Sbf in my model a truck. I've got power from the ignition to my coil, also power to the accel distributor from the ignition. When I turn the key on, I've got power at both sides of coil. When I turn eng. Over, no spark from coil to the distributor and both side of the coil are still hot with my test light. What am I doing wrong or is it a bad coil?
If you have an electronic distributor I'd be looking at the module and if you have points sounds like they are burned or aren't closing.
Never heard of of a coil that uses power at both poles. I could be totally wrong but if you have 12v coming in from 2 different wires at each post on your coil you are going to fry points condenser(capacitor) on distributor side of coil.
Your ignition is not energizing the coil. The points are not closing if you have points or you module is shorted.
The 12....well really not 12 if you have a ballast resistor connected ..should be around less depending on system..then as then through windings of coil. From there it is going to distributor. Is this points or electronic or magneto ? Need more info to forum diagnos the issue.
12v into one side of the coil, the other side has 12v going out to the dist The distributor is an accel 52000. One wire ground, one to coil and the other ign. Hot.
I just looked up that distributor. Just to clarify... Are you using the CD coil and using the required CD parts for the coil and distributor?
If you don't see a voltage drop coming out of the coil when cranking the engine that most likely means that module is defective.
Do you have this instruction sheet? http://www.jegs.com/InstallationInstructions/100/110/110-52200.pdf
>>>12v into one side of the coil, the other side has 12v going out to the dist >>> The other (distributor) side of the coil will indeed read 12v when the distributor circuit is NOT in its dwell position (grounded). Keep bumping the engine. There should be a spot where it's in the dwell position (grounded). Voltage should drop to near 0. If it stays 12v no matter what, you gotta ground, module or points problem Jack E/NJ
The distributor does not need to be grounded. It grounds through the engine block. There should be a ground strap from block to frame and that completes ground circuit through the battery.
97 gave a good explanation of how it works. The distributor points or module is the switch for the coil. Switch on the coil builds up a magnetic field by the current the primary winding. Switch off the magnetic field collapses and the secondary creates a high voltage that goes to the distributor cap then rotor then terminal, wire and finally the plug.
The condenser(actually it is a capacitor ) is dumping excess voltage to ground in order to keep points in good condition when the points open. This being electronic the module is doing the the same as the points/condenser in one part.
Distributor should not need a seperate ground as far I know. Been wrong a lot of times. Just ask my wife !
From the accell instructions When you are using your distributor without an ignition amplifier or CD type ignition unit, the 3-wire harness connects as follows: Brown Wire Negative (-) Terminal on the Coil Black Wire Engine Ground Red Wire Switched 12 Volt Source
If your using a test light the neg side should flash while cranking, if your using a meter the voltage should vary while cranking.......if nothing is happening suspect faulty points or module (also could be a faulty grounded distributor). This is after you have checked for voltage on the positive side of the coil with the key on.
power to both sides of the coil is ok, your problem is a grounding issue, check everything and clean it, th epiont ground to the plate in the distrib, the distrib is ground to block, the block is grounded to the frame etc. had this happen to me, had to clean everything, a small bit if dirt and unseen corrosion caused a none grounding issue, so the coil would not discharge a spark.
Are you running an electric tach with the wire on the coil? If so, try disconnecting it and see if it fires.
As mentioned before, power on both sides of the coil means that the coil is not grounding through the distributor. Your problem lies in the dizzy.
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