i was adjusting the dwell on my 68 442 and was using an allen key with no gloves and my arm was resting on a metal part of a trouble light and got zapped somehow. can this happen? or is something wrong under the cap?

 

Yes it can happen, there is an insulated tool that you can use. Looks like a screwdriver with a long spring and an allen on the end.

 

Absolutely. Your Allen Key accidentally touched a live high voltage ignition portion of the points, the distributor rotor, possibly the distributor cap or condenser wire (most likely). Since your arm resided on the metal housing of the engine (somewhere) you provided a fast path to ground (-) and were zapped. In most cases you just need to be cautious and use good lighting e.g. flashlight works well.

 

i thought i had one of those but went with the allen key

 

ok i wasnt sure if there was a problem or not but i tell ya it woke me up! first time thats ever happened lol and i did have a long fat screwdriver holding that metal window open too

 

The points are wired to the primary (12V) side of the coil. There is no high voltage on them.

 

Well, that's a good point. Then he didn't touch the points.

 

And they are the negative (ground) side of the circuit.

 

You got zapped with inductive kickback.. On a running engine the zap feels like AC. An old situation, a reminder to use caution.

People used to get a zap the same way dialing a rotary dial telephone while in contact with either telephone line conductor, or by providing a path to ground perhaps with bare feet.

https://inductive-kickback.com/2019/...asy-to-handle/

 

Hah. Very cool. Never really involved myself w/ understanding details of inductive properties of electricity. Don't some (at least) electric cattle fences operate similarly - at least the type which use a battery? The zap certainly feels similar - yes, I've received both types.