no spark?

[typeblu]

ok so i was driving on christmas and my car just turned off as i was getting on the freeway onramp. and the piece connecting the throttle lever to the carburetor came off too and i had no gas pedal. so i hooked that back up and tried to start it again but no luck. its cranking but wont start, so i tried starter flui in the carb, didnt work. then i tried turning the key on and spinning the fan, while i had a multimeter on the coil, it went to 12v and then to 0 as its spose to so i beleive the points and condenser are ok yea? so then i pulled the middle wire from the dist coming from the coil and put it near a ground and when i cranked it, it sparked, so i pulled the first spark plug wire and tried to crank it and i got a spark the first time, then i tried again and again and no spark, so i tried plug 2 and no spark either, i just replaced the cap and rotor which appeared to be good and its still cranking but not starting and im still not getting a spark. any ideas? can i pull a spark plug out and crank it and see if it sparks or will i screw something up? and should i not try pumping the gas? because i pumped it a buncha times trying to start it already.

64 chevy nova 194 straight 6

thanks.

[Floyd_ODB]

what year is this car/ motor? You say it's got a points ignition?

[typeblu]

Originally Posted by Floyd_ODB

what year is this car/ motor? You say it's got a points ignition?

64 nova, 194 straght 6

i dont get how theres a charge goin in the cap but no spark coming out, just replaced cap and rotor ;\ i got it to spark ONCE!

[corning_d3]

I'd say either the plugs got wet, or you have some arcing going on inside the dist. cap.

[typeblu]

Originally Posted by corning_d3

I'd say either the plugs got wet, or you have some arcing going on inside the dist. cap.

im using a wire to check for spark, not a plug, and also the distributor and rotor are brand new. i dont see how there could be arcing going on.

[corning_d3]

So your pulling the wires off of the plug, and testing for spark. Where are you holding the plugwire to test it? Something grounded, i hope. Remember, even new parts can be bad.....

EDIT: You can pull the plugs out to test for spark, and I'd recommend doing so.

[Floyd_ODB]

how far the points open has alot to do with how much energy the spark has.
and the condensor could be bad

[typeblu]

Originally Posted by corning_d3

So your pulling the wires off of the plug, and testing for spark. Where are you holding the plugwire to test it? Something grounded, i hope. Remember, even new parts can be bad.....

EDIT: You can pull the plugs out to test for spark, and I'd recommend doing so.

i was holding the wire where the battery grounds on the engine, with the middle wire from the dist i was getting a bunch of sparks, and with the plug wires none, sometimes a small one. also what color should a strong spark be?

[corning_d3]

If your coil wire is firing, but the plug wires aren't, you've either got a bad distributor cap or a bad rotor..

[typeblu]

Originally Posted by corning_d3

If your coil wire is firing, but the plug wires aren't, you've either got a bad distributor cap or a bad rotor..

what about if the coil is firing weak? could that possibly be points or coil? is there a way to test?

[typeblu]

i jsut had another idea. i had someone tell me i had a tail light out the other day, and then i also had a blinker go out too, i checked the fuses under the driver side dash and theres like 8 of them and they were all good, i replaced the blinker but not the tail light. i beleive both blinkers work fine now but the tail light is still out, can that cause me to lose spark?

[typeblu]

k so when i got home i pulled a spark plug and plugged it into the wire and cranked it, no spark at all. i think i got a weak charge coming out of the coil cause the coil lead when put by a ground doesnt make that big of a spark. i changed the taillight and light fuse and the tail lights work fine now. the front blinker still doesnt work though.

[corning_d3]

Hm, i'd say now is a good time to clean, readjust and/or replace the points, condensor and lubricating pad. Since you've stated you have 12 volts at the coil, but weak fire at the plug wire, this indicates a bad condenser, points or maybe even the coil itself. Do you have another coil handy to test with? BTW, blown running lights can't cause a no fire condition.

EDIT: Your points should be 0.019in apart while fully open..