what the hell i turn my car over but she wont start what do i do i changed my cap and rotor and wires and uh spark plugs and coil deal ... its something small i know it it ran fine untill a heavy storm came and since then it just turns realy weak and doesnt star ~1959 pontiac catalina~
Most wet related no starts are ignition problems...usually in the plug wires or coil/ cap. Get the battery charged up first so you can get it cranking at the correct speed...then listen for electrical arcing... Jay
Make sure there is no condensation inside the distributor or the plug wires where they go into the sparkpulgs and the distributor.. Change the condenser in the distributor as well. Check your battery as well as your starter coil.
Did you go from a ballast resistor to an internally resisted coil? If so did you eliminate the ballast resistor?
Ok, well.... I replaced the roter, distributer cap, spark plug wires, spark plugs, and the coil. It still turns over but it's not actually starting even when I spray it with starter fluid.... Which makes me think that it's not getting a spark.
another thing... i went to the store and bought a points/extremo contacts from Advanced Auto Parts and I can't seem to see where I would install it in my car... Because when I raise my hood and look, there's nothing in there that looks like it. Does this make sense?
I know most people here don't like Harbor Freight, but for what its worth, I purchased a "spark checker" thing that inserts between the plug and the plug wire and allows you to see the spark jump across it WITHOUT getting yourself in harms electrical way. It was only $1.49 when I bought it, but are regularly around $5.00. This is the greatest way I've found to check spark as it lets you know VERY easily - hell, I can get my 7 year old to tell me if he sees it spark or not! The other way would be to take the plug and stick it back into the wire and then touch/wedge the plug against something metal on the engine block - a braket, accessory, something like that, and then turn the motor over to see if spark is jumping across the plug. If you're not getting spark, you've got something else you'll need to deal with. Did you change the wires one at a time, or pull them all off and then put them back on? Could it be possible the wires are crossed enough to cause it not to start?
The points go under the distributor cap mounted on the bottom plate of the distributor. Many guys will say otherwise, but if it were my car, I'd switch to a 70-80s GM HEI type distributor. They're pretty cheap, easy to install, and the computer inputs can be byp***ed very easily. It'll eliminate the points issues forever and replace them with an actual module.
I agree with Greg on the HEI, but it was running when he parked it, so it SHOULD be simple (yea right) Lets focus on the ignition first..... "Divide and conquer" Pull the coil wire from the dist cap, have someone crank it over and check for spark. If you have spark, you've just proven the integrity of the coil, points, condenser, ballast resistor, wiring and ignition switch. That means the problem lies in the dist cap, rotor, plugs and wires... See the "divide and conquer" here? If you don't have spark from the coil directly, you still know which direction to go.... upstream towards the ignition switch!
.............oh, and I have had dying batteries cause a no spark when cranking... there's nothing left after the starter ****ed it all up. another thought... make sure the R terminal is feeding full 12 volts to the coil when cranking. Maybe corroded last rainstorm?
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