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JMOR
05-05-2008 16:59:27
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Re: Bruce(VA) JMOR Answers re Distributor Tests in reply to Dan, 05-05-2008 12:16:13
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Am-Seb said: (quoted from post at 15:16:13 05/05/08) Bruce(VA): Dist. removed & worked on table. (I couldn't do o/wise.) When turn key on ammeter goes 0 to minus 10. When then crank engine w/key on ammeter goes from minus 10 to about minus 8.
JMOR: When flip coil bail & remove coil & set to one side (no contact) ammeter gauge stays @ 0; when turn key on, no change. When coil put back, with or w/o its gskt., ammeter is minus 10 w/key on. NOTE: I see only 2 contacts @ coil bottom: pigtail and small steel band @ front (not 3).
Thanks to both of you; hope this might clarify problem. Angelo |
If it isn't the pig tail touching the housing when you attach the coil, then here is a way to check for other shorts:
Also, my reference to 3 terminals was the two on bottom AND the wire connection post on top.
Looking at picture with A, B. C in red on it, "A" points to a folded paper insulator on a metal mounting point, which is ground. ONLY the paper keeps this screw, threaded hole and copper strap from shorting to ground. Same thing applies at "B"...only a paper insulator. These may be OK. We will check later if we find nothing sooner. Point "C" the crimp on condenser wire ....make certain that this is NOT touching any metal structure of distributor.
There is a flat copper strap connecting the concave screw at "A" to the screw at "B" which is the connection to points. I have colored the edge if this copper strap yellow. It is very easy for this to get bent and short out against the metal structure at "A" and "B" which is ground. MAKE very certain that the strap touches ONLY insulated parts. Look especially well at the right hand edge of "A".
Just in case you still have no ohmmeter:
Another picture shows how to make up a simple test light using whatever battery you may have available, a bulb of same voltage rating as battery, and 3 scraps of wire. If you don't have a socket to help connect leads to bulb, or solder to solder a wire to bulb, then just press wire to bulb and ball up some tape on it. Lantern battery, car/truck/tractor/flashlight...any battery.
Connect one wire to distributor ground (at left). Now test the "test lamp/batt/wire setup", by touching the other lead (I marked "test probe wire end") to any part of the metal structure of distributor....it should light up bulb. Re- check frequently as you like.
Now, connect "test probe wire end" to concave screw & rotate distributor to open & close points and observe light bulb. It should light with points closed and go out when points open.
Given all that you have told me up to this point, I suspect that the light remains lit even with points open, assuming that in the inspection, you didn't clear up a short at the copper strap.
If this is the case (light always on), then we next need to isolate the short, ONE-THING-AT-A -TIME.
1. Take out concave screw and remove condenser lead. Re-install screw, w/o condenser lead. Re-test with lamp/probe and opening/closing of points. If light goes on/off with open/close of points, then the condenser is very likely the culprit. If light still remains on regardless of open/closed points, then we must look further for the short.
2. Remove the screw attaching points spring/conductor at "B". The points spring/conductor will spring away from "B" so that it isn't touching "B". Now, touch the wire end probe to the threaded hole that the screw was removed from. It should NOT light. If it does then one of the two paper insulators is shorting or the copper strap is still a problem. If lamp did not light, check it by touching wire end probe to distributor housing, just to be sure it is still working.
3. If the lamp did light when connected to the threaded hole, now we will see if we can figure out which of the paper insulators is bad. Gets a little fuzzy here, as I don't remember for certain, but I'm reasonably sure that the copper strap is crimped under the threaded insert at "A", but attached to "B" by the screw. Hopefully this is the case. If it is, then gently lift the copper strap up and out of contact with the threaded hole at "B". Now re-test for light/dark of lamp by touching the threaded hole at "A" and then at "B". If one lights and the other doesn't, then you have found the bad paper insulator (the one that lights).
Post back and we can search more or offer a fix for bad paper insulator.
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