87 x19 no spark ignition trouble shooting

T

Tristan smith

Low Mileage
Hi! I just recently purchased a barn find x19. With attempting to start it for the first time I couldn't get as little as a pop. After looking further I realized the distributor cap was on 180degrees backwards and the plug wires were not on in the correct order. I sorted that out and attempted again but still nothing. Next I checked for spark directly at the coil and found none even tho the coil is getting 12v. Is there anything I should check before assuming it's the ignition coil is the culprit? And I was also told to switch to a msd ignition system. What msd system specifically should I use?
 
MSD ignition is not necessary.
Check that there is +12V on the positive of the coil
Check that the - side of the coil goes to the ignition box. (There's a yellow wire with black jacket that connects here)
If you suspect a bad ignition box, you can rebuild it cheap by following these instructions: https://db.tt/VUeUzGHAeX
Good luck in your search.
 
Ok awesome tomorrow I will check this to see if this helps the issue. I really appreciate the advice and fast response. And thank you for the link!
 
First check that the distributor is actually turning.

I am a complete idiot and hadn’t changed they timing belt on my car since I bought it (in 1993 and it was the OE one) and while driving one day it just stopped running.

As I had been having a slight miss at speed I assumed that something in either the distributor went south or the spark box had given it up. After fiddling around I eventually arrived at the fact the timing belt was no longer going around when cranking.

So don’t just look at the obvious, look also at the other obvious that this car was parked when it stopped running a long while ago and there may be a less than obvious reason for that.

Just a suggestion. Don’t be like Karl...
 
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