No power to distributor
Posted: Thu Mar 21, 2013 3:49 pm
Following on from my thread in the Engine Section about stripping down & rebuilding my engine, I have now got it back in and connected, but it won't start. Does anyone have any suggestions ...?
* We have fuel and air getting to the carb & cylinders
* We have power to the Dynastarter, and the engine turns over fine
* The ignition light & oil pressure light work fine
BUT
* There is no spark, nor any power getting to the distributor as far as we can tell.
Could someone help me to understand what I should be looking for? Presumably this is not a timing issue, as we are not getting any sparks / back fires or anything. Should one see a spark if one "breaks / separates" the points? How can one check what is not working correctly so that no power is getting to the distributor? The wiring between it and the coil looks fine, as do the HT leads.
One thing that we did look at was the strip of paper that seems to insulate the blade spring of the points from the inner body of the distributor; I had damaged it when I cleaned the distributor, but we have once again dismantled the terminal "pole", replaced the damaged paper with some thin gasket making paper, and tried to insulate the terminal pole / bolt from the rest of the distributor body.
Any tips would be hugely welcomed!
Thanks in advance ...
[EDITED TO ADD: Someone has suggested that the breakers may be going to earth; would this cause the issues I have? And if so, how does one prevent it, bearing in mind the terminal bolt / pole goes through the distributor body with no sign of any insulation along the thickness of the body]
* We have fuel and air getting to the carb & cylinders
* We have power to the Dynastarter, and the engine turns over fine
* The ignition light & oil pressure light work fine
BUT
* There is no spark, nor any power getting to the distributor as far as we can tell.
Could someone help me to understand what I should be looking for? Presumably this is not a timing issue, as we are not getting any sparks / back fires or anything. Should one see a spark if one "breaks / separates" the points? How can one check what is not working correctly so that no power is getting to the distributor? The wiring between it and the coil looks fine, as do the HT leads.
One thing that we did look at was the strip of paper that seems to insulate the blade spring of the points from the inner body of the distributor; I had damaged it when I cleaned the distributor, but we have once again dismantled the terminal "pole", replaced the damaged paper with some thin gasket making paper, and tried to insulate the terminal pole / bolt from the rest of the distributor body.
Any tips would be hugely welcomed!
Thanks in advance ...
[EDITED TO ADD: Someone has suggested that the breakers may be going to earth; would this cause the issues I have? And if so, how does one prevent it, bearing in mind the terminal bolt / pole goes through the distributor body with no sign of any insulation along the thickness of the body]