On Sat, 21 Nov 1998 19:22:57 -0500, Chris Chandler wrote:
>"Andrew B. Lundgren" wrote:
>>
>> On Sat, 21 Nov 1998 18:06:16 -0500, Chris Chandler wrote:
>
>> Two: Pull of a spark plug wire; sick a phillips screw driver about the
>
[snip]
>Did this now. Very confusing.. it sparked once in a while... shouldn't
>it spark regularly???
Yes it should spark very regularly and frequently.
(Every other time the piston to which the wire pertains comes to the
top of they cylinder on a four stoke engine. Unless I am really
confused!)
>Bad distributor?
Before you go that far try the cheap parts. Pull of your distributor
cap and inspect it for damage. (You might want to shine up the
contacts and gently scrape off the crud if you have any with a file.
If the cap is cracked you have to replace it. If there is scoring
across the black then you probably have spark trails, and have to
replace the cap as well. (I have not seen the scoring before, so I for
me it has not been that common.) Check the rotor while you are in
there and make sure the contacts look good. Clean it off the same way
you did the cap. Then with a thin piece of metal polishing paper
(forgot the name of this stuff. It is redish looks like super fine
sandpaper. ) clean the points contacts. If you don't have the
polishing paper you can try a super small file. (wife's Emery board??
but don't let her catch you and deny it if she asks.) Make sure the
points open and close as the engine is turned over. (With the cap and
rotor off have your helper turn the engine over.) If they don't open
and close then adjust the point gap so it opens. If the ridge that
causes the points to open on the distributor is gone then the shaft is
worn out. (Probably not the case however.) If the ridge is still
there but the points won't adjust then they are probably worn out. (If
they are un adjustable I would expect this to be the problem.) Replace
them. When you are done give the spark test another try. If it sparks
as it should you probably want to replace the cap, rotor, points and
condenser when you get a chance. But if it is sparking as it should
you don't have to do it ASAP. They are all really cheap as well.
Under $15 for the whole deal.
If it is still dead:
>From your .signature you have another B that can help you out. Try
putting the coil from the other B in the bad B. (If the other one
runs!) Run through the spark test again. (sorry if this is obvious,
but the coil is where the center wire on the distributor cap comes
from.)
If it fixes the problem replace the coil.
If it is still dead:
Try swapping the cap and rotor. Test again.
If it is still dead:
Pop the condenser off of the the good B's distributor and put it on the
dead one. (make sure you reset the timing back to where it was on BOTH
cars. Make a note of it just incase you have to move it when pulling
the condenser. I don't remember if you have to mess with the
adjustment screw or not.) Try the spark test again.
If it is still dead:
Try swapping the points.
If it is still dead:
Go inside and post again. But you should have found the problem by
now.
I don't think your distributor is bad because you are getting spark
some times. If the distributor was bad I would expect you to still get
spark consistently, but it would be at the wrong time; and you would
not be able to correct it.
Andrew Lundgren
Lundgren@iname.com
http://www.itwest.net/~lundgren
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