82 SC no spark

[schumicat]

I reinstalled engine after replacing transmission. Car cranks but won't fire. Engine was running fine at the time it was removed.

Fuel ok - I think it is getting fuel (I took out air filter and lifted the flap there and it made loud noise, which I understand means fuel is working).

CD unit getting 12v with ignition on - Car has a permatune (yeah I know) as pictured. It has 7 pins in the unit but the harness has 6 pins; I guess the one pin with its own column is unused? I confirmed pin 5 on the harness going to the permatune (middle bottom) has 12v with ignition on.

Coil - I removed old coil (black Bosch) and shook it and heard nothing. I understand you are supposed to hear oil sloshing around. I checked the primary resistance and it was 0.6 which I believe is outside the spec? I put in an new Accel coil 8140 (which I read here should work) from autozone and no change.

Tomorrow a local Pelican is going to come over and we are going to try his CD unit in my car and see if that works.

Any other suggestions of what to check before that after (if it doesn't work). Thanks

[jeffs9146]

You said you had power in to the CDI unit but did you check for power at the coil with the key turned on?

[schumicat]

no how do I do that? there's a sticker warning not to bridge the terminals with the car on so I know that's not it. thanks

Originally Posted by jeffs9146

You said you had power in to the CDI unit but did you check for power at the coil with the key on?

[jeffs9146]

Follow the wire from the CDI to the coil, green outside and white inside on my 83sc and sometimes inside a larger black shrink wrap, and test on that post of the coil with a test light! Or you can follow the green wire back to the CDI and check the pin coming out with the test light and the key on!

[Porchcar guy]

I have been told to not put another CDI unit in your car but to put yours in his car. that way you won't damage his if it is something in your system that is wonky.

[NOLAsc]

Originally Posted by Porchcar guy

I have been told to not put another CDI unit in your car but to put yours in his car. that way you won't damage his if it is something in your system that is wonky.

Good advice!

[NOLAsc]

Can't you use a timing light to see if you're getting spark?

[schumicat]

I did check for spark with a spark tester. I can't check the coil as described above because the wiring is all wrapped up and impossible to trace without unwrapping.

[schumicat]

update - swapped my Permatune in NOLAsc's car and his car ran fine. So ruled that out at least.

[kodioneill]

Could be the "hall effect" coil in the distributor not transmitting a pulse. Check the value with a ohm meter and compare with specs. You can check it at the green wire connection. Also the pigtail green wire sometimes gets hard and will break.

[schumicat]

the green wire seems to be in good shape from what I can see. how do you unplug it from the distributor? there seems to be insufficient clearance to pull it out (fan housing is right next to it). At the harness end the green wire disappears into a wrapped bundle of wires.

Originally Posted by kodioneill

Could be the "hall effect" coil in the distributor not transmitting a pulse. Check the value with a ohm meter and compare with specs. You can check it at the green wire connection. Also the pigtail green wire sometimes gets hard and will break.

[kodioneill]

Unplug at connection with harness not the dist end. Remove the wire bail first do you don't break the plug.

[Bob Kontak]

Originally Posted by kodioneill

Unplug at connection with harness not the dist end. Remove the wire bail first do you don't break the plug.

+1

permatune.com has a diagram of the pin outs. I believe you should have about 675 ohms o' resistance.

[jeffs9146]

You don't need to disconect the green wire to see if it has voltage! Just touch the tester to it with the key on! If you can't get to it at the coil you can push the tester into the plug end of the green wire coming out of the CDI and have someone turn on the key!

The other way is you should have two powered wires in the 6 pin plug with the key on and none with the key off!

[Bob Kontak]

Originally Posted by jeffs9146

You don't need to disconect the green wire to see if it has voltage!

Not looking for voltage - looking for resistance in the coil pack to assess if it has integrity.

When you say "push" it into the plug end of the green wire are you absolutely sure the OP knows what you are talking about? I think I know what you are trying to say but it is not profoundly clear. Take the time to word it so there is NO question of the message you are trying to relay.

[jeffs9146]

Look, my first question was "is there power TOO the coil"! If there is, then I am done asking questions. If there is not and there is power going in to the cdi then you need a new cdi!

[jimrs2000]

Make sure the battery is fully charged.

[Bob Kontak]

Originally Posted by jeffs9146

Look, my first question was "is there power TOO the coil"! If there is, then I am done asking questions. If there is not and there is power going in to the cdi then you need a new cdi!

The OP is afraid to remove the distributor. How much does that tell you of his comfort level and experience? Dial it down a notch or two and expand the explanation to include the layman.

[schumicat]

Thanks for all the replies.

My green wire does not have a plug end. PO spliced it into the wiring harness that plugs into the CDI (the one with the rubber insulator around the plug). The outer part of green wire is spliced into one wire and the inner green wire into another wire. This was all wrapped in a buttload of electrical tape. It was so neatly wrapped so I had assumed it was stock. At the splice points of the inner & outer wires, I confirmed both wires have good connectivity to the two CDI harness pins on the right side (looking at the plug with the +12 volt pin in the lower middle). One had very low resistance (0.2 ohms or something like that) and the other had several ohms of resistance. I guess it is possible, but highly unlikely, that there's not continuity from the splice point back to the dizzy.

The CDI works. It was tested in another SC this morning.

As I understand it, the coil + and - terminals do not have +12 volts with the ignition in "on" position (with engine not running).

I guess I am going to unwrap more tape and trace the green wire along its entire length. I plan to check continuity of the wires going to the coil + and - terminals and where they are connected or spliced into the harness.

[jeffs9146]

Ok thats what we needed to know!