61 e van need some ignition help.

ok so here's the skinny on my van. it's got the original yellow top ford coil. primary and secondary coils both ohm out perfectly primary is 1.6ohm and secondary is 11,060 ohm
new points set at .025"
new condenser
new cap
new rotor
new wires
new plugs

and with all that I have NO SPARK! I've checked, double checked, and checked and double checked and double double double checked well you get the idea. so does anyone have any idea what i'm missing? I will admit that my experience with points ignition is very lacking. my father was a GM mechanic who loved small block chevys and since HEI's for SBC's are cheap and easy I've never really messed much with points distributors. that said I know they are simple. but I'm obviously missing something. at one point I had a very weak spark for about a second of cranking and then it faded off into nothing inside my snap on spark checker. I checked the ground wire that comes through the distributor body and attached that with one of the hold down screws for the points so the plate in the distributor is grounded. maybe I have a bad isolator bushing? I read online the ignition switch will sometimes cause these kind of issues but I looked under the dash and I didn't see anything that resembled any ignition switch I've ever had in my hand.

one other issue I found that may or may not be the problem but again I don't know a lot of points ignition. the hot side of the coil with the key on has 6v when cranking it has 9.2v I was under the impression there should be 12v at that pin (but that might be my HEI upbringing) please help a new vanner get to enjoy his econo!

Is the braided ground wire in the distributor under the screw that holds the points down?  It should be.

Have you verified that the points do in fact close?

In electrical trouble shooting you have to prove out each part of the circuit.

When all else fails, basic trouble shooting starts like this:

1. To verify the coil makes a spark, put 12 volts on the positive post. Use a single plug wire plugged into the center post of the coil, and a grounded spark plug on the other end. Use a jumper lead to momentarily ground the negative side of the coil. When you lift the ground you should see a spark. Unless the plug or plug wire is bad, no spark means the coil is bad.

If you get a spark go to number 2.

2. To verify the points are opening and closing when the engine turns over: Leave the plug wire and plug set up like before. Attache the back wire coming out of the distributor to the negative post of the coil. Crank the engine and look for a spark. No spark means the points are bad, not adjusted properly, not grounded inside the distributor (little braided wire is broken or loose), or the distributor is not turning. Watch the points while the engine is turning.

IF you get a spark go to number 3

3. Attach the coil lead from the coil to the distributor cap. Be sure the rotor is in place. (the most common cause of no spark is forgetting to put the rotor in!) Put a grounded spark plug n the end of a plug wire and look for a spark while engine is turning over. If you have no spark, pull the coil wire from the cap, slip the insulator back, and while holding the end of the wire a short distance from ground look for spark when engine is turning over. Insulated pliers are good idea. No spark means the wire is bad. Spark means the rotor or cap is the problem. Look for a rotor that is too short or too small in diameter relative to the cap.

good info - ill add=from experience = the points can glaze over from use or even sitting long periods open!!   file / clean them & retest for spark!  anyone remember point files???      Cant do that with ur modern electronic distrubtor when its dead!!

get into ur new auto parts store & ask those computer jockeys for a point file!! =

the coils within the coil ohm perfectly.   the normal tune up parts, points, condenser, cap rotor are all NEW  the points close they are set to the .025" gap I found online for the 144/170 engines.   all the components are of decent quality they are wells brand.  not cheap duralast from autozone.  only cheap duralast part is the wires because only autozone had them in stock.  

can the coil register the correct resistance and still be bad?   and any idea about this voltage at the + terminal on the coil issue?   with my multimeter (not a cheap one... but a good one!) the ground on the battery and the positive on the coil I get 6v Key on..  and 9.6 volts cranking. does this strike anyone else as an odd issue? even more odd if I pull the wire from the starter solenoid that also goes to the + side of the coil and test it I get 6v key on and drops below 5v when cranking.

New parts mean nothing. New is not a guarantee that the part is any good. They should be, but many times the defective part was defective out of the box.

That is all normal. Fords use a resistor wire in the harness to drop the voltage to the ignition. During cranking the resistor wire is bypassed at the solenoid. During cranking, the starter motor pulls a terrific amount of current and the system voltage drops. That is why you are seeing the lower voltage during cranking when you disconnect the bypass wire.

I wrote a fairly lengthy piece about ignition on these vans that is a sticky in the between the seats E section.

Just on a hunch, disconnect the condenser and see if you get spark. If you have a really good meter it might have the ability to measure a capacitor which is the other name for the condenser. Most meters do not have this function.

There is one thing that is kind of odd. The voltage you measure on the positive terminal of the coil should be closer to 12 volts when the points are open. This is because there is no load on the circuit. With most meters you will see the average of 12 and 6 or about 9 volts during cranking. It has to do with the integration time of the meter, basically how long the meter takes to take a reading. I suspect that your meter is faster than most.

Some times people get confused about where the cam needs to be when setting the gap. They set the gap with the points sitting on the flat instead of the peak. This means the points are open and then open wider. Old times make this mistake too...

You can use the continuity function of your meter to verify the points are opening and closing. Put one lead to ground and the other to the end of the black wire that goes to the coil. As you crank the engine you should see or hear continuity every time the points close.