<VV> Coil voltage

[Bryan Blackwell]

Hi folks,

The patient is a '63 coupe, 102/4 w/A/C.  Car has never really run 'right', so a lot of stuff has been changed - new plugs/wires, new carbs, new carbs, new fuel tank, etc.  It still doesn't run right, and one symptom is the ignition has to be waaaay advanced to get it to run.  Compression is good and I verified the TDC mark is indeed TDC.  Dist is aligned correctly with #1 on compression and the firing order is right.  No backfires of any kind.  Car still has the original dual pulley, so it can't have slipped anyway.  The wiring harness looks original to the car and other than some wear here and there appears unmolested.

Not only does the car not feel right according to the owner (I haven't driven it), it also sometimes dies and won't restart, and does not like running once warmed up.  We had it running briefly, then it died and no amount of coaxing, including starting fluid, would get it to restart.

I suspect, based on the intermittent nature of the problems in particular, that there's an issue with the wiring.  I do get spark when cranking, but then it should have fired on the starting fluid, so I'm thinking it won't fire under any sort of load.  When I put a meter on the coil, key on but not at start, I got 12V.  I'm pretty sure that's wrong, I saw what I thought was the braided wire in the harness so it should be 8 or so with key 'ON', correct?

--Bryan

Bryan Blackwell | Fairfax Station,  Va. | bryan at skiblack.com | http://autoxer.skiblack.com/
CORSA Eastern Div Director  
 Corvairs: '62 700 Wagon, '64 Greenbrier, '65 Corsa, '66 Corsa
 '69 Road Runner, '99 Neon R/T, '00 Miata SE, '09 Ford F-150
"Why do something if you're not going to obsess about it?"