My brother has above vehicle that does not start. The motor turns over but will not start. It does not appear to be a fuel problem as the fuel line has been disconnected at motor and fuel is present. My brother suspects problem at distributor because there is no current to spark plugs. Any help greatly appreciated!

 

There are at least 5 possible causes for no spark to the spark plugs.
1. No power to the coil
2. Pick up coil in dist not working
3. Ign module defective
4. Poor wiring connection in ign system
5. Dist rotor
Do you have any kind of test equip to work with like test lite, voltmeter ?

 

Yes I have ohm meter. Do you have diagram of this distributor to ID parts? Test to be done while distributor installed and ign on? Appreciate the help!

 

the ignitions systems are pretty easy to check on this old things.


if you verified no spark with a spark tester.
put a test light on the ign coil primary winding + wire. with the key on engine off, the test light should be on.
next put the test light to the negative wire of the coil primary winding. have someone crank the engine over....the test light should flash. if it does not flash you have a ignition module issue or an open wire on the grd side of the coil. the coil should primary and secondary should be ohm tested to may sure the coil is ok.

 

Sorry it has taken so long to reply but my brother lives in a different city. I visited him armed with info provided and found out he had had a retired mechanic look at the vehicle. Mechanic checked vehicle and told him fire and very good fuel pressure were present. He also said he was unable to do anything further. So what might be the next step to check? All help greatly appreciated, thanks

 

One of the very first things we learn is not to take anybody's word for having done certain tests.
If you don't have a spark tester to use , remove the coil wire from the dist cap and place it approx 1/4 in from any metal/ground part of the engine. (Don't hold it with your fingers). Then crank the engine over you should have spark going from the coil wire to ground. If you have that, you can spray a shot of either starting fluid, or carb and choke cleaner into the intake. Then crank the engine if it starts or attempts to run there is a fuel delivery problem. Need to know the results before going any further.

 

[The Retired Mechanic had the proper equipment to do the testing. And my brother was present while testing was being done. He went no further because he is old and limited in movement. Thanks for the input.QUOTE=hanky;93355]One of the very first things we learn is not to take anybody's word for having done certain tests.
If you don't have a spark tester to use , remove the coil wire from the dist cap and place it approx 1/4 in from any metal/ground part of the engine. (Don't hold it with your fingers). Then crank the engine over you should have spark going from the coil wire to ground. If you have that, you can spray a shot of either starting fluid, or carb and choke cleaner into the intake. Then crank the engine if it starts or attempts to run there is a fuel delivery problem. Need to know the results before going any further.[/QUOTE]

 

Could you tell us what the fuel pressure reading was ?