if the starter cranks , there is no issue there , now see if you still have power at the + of coil WHILE CRANKING . not just with key on . some time , a old starter will stay on with key off when engine did not start , just a old starter , not a fault in ignition switch . there are 2 small wires at the starter solenoid , one to crank , and the other goes to bypass the ignition coil ballast while cranking . just make sure they are connected right at the starter , and at the ballast .

 

Well,
the starter was replaced last year and since replacing the ignition switch the starter 'run on' has stopped and the starter now stops cranking when the key is turned off. I also have an electronic ignition set up, Hot Spark, so the ballasts are out of play. Car ran fine before the puff of smoke issue but can not see anything burnt or melted. When hooking a test light to the coils - & + light goes on when ignition is turned on and goes out as soon as I start to crank the starter.

 

With a electron ignition you do not require the ballast bypass wire which comes from the starter. The second wire is the ignition+ wire it connects to + of the coil and the Ignitor red wire.
Negative black goes to coil "-".
To start the car just run a wire from battery+ to coil plus .this will confirm starting system.

 

I'll give this a go mate, thank you!

 

No go I'm afraid. I ran the wire from + to+ as instructed. When I touch the + side of the battery(after hooking other end to + coil) I all I get is a clicking from the changeover valve in the pic with the vacuum line coming out of the top. No what ?
dws

 

Just remove the ignition 12 volt wire from the coil and connect a wire directly from battery+ to coil +.pin and the red ignitor wire.
This has bypassed everything and should give you spark at the coil high voltage wire going to the top of distributer where the rotor moves it to the required sparkplug lead

 

Did as instructed and still nothing......I am getting very frustrated

 

when you turn the ignition on , you also get that cliking sound from the valve , this is normal , so when you hot wire the coil , you also hot wire the key on circuit .your issue is then when you crank you loose your ignition on signal , and the car wont start , or start when you release starting position [ seen this before ]

 

Likely the ignitor unit is not working or you would have the spark assuming coil is OK.

Coil you can simply check primeryshould be 3-4 Ohm across the +and - terminal.
Secondary will be 5-6K ohm. At + and the centre high voltage terminal.
One of the components is not working.Do let know.
.

 

i wished you would keep the pointes type [ standard ] ignition on the car , it is a proven system easy to diagnose.

 

Too late now, but in hindsight that would have been better.
dws

 

I'm not the best with electrical troubleshooting, but here is what I did:
Confirmed that new battery was up-read 12.07 volts with multimeter set to 20DCV mode.
Set meter to 20k ohms and read 8.75 across the coil + & - ignition off OR on?!
Same meter setting checked + coil to - center contact to dist .01ohm ignition on or off
These readings seem very weird to me, how can they be the same ignition on or off.....doesn't make sense.........more help, please?
dws

 

Resistance readings with battery disconnected
Set to 20k check centre tower and + of coil readings 5 to 7 kohm.

Set to lower 2k or better aoo lower range
Test coil +. And - posts ,readings 1 to 3 ohm .

 

I disconnected the negative battery terminal, set multimeter to 20k ohm and read 8.70 + side of coil and center post.......8.70

Set meter to 200 and checked + and - coild terminals.......2.1

 

Coil Primary is 2.1ohm and secondary is 8.7 kohm. So coil is operational
Seems Ignitor is not functioning,replace with points set or a Pertronix unit which would suggest
With the matching coil.

The points can have their own issue if operating through a transisterized unit,likely to be faulty so the Pertronix is the bettersolution for reliability.

 

I'll run through the Hot Spark troubleshooting list again and see what I get.
dws

 

There is usually a little wire that goes through the side of the distributor casing and connects to the points/ignitor mechanism. This wire generally passes through a rubber grommet. If this wire becomes grounded to the distributor casing it will kill the ignition. Perhaps this wire became dislodged or grounded while working on the distributor?

http://handbook.w116.org/ETM/75s.pdf

 

Excellent thought, I'll give this a closer look.
dws

 

Bump.....please? Any more ideas??