pleas help my 71pinto has no spark. i changed the coil and the starter solenoid and no luck. everything has power but nothing works. the has been setting for 22 years. can anyone help?
I would check and make sure your points and condensor are good. Second, check your cap and rotor. Check the condition of your timing belt. Maybe it jumped a few teeth? Strange things happen when cars sit for long periods of time. good luck
Quote from: kd5fnb on October 11, 2007, 11:09:37 AM
pleas help my 71pinto has no spark. i changed the coil and the starter solenoid and no luck. everything has power but nothing works. the has been setting for 22 years. can anyone help?
Just got a pinto started that had been sitting 16 years. Mine is electronic ignition, tho. I would check for voltage at the coil + terminal with the key on. It might not be 12 volts but it should for sure be 6 volts. If there is power there, you should look for a problem with the points somewhere. If the points are ok, or you still dont get fire after changing them, you might need a coil, or it might need (as suggested already) a cap, rotor, or timing belt which i would just change anyways. After you get spark you will probably have to work on the fuel system. It will likly need a new pump, filter, and need the carburetor cleaned inside the float bowl. I have seen pintos sitting for fewer years have jets in the carburetor plugged up with corrosion. Never rescued a car that had been sitting for a while that didnt need a fuel pump. Should for sure start then. Took alot of cranking to get mine to start, i had to put a little oil in the cylinders and crank it a while to free up the rings a bit and get the compression up to make it start.
points condenser rotor cap plugs wires and belt r new. i tried 3 coils 3 solenoids all with the same results. 12v on the + and - side with the points open or closed. there is 12v on the ignition wire to the solenoid when it is on or off the solenoid.
all this is with the key on or off.must be the ignition switch---not changed that to.
thanks for all the help Chris.
by pass the restore wire as a test.. I bet its in nasty shape.
Frank
You may have problems with the switch on the top of the steering column, down near the pedals. I had to replace the one in my 73 a couple years ago. I too was not getting spark. Sorry, I did not think about that till now.
You will have to drop the column to get to the switch. I fooled with the adjustment, by loosening the two nuts, to get my car to start but I could never get it to stay running. I just ended up replacing the switch and it solved my problem. The new switch had a plastic pin installed. I just bolted it onto my column, pulled the pin, and it was adjusted properly.
Good luck
Hello kd5fnb,
Sounds like some good advice U R getting here...
Keep us posted on your progress.
From Pintony
i changed the ignition switch and still the same thing. tryed hot wiring it that did not work ether.(hot wiring it form the + side of the bat. to the + side of the coil.)
keep it coming ill try anything. thanks so far.
chris
I think you said you tried new a new coil. Now id try a new distributor. :D
do you have spark at the coil to the top of cap?
if so is the rotor turning?
no spark to the disturber----no spark out of the coil.
One thing you will want to check is the camshaft. Its probably rusted. Mine had been sitting 10 years and I had a motor on the stand ready to go when I bought the car but wanted to see if the one in it would run. NOPE! The cam was rusted bad enough it actually spit a couple of the cam followers out! Just something else for you to look at even though thats not firing related.
In the above posts you mentioned that you had "12v on the + and - side with the points open or closed". If this is referring to the coil, this would be a problem. The negative side of the coil should have +12V to ground when the points are open and near zero volts to ground when the points are closed. Try simulating the points by intermittently putting a grounded wire on the negative side of the coil when you have +12V on the positive side and you should get a spark out of the coil if the coil is good. To check the dist. wire and points, measure the volts to ground at the ungrounded side of the points (it should be about +12V to ground with points open and near zero with the points closed).
A very remote possibility is that the distributor case is not effectively grounded. Measure the voltage from the distributor case to the battery negative terminal when trying to crank it (it should remain near zero +/- a volt or two).
I'm wondering if the ground cable that runs from the body to the engine wouldnt be causing a problem. I think mine has run without it before but its electronic ignition.
there is spark at the end of the plugs LOL. thanks for all the help.i should have it running by the end of the week.
thanks again to all. Chris
Quote from: kd5fnb on October 15, 2007, 08:42:18 PM
there is spark at the end of the plugs LOL. thanks for all the help.i should have it running by the end of the week.
thanks again to all. Chris
So what did you do to fix your problem?
Sounds kinda like he might have been testing wrong or something.
I to had this problem this summer, I checked and replaced everything possible and it turned out that the tach was grounded out replaced with a new one and now it purrs.. Later D.D.