So guys I finally got the maverick to a start worthy point, hasn't ran in 7 years. I cleaned the tank and lines, primed the oil system, changed the coil... so now I am having a non-spark issue. I tried it with the old coil and the new coil. Getting 12.4 volts at the coil with the ignition in the on position, 10.85 volts while cranking. Is 10.85 volts enough to create a good spark on these cars? Not getting a spark out of the coil. Anyone have similar problems...really anxious to hear this thing run.
You should have 12v at the start position and close to 9v in the on position. A constant 12v to the coil will cook the coil, points and condenser after a while. I would clean and gap the points first and see if that gets you anywhere.
The motor is turning over strongly. The battery has pretty close to 13 volts on it. I replaced the grounds on the chassis and motor with new ones and I have very good continuity on both. The coil is getting no voltage with the key in the off position, 12.4 volts in the on position, and 10.8 while cranking. I am not getting a spark out of the coil, so my distributor does not even get a spark to distribute. I am thinking it might be a bad coil straight from the auto parts store, wouldn't be a first. Does anyone have the manual with the correct resistance readings on the primary and secondary circuit of the coil?
Resistance on primary winding should be less than five ohms... The secondary are generally 5K to 15K ohms... I did a quick check on a old Autolite coil I have(OK last time I used it), measured 3.3 ohms primary and 12600 ohms secondary...
I think I have 1.5 ohm on the primary and 11000 on the secondary. Does the wire running to the distributor provide a ground that is necessary? Maybe that's not getting a good ground.
A easy way to tell if ground and points are OK is crank engine till points are closed... With switch on, voltage on negative side of coil should be near zero(and approx 8v on positive side)... If approx battery voltage, the points could be burned or maybe corroded from setting(fairly common occurrence)... Also the breaker plate inside dist could have lost ground, should be a small woven cable inside the dist that provides ground, often they're broken... I doubt there would be a ground issue between dist and block...
Checked the grounds and we are good. Is this a resistance wire or not? I am perplexed because my 68 cougar had a ballast resistor, the maverick doesnt, at least not in the same location. What I am getting at is that almost 11 volts during cranking seems kind of high. Shouldn't I be seeing closer to 8-9 volts during cranking? I don't know how much ford changed between 68 and 73. Could the voltage regulator be a culprit? In other news, I did take a preemptive step to fixing this by ordering a single wire alternator with a nice circuit breaker, an HEI distributor, and a bunch of relays for the dizzy and electric fans. I just wish I could get this thing running before I change all these parts. I am pulling the motor as soon as I can get it started and resealing it, putting new brakes on, etc all before the wedding (plan is to drive off in the maverick).
Yes there is a resistance wire built into harness... I don't remember my '68 Cougar having a external resistor(but that was 40 years ago)... Almost eleven volts on positive side of coil while cranking is far too high... Go back and read my last post, make the checks I suggested, you might just fix it... Neither alternator or voltage regulator have anything to do with your problem, could pull them off and toss them in the creek, as long as battery is charged it'll still start...
Well the relay for the distributor is because I am not confident in my 12v supply, so I am going to use the 12v supply as my switch and run power straight from battery.
the coil will get full battery voltage while cranking then will be switched to the feed from the resistor wire when the key is in the run position. it gets this power from the I terminal on the starter solenoid. have you checked to see if you have spark from your coil wire while cranking? you may be chasing the wrong problem.
Well guys, I got it running. I don't know whether it was the distributor condenser or the points getting cleaned, but I did both and it runs now. I had a 1968 dizzy from another motor and I took the condenser from it and installed it. I then noticed that the points had a white dry film on them, cleaned that off and it started. It leaks fuel from the accelerator pump diaphragm though. Thanks for all the help guys, this is the first time I have worked on a points system. I prefer HEIs, just because they are easy to install and run on their own. On my Grand Wagoneer I had issues with the ignition control module and coils, so I switched to a stand alone HEI and it never gave me any trouble, another day, another lesson. Now I am wondering if I should rebuild that two barrel or get a 4 barrel intake and carb.
The problem was the condenser. Seen this before in a 67 Merc I bought 15 years ago. Everything was OK, but still wouldn't start. Changed the condenser and "wa-la" it fired right up.
