Re: Shorted Distributer
well, basically, a distributor takes a high energy discharge from a coil and distributes it to many spark plug wires...
so, as expected, voltage goes in one side and out the other there are 2 systems in a distributor, one is the low voltage side that feed the coil, the other is the high voltage side that feeds the spark plugs...
the high voltage side is easy to diagnose.. power goes in thru the coil wire to to the cap, then goes out thru the bottom to the top of the rotor, then out the end of the rotor to spark plug wire terminals.. not a lot of parts, and if they are all new, not likely your problem
12 volts goes in to the distributor on the low voltage side, goes thru the opening and closing of the points and back out to the coil, turning it on and off to send the high voltage to the distributor ( see above) this is most likely where any short would occur, if the 12 volts is not present at the + side of the coil, then this would lead to none of the above working, if it is shorted to any metal in it's route thru the distributor, it would also cause this problem. these are all easy to find with a multi-meter - my guess is the points are not opening or closing, or the condenser ( actually a capacitor) is shorting to the base plate in the distributor, take it all apart again, and make sure it is installed correctly, and set the gap on the points properly... this of course is assuming there is 12 volts at the + side of the coil...