I had a Crane Cams pointless ignition installed and I was having a really difficult time starting it so I pulled everything out today and replaced it with points. Now I can’t get any spark at all.

If you scroll down in this thread you’ll see what I used for a relay to power 12v to the coil during cranking because I have a powermaster mini starter.

https://classicoldsmobile.com/forums...estion-107403/

I’ve tried powering 12v direct to the + side of the coil to bypass the relay and I’ve tried three different coils. I’ve tested each of the coils and all throw a spark but not what I’d call a really strong one (I don’t really have anything to compare it to though).

I can’t figure it out.

 

Did you also install a condenser?

 

BIt’s a combined points and condenser and I had a old set that I tried too.

 

Is the point gap at .019 or 30* dwell? Is the flexible ground wire inside the dist. between the points breaker plate and the body in good shape? Is the black wire running from the points to the coil- good? I'm not particularly fond of the combo points sets but they do work.

 

I couldn’t get it started to check the dwell. I installed it out of the box assuming it was close enough but not starting makes it kind of hard to put the dwell meter on it. It’s physically impossible to gap the points with the condenser built in. I’ve got a spare distributor that I may be able to gap the points with out of the car. I try tomorrow. My gut feeling is it’s the coil but I’m not sure how to figure it out for sure. Swapping out two other coils that I don’t have any reason to believe are bad isn’t making it any easier

I’ll probably pick a new coil tomorrow

 

The engine will not start if the dwell and/or the timing are way off. You can set dwell by cranking the engine with your meter hooked up then rotate so the timing advances a little until the engine starts and then double check your dwell and reset timing.

 

I have that problem sometimes. I use this.

 

TMI dude.

 

Mike, I'm with Eric. Check for a grounded breaker plate and get a handle on the dwell. The all -in-one points sets are junk.
The dwell, as you know, is critical for field collapse in the coil. It will show weak to know spark if ithe points are not opening enough.

Go to your closest NAPA (Waterloo?) and grab a separate Echlin points and condenser set and install. Verify the cap rotor plugs and wires are doing their thing.
The Crane setup may have been taken out by a bad engine ground. The modules don't like bad grounds.Points ignition aren't as sensitive.

Here is another thought. I've had bad plugs do this to me. We were installing a Pertonix conversion in my buddy's 56 Chevy. All the cranking we did to try to get it to fire fouled the plugs. The inline spark tester (the one that lights up) showed no spark. We took the ignition system apart down the ignition switch. It was the plugs!

 

Thanks for everyone’s help. Especially Steve (Droldsmorland) who spent a bunch of time on the phone with me this AM and Joe P who texted back and forth with me about the Bosch relay and everything else.

I got it fired up. I think it was a combination of a lot of things but I set the point gap close on an old distributor that I had out of the car. That got it to about 20 degrees and then finished it to 30 degrees while cranking it (thanks oldcutlass the dwell meter worked fine while cranking) and moved the distributor around until I got it to fire and then timed it. I also cleaned the plugs. They were black and wet but didn’t have any real carbon build up.

I took it out for a ride and it runs great.

I’ve got a new carb on it and the choke has been next to impossible to set. I doesn’t seem to get enough fuel to start unless you pump it a few times. It bucks when you’re just cruising along. It’s fine accelerating right up to red line but somethings going on with it under normal throttle.

I was able to systematically go through everything from start to finish. I don’t think the Pointless ignition is going back in. If I do I’m going to use Pertronix. The Crane version was about $30 less and I think I know why.

 

Switch it out to HEI - but you will need to buy new wires (or at least change the distr plugs on the wires if they are 8mm or higher)
Cleaner fire, no headaches, reliable.

 

For an HEI swap you'll also need to get rid of the resistor wire, and run a regular 12 ga. wire from the key (IGN post on the fuse block). The HEI needs a full 12V and about 10 amps to run. The points set up runs 2 wires to the coil; 12 volts off the starter for starting, then when the key is released it runs off 6 volts (approx) through the resistor wire. Thats not an Edelhoser carb is it?? ws

 

Welcome Mike. Glad you got er runnin.
Now for that choke & AF mixture....

 

Probably jinx myself, but the Breakerless SE system I’m using has been working great. It’s a bit more money, but I’ll gladly pay it for reliability. I’ve heard hit or miss on the Crane.

 

Luke,

can you post a link to the SE system?

I like the rev limiter. Does the SE system have that?

Thanks

 

I may do the opposite, out with a brand new HEI that worked great for one day and now has no spark, back goes the point's distributor.

 

As a reminder, ALL electronic distributors need a direct clean tight low resistance path back to ground.

The modules do not like transient spikes or intermittent DC power caused by poor grounding. They will and do fail. Dont blame the distributor blame the operator.

As for HEIs, always purchase the best HEI module you can source to include the heat paste. Steer clear of the cheapos. Carry an extra one in the road box.

 

I blame the distributor since I checked and cleaned all my grounds. The Pertronix I had in my old distributor still works.

The original GM’s seem to be able to tolerate bad grounds, my 88 Caprice had a persistent ground problem until I finally relocated the ground from an accessory bracket to a clean bolt going directly into the block. My friend’s 85 developed the same problem a couple years later so I fixed his the same way. Neither distributor failed.