Gary -
The best way to diagnose a no spark situation is to
start your diagnostic flipping back and forth between
the between the ignition power source (i.e. the wire
supplying power to the coil) and the spark plug itself
and working your way from both these ends towards the
distributor.
So check spark plugs spark (no spark?), then check
power to the coil (if power, ok, if not.. then work
back to igntion switch then battery). If power is ok,
then check spark at leads... then work your way back.
Due to the sudden cut off, my guess is you have a bad
rotor or a cracked distributor cap. Possibly a bad
coil.
Regards,
Alan
'53 BN1 '64 BJ8
--- Editorgary@aol.com wrote:
> Okay, here's a puzzle for Gus at the Good-Time
> Garage, or the Tappet Twins at
> NPR.
> I'm going to try debugging this, but toss in your
> suggestions as to what you
> think might be wrong and what to check, and when I
> get to the bottom of the
> problem, I'll tell you.
> After three outings with my Healey-- the first 250
> miles, the second 75
> miles, and the third that ended abruptly half a mile
> from home today after a 60
> mile drive -- my car is sitting in the garage,
> insisting that it be fixed before
> I take it out again.
> Hasn't been tuned up in quite awhile, but started up
> on first turn and idled
> smoothly. I'm running standard points ignition.
> After all those miles of totally uneventful
> motoring, as I turned off the
> highway on to the main street very close to home,
> the car just stopped.
> After I cruised to a stop and pushed it into a
> convenient parking lot, i
> determined the following --- It has charge; turns
> over like a champ, but just
> won't catch. It has gas; both float bowls full. All
> wires between the coil and
> distributor are securely hooked up. It may not be
> making a spark; the screwdriver
> in the lead, and holding the lead near the sparkplug
> tip produce nothing.
> Disconnecting the black/white ground wire at the
> terminal near the fuse block
> didn't help (so it isn't a cut-off switch/wire
> problem). That's as far as I got
> before I decided that working in my garage at my
> leisure was preferable to
> working in a parking lot with only emergency tools.
> Question one: what would you check and in what
> order?
> Question two: As a W.A.G., what do you think is
> going to turn out to be wrong?
> Cheers
> Gary
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