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help identifying ignition coil and resister setup?

P

psycopanther

New member
new to the whole boat thing. picked up a 85 sunbird with the aq125/270 ( i think!) motor for super cheap. hull is in great shape, motor has not ran in 2+ years from what i understand.

put new timing belt on per instructions in manual, i am PRETTY sure that i have its base timing set. problem is i am not gettting spark at all. So, i went and boat a ignition coil from autozone for a 85 volvo with a 2.3L engine. it states on the coil that it needs a external resistor. I cannot read any numbers on the original coil I have and not sure if it needed the resistor or not.

can anyone describe where the external resistor would be if i had one? is it a little round metal thing on the side of the distributor? i think i have one of them.

also, i no NOTHING about a points system. would mine be the points of electronic ignition?

thanks! oh yea, and first post ! :p
 
Welcome to the forum. Here's a link to a google search where youcan get a handle on how a points ignition system works: http://www.google.com/#hl=en&sugexp=ldymls&xhr=t&q=how+points+ignition+works&cp=12&pf=p&sclient=psy&site=&source=hp&aq=0&aqi=&aql=&oq=how+points+i&pbx=1&fp=d85724625ce0f79d&biw=1131&bih=663

That little round metal can on the side of the distributor is most likely the condenser. If you had an electronic switch instead of points, you wouldn't have that. If you have an external resistor, it would be shown on the wiring diagram but may also be a resister wire. In any case, you should be replacing like with like until you have a good idea of the system.

Some of us with older boats have switched to an electronic switch in place of the points. Pertronics and Hot Spark are the two prevalant brands for these little 4 cylinder engines. Keep in mind that there is no performance advantage to these, just less maintenance and some simplicity.
 
ok i have the point system for sure. i am getting no spark at all with a new coil. however, if i am understanding this correctly, if i have a bad condenser ( it look ReALLY corroded) then it wont produce any spark at all correct? or will it still produce some spark?

also, anyone tried the pertronic or what ever it is ignition upgrade? i looked at the hot spark and found what i needed, and looked for what i needed on the pertronic website, but their product setup is really bad and i cannot find the model i need for my motor.
 
I'm going to defer to a google search on "how to test an ignition condenser" for instructions on checking to see if the condenser is any good. I'll let the pros explain it instead of bumbling through it myself.

You also need to check to see if you have power to the coil. With the power on, check voltage between the plus (+) side of the coil and ground. You should have something less than battery voltage at that point. The check the voltage at the same point while cranking. It should be the same as battery voltage. That's letting you know that you have power to the coil. If not, you're going to need to troubleshoot back through the system to see where the problem lies.

Keep in mind that you're performing troubleshootong at this point. You must verify each component as working or not working. As you fix one thing, be aware that there may be other things down the line that are broken, worn, or need to be adjusted. With an engine that hasn't been run in several years, you've got a high probabliity of there being more than one thing wrong so be prepared.

As far as the electronic conversion, I think it makes sense but it's your boat.
 
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