Posted by gmharris [71.105.35.169] on Monday, March 04, 2013 at 19:34:06 :
In Reply to: Issues with Ignition./ Breaking in the motor posted by Justin in NJ [71.59.91.52] on Monday, March 04, 2013 at 16:23:28 :
Sounds like you are a lot of trouble shooting away from buying a new distributor.
First I would short the coil to ground to see if your getting a spark from the coil lead. Then move onto the distributor. Is the distributor closing the circuit to ground? Can you get a spark from the coil by shorting across the points? Is the lead to the points even hot?
Distributors don't usually fail, they just wear out and get sloppy. Sounds like you have an electrical problem or the points are not opening and closing.
You can get a decent distributor, or rebuild it yourself, for much less than $250. Bad springs and weights don't cause a loss of spark. I'm surprised VPW didn't tell you you need to replace the truck.