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Building a 45 flathead. Got the bike built, put together and started with an old auto advance distributor. The bike ran ok but was missing and popping and had a weak spark at the points. Next time I tried starting the distributor had no spark at points and obviously no electricity passing back up to coil. Condensor tested good. Pulled a brand new distributor out of the box and installed and again, no spark between points, and therfore no power back up to coil. Condensor is good, battery is charged, what am I missing? Where or what would be grounding out here? Thanks for the help.
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Just a guess. My VL did this twice in last year. Once was almost new aftermarket coil with less then 400 miles on it. Motor would run and then cut off. Then it would not start at all. Put new Andrews coil on it and fixed it. Next time motor would run off and on or run until I turned headlight on and then stop running.. I found I had build up of corrosion at ignition switch terminal were battery wire attaches. Very low or no voltage was going to coil due to corroded terminal. Good luck with it. -
PS It's not a distributor as it doesn't distribute anything. It is a timer.Be sure to visit;
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No,.. It is a circuit breaker, Chris!Originally posted by Chris Haynes View Post
Honestly, Skidshoe,..
The weak design link for distributors is the rotor. That's what's missing.
Opening the points to observe spark is a one-time shot, as things must recharge or whatever, so I would pull a spark lead, put a plug in it, and ground it with a jumper. Then observing the spark while kicking it through is far easier and more reliable.
....Cotten
PS: Indians had distributors.AMCA #776
Dumpster Diver's Motto: Seek,... and Ye Shall Find!Comment
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You can put a test light across the points, no?AMCA #41287
1972 FX Boattail Night Train
1972 Sportster project
1971 Sprint SS350 project
1982 FXR - AMCA 99.25 point restoration
1979 FXS 1200 never done playing
1998 Dyna Convertible - 100% Original
96" Evo Softail self built chopper
2012 103" Road King "per diem"
plus 13 other bikes over the years...Comment
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So I got to poking around with a test lights and found that my TIMER or CIRCUIT BREAKER has no juice anywhere. This obviously took me back to that shiny, brand new coil where I discovered I am getting no juice through the coil to even allow any electricity at the points. Ordered a new coil as this was my only 12 volt coil, and we will see if that fixes it. It started and ran first attempt after my engine rebuild, but was misfiring and acted as though it was fouling a brand new plug. Maybe the coil was junk strait out of the box. I will know in a few days I hope.Comment
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