What's The Point?

The 1977 Chilton's gives instructions to R&R the ignition switch,so I'm in there. They have you drop the column. Of course, the switch is remote from the lock cylinder,which I didn't realize. I haven't seen anything yet that looks like the resistor wire. And the new wire is lo-o-o-o-o-ng. Where would it fit or is it coiled up? I had to go work a shift, now I'm back so after I eat, I guess I'll remove the ignition switch as my next step.
The wire from the coil + to the 4-element connector at the firewall shows minimal resistance. I don't think that the resistor wire was supposed to run through that along the top of the intake manifold,but what do I know?

 

I know nothing! :confused:
But what about splicing the resistance wire into the wire going to the points outside the distributor?
At least to test it then maybe chase the location and hide it.

 

There is one other thing you can check, speaking of coil wires: Normally, the Ford coil and harness were specifically designed not to allow reversing the wire leads, as doing so causes all sorts of problems. The factory pigtails had a red boot (POS) and yellow boot (NEG), and different-sized terminal studs, but I could see someone reversing those (same person who hammers a round peg into a square hole). If they did so, or they replaced the coil and wire lugs, that may contribute to your problems.

 

I am getting nowhere with all this. Trying to trace wires for continuity,everything seems connected to everything else. There is a pink wire underdash, but doesn't seem to go directly to the ignition switch. At the coil, the yellow boot goes to +,and it is the red/Lt green stripe wire,which supposedly goes to the ignition switch. I found a wiring diagram online,and it seems ok for '73,but it shows an electric fuel pump. It also shows two resistances along the red/Lt green stripe wire. The replacement resistor wire is jacketed, and I haven't seen anything like it in looking underdash and underhood. And the replacement wire is orange,not pink. And the diagram shows fewer wires to the ignition switch than exist in my car. I'll try again tomorrow to make sense out of all this.

 

Gaaaaah!!!Am I losing my mind? Has my coil primary been connected backwards this whole time?

 

Unfortunately, yes it has. Now the points burnout makes sense. The current flow is backward, so instead of the primary current moving to ground, it moves backward, so the highest saturation of current is at the points, instead of the bottom of the primary winding. I will keep my fingers crossed that this cures the problem. I also recommend doing a coil resistance test; I'll look up the spec for you.

Coil primary, 1.40-1.54 ohms, secondary 7600-8800 ohms, resistance wire 1.30-1.40 ohms.

 

Crossed?

Good luck. Does make sense.
Over time many things get replaced and wires switched around. Even the best mechanics sometime make mistakes or don't pay attention to how wires are hooked up.
This mind lose is only temporary!

I'd gone the Pertronics or similar route long ago then everything would be pointless, yet to the point.

 

Well,it temporarily stopped raining,so I could take a look. The Yellow boot is on the + terminal of the coil, but it is attached to the Red/Lt Green Stripe wire,which does go to the ignition switch. The Red boot is attached to the negative terminal of the coil and goes to the points. I noticed that the Red boot was meant for a larger terminal, so I pinched it slightly for a snug fit. All that business is clearly visible, but the rest is all hidden. I still haven't found the resistor wire! The ignition switch is off the column and the Red/Lt Green Stripe wire goes from it to disappear in a bundle of other wires. In the engine compartment,the Red/Lt Green Stripe wire goes into a bundle that goes atop the intake manifold. Then there is a connector at the firewall for it. The Pink wire goes to the speed sensor in the speedo cable. (I thought the resistor wire was originally Pink,but maybe not?)
The only other thing would be if the + & minus marks on the coil were wrong. (Seems unlikely).
Still tearing my hair out...

 

:banghead3::banghead3:

​

 

Four years ago I purchased the Surf Rat.


One of the first things I had to do was fix the distributor. Vacuum advance was locked solid and required me to totally rebuild the unit.
I kept the points in while I purchased a Pertronix unit on ebay for eventual installation.
Still have it in the box!
Car starts perfectly on the first crank when cold and takes a bit of cranking when hot. Even replacing the coil won't help that, but the points are clean and still perfect as when I put them in place 4 years ago.

So... something else has to be wrong for you to destroy them so quickly.

Besides, if an EMP weapon goes off in your area, I believe the points will still allow the car to start. A Pertronix unit will be fried!

 

You are going to have to unwrap the harness to find resistor wire. It should be under the dash between switch and firewall conection. Never seen one in engine compartment since Ford quit mounting the older resistors on firewall.

 

That's the one thing that scares the Hell about me these days. A 'pinch' or a low-yield nuke detonation above, IIRC, 45K feet atmospherically, will fry everything except tubes and points. I need to see if I can source a tall-block 351W points dizzy, even if it needed to be rebuilt, because I'd be able to retrofit my Ranchero to get it running after something like that.

 

If and when we get bombed there are a lot of other things I'm worried about besides an electronic distributor!

 

A major solar storm can have the same effect.
The point are staying in my Toyota.

 

Unfortunately, it's not the pickup coil that bites the Big One, it's the amplifier module. However, I wonder if it would be possible to get replacements from Australia or another country? Can any of our Down Under cousins tell us if Australian cars used each car maker's electronic ignition systems that were available here in the U.S. beginning in the mid-'70s?