Won't Start

[DSPTurtle]

Repost from the yahoo group.

Here is the situation...
1. I have 12 volts going to the coil.
2. I pulled my pertronix and replaced the points and condensor (anyone remember which side of the coil this hooks to +/- ??? tried both nothing helped).
3. I have 12 Volts coming out of the Coil wire to the dizzy.
4. I never get more than 12 volts coming out of the coil wire going to the dizzy even when cranking the motor.
5. I get zero / 0 volts coming out of the number 2 plug wire (it was the easiest to get off) whether I am cranking or not.
6. My coil checks out at 4800 ohms (MSD Blaster 2) from post to terminal, this should mean the coil is okay.
7. It has been awhile since I messed with the points, I got the Pertronix for a reason, is there something stupid I might have forgotten??
8. Is there anyway to test the Pertronix with it out of the car.
Please help!!! I have a race on Sunday (Autox) that I really want to attend. I have already got permission to not be home on Mother's Day so I don't want to waste it!!!

[ein 6er]

jb,

have you tried opening the points with the ignition on to see if there is spark at the points? could the rotor be a little off and not getting spark to the wires?

sorry, i can't be of much help, but .... where is the race on sunday??

doug waters

[DSPTurtle]

Doug...BCC Palm Bay. How come I have never seen you in Indialantic??? I am over there all the time!!!

How would I open the points to see if there is a spark? The only wire coming out of the dizzy is a green wire that gets hooked to the - side of the coil. Why would it spark, where is the positive feed to the dizzy?

[24flys]

did u set the dwell angle on your points. I just replaced mine and it wouldn't start til I got them pretty close. just a thought. good luck.

24flys

[ein 6er]

jb,

i'm no expert and others can help wayyyy more than i can, but with the points closed and the ignition on, you should be able to open the points with you finger or screwdriver and get a spark. if you have power into the dizzy and none out, it's either points or the rotor. didn't you fry a rotor recently? you diffently need to check the dwell and timimg.

you should have a wire from the condenser also (i think).

i only get to drive on the weekends. i've had my 914 for almost a year, and i haven't seen another 914 yet!!. i drove it to the 24 hours of daytona and didn't see another 914. i'll go to palm bay tomorrow.

hope you get it running,

good luck,

doug

[DSPTurtle]

Doug, What is your email address. I you want to run you should show up by 8-8:30am. It makes for a long day but you get four runs for $25. You just have to sign up as a visitor...you can only join there group if you attend one of their meetings over in orlando
I will play with the points again this morning and post if I discover anything. (Gonna print out the tech article right now.)

[Dave at Pelican Parts]

Medium-sized black wire carries switched power from the ignition switch to the (+) terminal of the coil.

Wire from points to condensor, green wire from condensor to (-) terminal of the coil.

Black w/purple stripe wire (stripe is kinda hard to see, often looks like thinner black wire) to the (-) terminal of the coil carries the points signal to the tach. (Unplug it for now, just to isolate that out of the circuit.)

Big thick black wire from coil center terminal to the distributor cap.

Unplug the thick black wire from the cap, tape it so the end is about 1/4" from a ground like the fan shroud. Turn on the ignition, verify the medium black wire gets +12V. Unplug the green wire from the coil. Touch a grounded wire to the (-) terminal and pull it away. On one of those transitions, you should get a healthy "ZAP" out of that center coil wire.

If so, then turn off the ignition and start checking the points. Do they open and close? Does the green wire get a ground and then get disconnected? (Actually check at the connector inside the distributor--the condensor may mess up the readings.)

Go from there with the troubleshooting. Keep asking questions if/when you run into stumbling blocks.

--DD

[DSPTurtle]

From the guy that preached the greatness of Pertronix...that was the problem.
Once I went back and correctly adjusted the dwell (initial readings of +90 degrees were embarrassing) my baby fired right up. At first I thought it was my MSD coil cause I swtiched out to an old Bosch Blue. But, the key to test...change one thing at a time. So I went back to the MSD coil and it still ran.
Anyone know how to get Pertronix to honor a warranty?? Is it through Pelican (the guys I bought it from) or through Pertronix themselves. Anyone know if the Ignitor II fixes this type of problem?
Thanks to all you guys who helped. And especially to Dave for posting his answers both here and on the Yahoo group!!!
This owning a 914 stuff has taught me more about electronics than my whole school career!!!
Thanks again...
JB

[Dave at Pelican Parts]

I think you go through us, since you bought it from us. Call up and ask on Monday, or e-mail Tom.

--DD

[ein 6er]

jb,

glad you got it running. i knew someone would give you the correct info.

thanks for the info about tomorrow. my address is . i can't make it there that early but i'll definitely be there sometime.

doug