MG Car Repair: 1979 MG Midget, secondary windings, coil wire

Question
QUESTION: Hi,
My 1979 MG Midget will not start. Car shut down while driving and would not start. Checked fuel, it is good. Not getting any spark out of the distributor. Replaced points, condenser and coil. Current is at the coil, going to the points,cap, rotor but nothing from the distributor to the spark plugs.THE IGNITION LIGHT ON the GAUGE DOES NOT light up when the switch is turned on either.

ANSWER: Hi Leo,
I take it that you have replaced the electronic ignition with a pointed ignition? since the 79 Midget came with electronic ignition.
This is a common change since the electronic ignition was very unreliable. It is easy to test the pointed system, just do as follows.
You have power to the positive side of the coil so turn the engine over by hand until the points are closed and check for power to the (-) side of the coil. If you have power, then your points are not making contact either because you have them out of adjustment or they are dirty or the points plate is not grounded.
If you do not have power to the (-) side of the coil then remove the coil wire from the cap and hold it about 1/8 inch from a metal part of the engine and manually open the points. As soon as you do, you should see a single thick blue spark jump from the coil wire to the metal part of the engine. If you don't get a spark you need to turn the engine by hand until you have the points OPEN. Then check for power at the (-) side of the coil. If you don't have power and do at the (+) side then you installed the points wrong.
All ignitions systems work the same. Power to a coil. Then points or some kind of electronic system ground the coil to load it and then break the connection to unload the coil primary to the secondary windings which unload at the spark plug. Keep that in mind and you can always diagnosis any ignition system.
Howard

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thanks Howard,
We are the the owner of this MG and someone before us must have converted the ignition system???
Have power to both positive and negative sides of coil. When turning engine over there is spark from the coil wire. with everything connected back, I pull a spark plug wire off to check for spark and no spark. I mentioned the ignition light on gauge does not light-up when turning the key switch on. However, if I pull the light out of the back of the gauge and ground the side of the light socket to the side of the gauge the light comes on. There is a small voltage stabilizer on the back of the gauge, does this have anything to do with the ignition or just the gauges and their respective light bulb? I have tried putting the old points, condenser and coil back on, still not spark out of the distributor, but do have spark and power on on coil and points. The distributor cap and rotor button look good, could one of these be bad? One more thing I checked was the wire going to the back of the alternator has very weak power, would this have anything to do with the problems? I am totally baffled with this one!

Thanks much for your assistance...and more help please(:>

Answer
Leo, the ign. light in the car has nothing to do with ignition, it is a charge light.
The coil will have power on both sides of the coil if the points are open or if the points are closed then you either have dirty points or the points plate is not grounded.
It is no use fooling with other items like the voltage stabilizer which is to supply 10 volts to power two gauges and that's all.

If you will just do what I told you to do you will find the problem. Tell me the results of EACH thing I told you to do.

Howard