1952 M35, No spark

[Dieselholic92]

Trying to get one of the 2.5 tons going. The truck is a 1952 Reo M35, with a Reo 331 Gold Comet straight six. It has the water fording kit on the motor. I can't seem to get any spark out of it. I've tried a few different coils, I made sure there is power to everything, I cleaned up all of the contacts on the distributor cap and rotor, and I've checked out the spark plugs and they are fine. I thought maybe it could've been the engine ground strap, but I took that off, cleaned the contact areas, and mounting surfaces, but it didn't change anything. The points were replaced 4 years ago or so, and I don't know what else it could be other than the points?

 

[rtk]

No spark can make you crazy , Are you sure about your test coil's ? if everything else is good I would replace the points , even if they "LOOK GOOD" . Start with the basics , are you getting power to the coil ? you can run a jumper right to the coil and bypass the switch . As they say if in doubt check the "TM's" good place to start for trouble shooting .good luck bob k

 

[Dieselholic92]

I know the coil I pulled out was new 5 or 6 years ago. The one I put in was an Accel SuperStock coil that was good when I used it last summer. I used my test light and I have power to the coil, and there is power to the distributor, but with the ignition on there isn't any power coming out of the top of the coil. I haven't been able to check that when it's turning over though.

 

[Shotgun71]

This may or may not pertain, but I have run into a few cars with the same symtom. They had a capacitor or "condenser"
as some people call them on the coil and in the distributor that was shorted. Runs the juice right to ground. Looks like
a little silver can about as big as a thumb with a connector wire coming out one end.

 

[rtk]

Sounds like a points and condenser problem ,but make sure of your coil and all wires . It is a pretty basic system power to the coil , and good points AND condenser and you should get something .

 

[sandcobra164]

Disconnect the negative wire coming from the distributor to the coil. Attach the alligator clip from your test light. Probe the positive lead of the coil. Have someone turn the motor over, the light should pulse. If the light pulses and you have power to the coil, you have a bad coil. If the light stays solid, you have a points issue or a possible wiring issue. I learned this the hard way on an old MGB one time. The wire coming off of the points had a pin sized hole rubbed in it by the points cam. Where the wire passes out of the distributor and just about anywhere it could possibly ground out on metal should be suspect. One last thing to check, the main spark wire coming from the coil to the distributor. I recall a time when I was fixing a truck once. I'd have spark if I hooked a directly to the coil but not if it went to the cap. Of course we had just replaced the cap and rotor so that wasn't it. After fooling around for a bit, I turned the coil wire about 180 degrees along it's length. Truck fired right up. New coil wire in that case and no more worries. Keep us posted, I think Gasser Deuces are pretty neat.

 

[135gmc]

Check your condenser - if that fails, you won't have any spark. Coils are also common failure points, and a NIB coil isn't any 100% sure thing. If you have a point file, give the points a clean up - if your condenser is weak, they can build up an oxide layer that will be a show-stopper.

 

[Dieselholic92]

Disconnect the negative wire coming from the distributor to the coil. Attach the alligator clip from your test light. Probe the positive lead of the coil. Have someone turn the motor over, the light should pulse. If the light pulses and you have power to the coil, you have a bad coil. If the light stays solid, you have a points issue or a possible wiring issue. I learned this the hard way on an old MGB one time. The wire coming off of the points had a pin sized hole rubbed in it by the points cam. Where the wire passes out of the distributor and just about anywhere it could possibly ground out on metal should be suspect. One last thing to check, the main spark wire coming from the coil to the distributor. I recall a time when I was fixing a truck once. I'd have spark if I hooked a directly to the coil but not if it went to the cap. Of course we had just replaced the cap and rotor so that wasn't it. After fooling around for a bit, I turned the coil wire about 180 degrees along it's length. Truck fired right up. New coil wire in that case and no more worries. Keep us posted, I think Gasser Deuces are pretty neat.

Okay so you're saying attach the alligator clip to the negative post of the coil and probe the positive post?

 

[sandcobra164]

yes, when the points are closed as they are most of the time they ground the negative terminal of the ignition coil. The positive side should have voltage whenever the truck is switched on. When the points open, they disconnect the ground loop. This causes the voltage in the secondary winding's of the coil to discharge out the spark plug wire. If the test light stays constant when probed this way, the negative wire coming from the distributor is grounded somewhere or the nylon insulators on the points are worn through. If you look closely at the points themselves, you'll notice a base plate which is grounded at all times to the distributor. The "top" half is a spring riding on an insulated base. It's grounded by contact touching the base plate contact. Test it like I've described and please post back.