MischaT Posted March 5, 2016 Share Posted March 5, 2016 My rig has stopped wanting to start now that I have gotten up into the cold Northeast. We took the spark plugs out and sand blasted and gapped them but when we tested them in place they don't seem to be producing a spark. Thinking that it has to be distributor or coil. Curious if anyone has replaced coils recently and has recommendations for them. Existing coil looks like it has a ballast resistor to it and that seems like it may be old technology. What do you suggest for a new coil? -Mischa www.pontxadventures.wordpress.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fred heath Posted March 5, 2016 Share Posted March 5, 2016 The box on top of the coil is called an "igniter". They rarely go bad. But when they do, its big $$$$ to replace. Check fuses, grounds and all common fault areas. Obtain a good chiltons or Haynes manual and follow the troubleshooting guide. Good Luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zero Posted March 5, 2016 Share Posted March 5, 2016 30 minutes ago, MischaT said: My rig has stopped wanting to start now that I have gotten up into the cold Northeast. We took the spark plugs out and sand blasted and gapped them but when we tested them in place they don't seem to be producing a spark. Thinking that it has to be distributor or coil. Curious if anyone has replaced coils recently and has recommendations for them. Existing coil looks like it has a ballast resistor to it and that seems like it may be old technology. What do you suggest for a new coil? -Mischa www.pontxadventures.wordpress.com You have a 1977 and not a 1978, correct? So I assume you do not have breakerless igntion and have points that need to be changed now and then. Do you have points and if so - when is the last time you put new ones in? The technology of the coil has nothing to do with any of this. All a coil has to do is make enough power to jump the spark-plug gap. In your case - around .032". Takes 12,000-20,000 volts. Any old coil can do that if not defective. Also when testing for spark - spark plug laying in open-air takes less voltage to fire then when inside an engine. To simulate in-engine conditions - open the gap to at least .050" and see what it does. Should be a blue spark (not yellow). If yellow - or none at all - you have problems. You can just hot-wire the coil to make it create full spark to check the coil. That is the first thing I'd to. Just make sure there is 12 volts going to the coil. Then take the distributor cap off and make sure the points are open. Then just short them with a screwdriver. Do this with that .050" gapped spark plug in one of the plug wires OR the coil-wire . If you now see a deep blue spark - you likely just need new points. Also, maybe the bypass to the ballast resistor is not working? Just check voltage at coil when cranking to verify. It should read at least 9 volts when cranking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fred heath Posted March 5, 2016 Share Posted March 5, 2016 (edited) Actually there were two ignition systems used in the 1975-77 pickup. The first being a conventional using points, condenser, coil and distributor. The second being a "semi-transistorized" unit which has no condenser but includes a transistorized igniter. Both of these units will have breaker points installed. If you truck is 1978 it will have a full transistorized ignition. This is easy to identify as the points are replaced with a 4 spoke timing rotor. Hopefully you have the conventional ignition. If you have the semi-transistorized ignition, l wouldn't short out anything. Again the igniter can be damaged if overloaded. Why take a chance. Edited March 5, 2016 by fred heath Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MischaT Posted March 6, 2016 Author Share Posted March 6, 2016 It's a '77, has points, condenser coil & dizzy. It has something with a silver bracket, 2 terminals, bolted to coil.I thought it's a ballast resistor. Is an igniter the same thing as a ballast resistor? Drove the camper from Arizona to Vermont - started getting harder to start towards the end, and finally today it wouldn't start. Didn't fire at all. Started to smell flooded, and there was gas smell when we pulled the plugs. Plugs looked good - a bit sooty around the rim, but nice brown on inner electrode insulator. We sandblasted and gapped plugs, plugged them into the wires and rested them on the head, cranked and saw no spark. Haven't checked points yet - ran out of time. We'll try to to that tomorrow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fred heath Posted March 6, 2016 Share Posted March 6, 2016 what you have is a ballast resistor. The igniter is more of a rectangular box attached to the coil or nearby. when did you last check your points? Like JD mentioned, they may have worn down from the long trip. Your ignition is real basic. Change your points, condenser, cap and rotor. If you have access to a dwell meter that will help. At least you will know they are new. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maineah Posted March 6, 2016 Share Posted March 6, 2016 If it has an igniter type system with points they still have to open and close just like they all did years ago. They never burn like old points did but the mechanical parts did wear and the points closed up. Be carefully checking the gap even the slightest bit of anything on the points will cause it not to fire. Use a clean piece of paper open the points with a screw driver or something let them close and pull the paper out. The early distributors sometimes would seize and break the pin off the drive gear although rare just make sure the distributor actually is turning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zero Posted March 6, 2016 Share Posted March 6, 2016 14 hours ago, MischaT said: It's a '77, has points, condenser coil & dizzy. It has something with a silver bracket, 2 terminals, bolted to coil.I thought it's a ballast resistor. Is an igniter the same thing as a ballast resistor? Drove the camper from Arizona to Vermont - started getting harder to start towards the end, and finally today it wouldn't start. Didn't fire at all. Started to smell flooded, and there was gas smell when we pulled the plugs. Plugs looked good - a bit sooty around the rim, but nice brown on inner electrode insulator. We sandblasted and gapped plugs, plugged them into the wires and rested them on the head, cranked and saw no spark. Haven't checked points yet - ran out of time. We'll try to to that tomorrow. Points are a wear item and meant to be changed often. They are just an "on" and "off" switch that open and close 1000 times a minute at 2000 RPM; As I mentioned earlier - an easy test is to have them open and short them out with a screwdriver and then check for spark with an .050" gapped plug. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek up North Posted March 6, 2016 Share Posted March 6, 2016 I'm not sure if this will fit yours, but it might be worth looking into if you want to ditch your points. http://pertronix.carshopinc.com/product_info.php/products_id/104/91641 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zero Posted March 6, 2016 Share Posted March 6, 2016 I've got Pertronix breakerless kits in two farm tractors and one old outboard motor with a Crosley car engine. My oldest was put in 16 years ago. No problems. Mine are all Ignitors though. That one for a Toyota is an Ignitor II. I assume just as durable. Just more high tech. If I had a Toyota with points inside the distributor - I'd have a Pertrnoix kit in it. Easy install. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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