QuestionI have a 1968 triumph spitfire mk3. it ran great when we bought it, we drove it about 500 miles and it died. it has duel mallary points, I ordered them from the shop, they sent me 1 point, we replaced it, the condencer, the coil and the resistor. it has no spark whatsoever, I tried a jump wire from the negative side of the coil to the condenser with no luck. what else can I try or replace.
Im desperate. this is my first classic and really want to drive it.
thanks for any help
Sue
AnswerIf it has a Mallory dual point distributor, why did you only replace 1 of the points sets? Are you sure the other set isn't shorted out? If so, you won't see a spark.
First off, make sure you have 12v on the + side of the coil when the ignition switch is on. If not, it's time to start tracing the wiring back to the ignition switch, ulimately back to the battery.
If you have +12v at the + terminal of the coil then it's gotta be something in the distributor. I guess one test is to make sure the distributor is rotating when the engine is cranked. Pull the cap and watch while you crank the engine for a second or two.
Otherwise you're back to the points again. Make sure they're clean (preferably with a points file, not sand paper... then some denatured alcohol or acetone to remove any "stuff") and gapped correctly.
Check the inside of the distributor cap for carbon trails. Check all the ignition wires for consistent resistance.
If that doesn't do it, let me know and we'll get this figured out.
Cheers,
Jim
