List,
My daughter's 1984 Buick 3.8L V6 wouldn't start yesterday.....traced the
cause to no spark.
The ignition system in this car is a standard vintage 1970's, 1980's HEI
setup - the coil mounts on top of the distributor cap. The internal center
electrode of the dist cap which carries the high voltage to the rotor is
actually a small ceramic/carbon pin which rests in a pocket on top of the
distributor cap.
When I removed the dist cap, I found the carbon pin cracked off and wedged in
the center on top of the rotor. The pocket that it normally sits in (in the
dist cap) was arc welded away. Evidently, the pin must have broken off but
remained in the pocket causing quite a light show as voltage arc'd across it
(car still ran) until it completely broke off and lodged in the rotor.
I gotta admit, I've never seen that happen on previous GM cars I've owned,
but I wasn't even shaken considering what we've come to expect from our
dearly beloved LBCs:)
chip
Chip Krout
'76 TR6 CF57822U (chassis finished - working on body & engine)
'70 Spit Mk3 FDU78512L (about ready for a long winter's nap)
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