No spark issue

[Raystownboater]

Mercruiser 165, with no spark at the plugs. The wiring at the coil didn't look correct because the wire from the condenser was hooked up to the + of the coil and there were groups of wires just randomly hooked up to the coil. I looked at the wiring diagram which showed the condenser wire connected to the - side, along with the wires to the shift interrupt switch. I wired it like the diagram showed, added a jumper wire to the + side, to make sure it had 12v. Verified the points were sparking, put everything back together, and cranked it over. NO spark anywhere, and the points started smoking and melted. What in the world am I doing wrong?

 

[Scott Danforth]

File the points (removes corrosion)
Rough gap the points
Use a dwell meter to set the points to the proper dwell
Set timing

 

[Raystownboater]

File the points (removes corrosion)
Rough gap the points
Use a dwell meter to set the points to the proper dwell
Set timing

That doesn't explain the smoking points, though. The breaker plate and coil were too hot to touch. What would have caused that?

 

[Scott Danforth]

That doesn't explain the smoking points, though. The breaker plate and coil were too hot to touch. What would have caused that?

Bad condenser or full battery voltage ( vs the 9 volts post resistance wire)

 

[alldodge]

Coils rarely ever goes bad but with it getting that hot, test the coil


If coil test good disconnect the condenser and check for spark

If you get spark, replace condensor

 

[Scott Danforth]

Coils get to 150-180 degrees . To hot to touch, but their normal operating temp. Bolted to a motor in a car/truck they get over 200f

 

[Raystownboater]

I'm thinking about upgrading to the pertronix, and doing away with points.

 

[alldodge]

I'm thinking about upgrading to the pertronix, and doing away with points.

Pet is ok, but like EST better

 

[Raystownboater]

Pet is ok, but like EST better

Est?

 

[alldodge]

Est?

AC Delco EST ignition
more reliable but does cost more

 

[Scott Danforth]

I'm not a fan of pertronix

 

[Raystownboater]

AC Delco EST ignition
more reliable but does cost more

More reliable outweighs the cost, in my opinion

 

[Scott06]

I'm thinking about upgrading to the pertronix, and doing away with points.

You see a fair number of comments on Pertronix failing. Never had any first hand experience but might be worth a internet search. I see this a lot on the classic car forums I'm on.

Delco EST is tried and true OEM quality system

 

[stresspoint]

i sense a reverse polarity happened somewhere here.

 

[Raystownboater]

i sense a reverse polarity happened somewhere here.

That's the first thing I thought. I re-wired the coil, following the wiring diagram, and that's when I ran into issues

 

[Raystownboater]

You see a fair number of comments on Pertronix failing. Never had any first hand experience but might be worth a internet search. I see this a lot on the classic car forums I'm on.

Delco EST is tried and true OEM quality system

Ordered the EST instead of the pertronix