I recently replaced the Distributor,Coil,Resistor, and Ignition harness on my 1959 Corvette. I now have low power to the coil and not enough spark to fire the car. Upon checking the wiring diagram and re-checking my work I feel that I my have wired the ammeter gauge backwards. I would appreciate if someone could verify black to the + or oil gauge side and the red wires to the - or Tach side.That is how I am reading the diagram. I would just like someone to verify before I reattach the battery cables. Thanks
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Re: Electrical Problem
Gary -
The GM wiring diagram's ammeter hookup is backwards!!
The black feed is actually toward the steering column.
... Al '58 #378 245hp -
Re: Electrical Problem
Thanks Al. I thought it looked strange. However, my problem still exists. I can't seem to get strong current to the distributor. I am wired correctly, all components are new, but it won,t spark enough to fire. I am open to any suggestion.Comment
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Re: Electrical Problem
Can you substitute back the old parts and replace one by one?
Does full battery voltage appear at coil green wire when key is at START?
Does it drop to about half with key ON?
... Al '58 #378 245hp NCRS SACCComment
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Re: Electrical Problem
Is your ballest resister bypass wire connected up correctly? Jumper from the + battery terminal to the + coil terminal and see if you can get the engine started.
RicComment
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Re: Electrical Problem
As Ric and Al suggest, if you jump around potential bad parts to isolate, you should be able to find the culprit. If the ballast resistor is bad, the engine will start, but die when you return the starter switch to the run position, as it is bypassed when cranking for full 12V to the coil. By jumping the resistor terminals this eliminates that, or, points to a problem in the ballast feed circuit. You can also purchase any cheap coil for testing, to see if you have a problem with insulation breakdown inside. Also make sure your points are set to proper gap as this can affect the trigger as well if they aren't generating enough primary voltage to trigger the coil reliably. Good luck!...CraigComment
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Re: Electrical Problem
Thanks for all the suggestions. Ric, I bypassed the system and jumped +battery to +coil but she still won't fire. Al, I changed out all the new parts for the originals however the only other part I can't change out is the distrbutor. I purchased the distributor from Corvette Central as a rebuilt ready to run unit 1110891 for the 2x4. I have never had this unit in a running car and I am beginning to suspect this my be the problem.Comment
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Re: Electrical Problem
The condenser in the points could be bad or the hot wire in the dist. may be grounding.Remove the dist. cap and useing a srew driver see if you have a good spark at the points with the key ON.Comment
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Re: Electrical Problem
I got it! Thanks to all you guys for the advice. Points were the problem. Changed em gapped em and it fired.Comment
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