100% OEM is the only way. Harnesses, ECU, EVERYTHING. Its only uphill from there....

I bought her as a mild resto-mod 3 years ago. It started life as a pedestrian 318 Satellite, and I liked much of what the PO did. Since it's not a rare B body, i don't mind making changes and/or non OEM upgrades. I also like a good troubleshooting challenge, glutton for punishment I guess. Time constraints, age, family etc., all pushed me in the direction of getting something solid as a starting point, no time for a complete rebuild. I wanna spend more time driving, than building or fixing.

Rob

 

[RM23M9A]

I bought her as a mild resto-mod 3 years ago. It started life as a pedestrian 318 Satellite, and I liked much of what the PO did. Since it's not a rare B body, i don't mind making changes and/or non OEM upgrades. I also like a good troubleshooting challenge, glutton for punishment I guess. Time constraints, age, family etc., all pushed me in the direction of getting something solid as a starting point, no time for a complete rebuild. I wanna spend more time driving, than building or fixing.

Rob

So I had to re-read this one. You said Spark Plug test FAILED? Wondering if you got the distributor back yet. I do know doesnt take much carbon or "Arcing" to weaken the spark just enough.. Is distributor cap VENTED? Have a small black plastic cap that seems to move around? As spark happens, a gas builds up within the dist. cap. And will cause crossfiring or missfiring. This one's a penholder now, but you can see the VENT cap..
That would be my 1st go to if everything else seems good. Timing as well.

 

[72 Satellite]

Sorry for the late update. I still can't figure out why she completely died and wouldn't fire while I was driving. My best guess is the Spark found a better path through my Rotor and disabled my distributor.

Before installing the new distributor, I changed all the plugs, and verified all the plug wires. The wires were all in the expected ohm range (500 - 1500), and cleaned up nicely. The plugs were a mixed bag, some fouled and wetter than others, all fairly bad (Rich). 3 of them had gas/oil leakage (sludge) on the exterior porcelain, haven't seen that before. I only got a compression check on #1 (162 psi), #3 was such a PITA, couldn't get the hose hooked up. Fingers crossed, I cranked her over, and there was some life. Advanced the new Dizzy a few times, and she fired up. Hooked up my 35 year old Craftsman timing light, and of course it's FUBAR! Purchased a new timing light, and started tuning. I didn't expect it to want 20+ advanced, but it sure did. The 509 Cam sure makes Vacuum and tuning tough for an amateur like myself. Vacuum gauge on the way so I can dial it in a little better. Also need to put the Black advance bushing in the Distributor and swap the Heavy silver springs for a light blue and light silver I guess. Next, I'll take her to a reputable Carb shop near me and have it checked out by a pro.

#1 Plug Pic

 

[72 Satellite]

So I had to re-read this one. You said Spark Plug test FAILED? Wondering if you got the distributor back yet. I do know doesnt take much carbon or "Arcing" to weaken the spark just enough.. Is distributor cap VENTED? Have a small black plastic cap that seems to move around? As spark happens, a gas builds up within the dist. cap. And will cause crossfiring or missfiring. This one's a penholder now, but you can see the VENT cap..
That would be my 1st go to if everything else seems good. Timing as well.

View attachment 1261534

You beat me to it, LOL.
Yes, the new distributor is an MSD 8546, with new vent. Thanks

 

[72 Satellite]

So I had to re-read this one. You said Spark Plug test FAILED? Wondering if you got the distributor back yet. I do know doesnt take much carbon or "Arcing" to weaken the spark just enough.. Is distributor cap VENTED? Have a small black plastic cap that seems to move around? As spark happens, a gas builds up within the dist. cap. And will cause crossfiring or missfiring. This one's a penholder now, but you can see the VENT cap..
That would be my 1st go to if everything else seems good. Timing as well.

View attachment 1261534

Amazing Bee you have there sir!

 

[72 Satellite]

It was never the rotor. When you look at the pic & see where the rotor blade is positioned, the black mark on the underside of the rotor does not line up. For it to have punched through the rotor, you would expect to see a black mark on the top of the rotor, to the right of the blade.
The red material is not bakelite, it is Rynite which has very high dielectric strength, better than the biscuit coloured Alkyd that was used previously.
The only 'electronics' this dist has is the p/up coil. Rarely do these fail electrically, such as grounding internally or go open circuit. Check the air gap, should be 0.010"; make sure none of the rel tips make contact with the p/up coil; rusty reluctor will not affect operation.
If this checks out, look at the coil, ign box or module & check supply voltage to the box.

Thanks. Just curious why common opinion is .010 gap, when the factory says .018 to .028 gap ? What's the proper method for adjustment?

Rob