1992 Volvo 230b Ignition Coil Options

BlakeCary

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Points systems are extremely easy to hot wire. Run a jumper wire from the battery connection to the plus side of the coil. The negative side of the coil goes to the points. Crank motor, and motor will run

Electronic ignition have an additional purple wire running to the pickup

Just did that and Negative. I checked for spark at plugs, negative. Is it possible I jumped timing? What else could it be? I've replaced everything this week except the cap (that is new as of last year) I am a few ideas away from dropping it off at the shop and having to pay tons of money.....
 

Scott Danforth

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take a picture of your distributor wiring without the cap. take a picture of the coil wiring. something simple is not right.

if you have a grey wire, that is your tach. that will connect to the - (neg) side of the coil. disconnect that for now.
 

BlakeCary

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When I crank it with the cap and rotor off I don't see a spark at the points? There should be a visible spark right?
 

Scott Danforth

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the grey wire on the negative side of the coil is your tach. the wire on the plus side of the coil is ignition. just out of curiosity, what color wires are going to your choke?

basically, unplug the purple wire from your distributor and tape it off (it should not go to the dizzy), run a wire from that lug to the - side of the coil.
 

Scott Danforth

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do you have another wire with a ring lug near the coil?

lets trace your wires to your motor

the purple wire should go from the ignition switch to the safety lanyard to the + side of the coil and branch off to the choke
there may be a purple wire that branches off to your alternator (ignition signal)
the grey wire should go from the - side of the coil to the tach in the dash
there should be a wire from the condenser on the dizzy to the - side of the coil
there may be a black wire from the block or ground terminal strip to the base of the dizzy
there should be a black wire from the ground terminal strip or the block to the other side of the choke
there should be a light blue wire between your oil pressure sending unit and the oil pressure gauge
there should be a tan wire between your water temp sender and the water temp gauge
there should be a red wire from the B terminal on the starter to the B terminal on the ignition switch.
there should be an orange wire from the alternator back to the battery (charge circuit)
there should be a yellow wire with a red stripe from the S terminal on your switch to the start solenoid.
 

Scott Danforth

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take a picture of the side of the dizzy with the condensor and the coil. dont be afraid to get more of the engine in the picture.

we will get you thru this.
 

BlakeCary

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do you have another wire with a ring lug near the coil?

lets trace your wires to your motor

the purple wire should go from the ignition switch to the safety lanyard to the + side of the coil and branch off to the choke Correct, verified power loss when lanyard is pulled
there may be a purple wire that branches off to your alternator (ignition signal) Correct, It has an inline resistor
the grey wire should go from the - side of the coil to the tach in the dash
there should be a wire from the condenser on the dizzy to the - side of the coil The purple wire goes into the condenser and may go to coil, its in a loom so i cant trace it. I could ohm it out to verify.
there may be a black wire from the block or ground terminal strip to the base of the dizzy I dont see any other wires going to distributor. It doesnt show it on diagram either.
there should be a black wire from the ground terminal strip or the block to the other side of the choke I dont know what or where the choke is.
there should be a light blue wire between your oil pressure sending unit and the oil pressure gauge Will verify on lunch break
there should be a tan wire between your water temp sender and the water temp gauge Will verify on lunch break
there should be a red wire from the B terminal on the starter to the B terminal on the ignition switch. Will verify on lunch break
there should be an orange wire from the alternator back to the battery (charge circuit) Will verify on lunch break
there should be a yellow wire with a red stripe from the S terminal on your switch to the start solenoid.Will verify on lunch break


I will take a bunch of pics also. From what I can see on the wiring diagram everything is hooked up the way it should be. Is the only ground on this grounded through the distributor shaft?

Do you think I should switch the points to an Electronic Ignition? http://www.hot-spark.com/1-volvo-penta.htm
 
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Maclin

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When I crank it with the cap and rotor off I don't see a spark at the points? There should be a visible spark right?

Not really, there is 12v or less there. When on duty and all setup and running right if it sparked a lot the points would glaze then try to weld themselves shut then pieces break off. And they don't by design and materials.

With ignition on and points closed if you move them with a screwdriver or by hand you may see something. But that will never be a sign to look for, mostly indicates there is voltage getting turned on and off as designed.

Just as an observation, most if not all of the breaker points I have set the rubbing block was not that far from the low point on the distributor cam.
 

Fishermark

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It appears you have it wired correctly. For whatever reason, Volvo chose to use a purple wire to go to the distributor points - which actually then goes to ground. The choice of color doesn't make sense and can cause some confusion. The purple wire from your distributor joins up with the grey wire from the negative side of the coil at the engine harness, and then goes forward to your tach.

The easiest thing to do for testing purposes would be to disconnect the wire from the side of your distributor and disconnect the wire from the negative side of the coil. Forget those for now. Then run a jumper wire from the distributor to the negative side of the coil. Ensure you have 12 volts (or there about) at the positive side of the coil. Try to start the engine and see if it runs.
 

Fishermark

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Here is a more accurate wiring diagram for your engine:

wiring%20diagram%20AQ131%20engine%20side_zpsyoabo0bs.jpg
 

Fishermark

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And here is the complete wiring diagram: (And no, you do not have choke on your carb at all - neither mechanical nor electric, so you have no wire going to the choke)

wiring%20diagram%20AQ131_zps1pwlwwrw.jpg
 

72fj40

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Blake, typically the distributor housing and the plate the points are attached to is ground. Sometimes you'll find an additional wire grounding the distributor housing to the engine block or a known ground. Be sure the wires from the - side of the coil to the dist. terminal are not touching metal along with the connection thru and inside the dist that go to the points are not touching ground, also. Make sure there are no shorts in these connections. Make sure you are getting juice to the wire that is connected to the points.

I noticed In you pics of the distributor and coil back on page 3 that there is a purple wire on the positive side of the coil and in the other pic of the distributor and points also has a purple wire connected to the distributor terminal. Is that the same wire?
 
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Fishermark

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I noticed In you pics of the distributor and coil back on page 3 that there is a purple wire on the positive side of the coil and in the other pic of the distributor and points also has a purple wire connected to the distributor terminal. Is that the same wire?

That's why I mention that Volvo did some bizarre things with their wiring. No, it is not the same wire... although it looks like it. Check out the wiring diagrams above.
 

BlakeCary

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So do you think that the points aren't grounding like they should be?
I ran a wire from battery to + side of coil, wire from capacitor to - side of coil yesterday and still no spark. What could it possibly be??
 

Fishermark

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This post is long enough that I don't remember - so forgive me for asking - how are you checking for spark? The most basic test of the coil would be to supply 12v to the positive side of the coil and then add a wire to the negative side of the coil. Take the other end of the wire on the negative side and tap it to ground. Every time you tap it you should get a spark. (That's what the points are doing - temporarily going to ground). If you don't get a spark, then you are either checking for spark incorrectly, or you have a bad coil.
 

BlakeCary

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I have a inline tester. I'm getting power from the coil, just nothing coming out of distributor. The cap is the only thing I haven't replaced this week so I'm just gonna get a new one and if it won't start I'm just going to have to take it in. You guys have been tons of help but only so much can be done via forum. I've lost patience and time at this point.
 

BlakeCary

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Update.
So I got a new spark tester from my grandpa and I have spark. Compression is around 120 on all cylinders. Leads me to believe it's a air or fuel issue. I pulled off spark arrest and there are 2 brass (I think) jets facing down to the car. Should I see fuel shooting from them when I'm crankng it?
 

bruceb58

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When you pump your throttle, do you see any fuel shoot down the throat of the carb?
 
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