Coil or Distributor?

[Chevyholic]

Hey guys,

Yesterday I was driving along and when approaching the left turn lane at an intersection, my truck died and wouldn't restart. I have good compression, and I can see fuel being delivered to the carb, so I have to assume I'm not getting spark. I turns over just won't fire.

I'm kind of thinking that since it was running fine that maybe the gear that slips down into the engine got sheared off, but am trying to avoid removing everything until I know for sure.

So, is there a straightforward way to troubleshoot coil vs. distributor for spark purposes? Plugs and wires are both new ~4-500 miles on them, so I think the problem is in the distributor/coil.

Any ideas?

Oh yeah, its a 350 with Accel HEI.

Thanks!
David

['68 longbed]

have someone hit the key while you hold a spark plug (attached to the wire) close but not touching the block. you'll see an arc if it is firing.

that'll be the first step. to see if you have spark at all

[MyakkaJeff]

Check for spark first. If none, check the wires that plug into the coil. I had my main power wire just fall off once and the car just died.

[cdowns]

did you run a proper 12v source wire for the HEI distributor when changing from the points ignition?

[fastom]

Is the rotor turning when you crank the engine?

[oldiron]

If the dist cap rotates, and the 12 volt power wire is still pluged in there is a good chance it is the module inside the dist. I have three fail me now over the past year in two differant trucks. Make should you have a good ground in the dist. And if it is the module make sure that you put the correct amount of dielectic grease on the bottom of the module so it can disapate the heat correctly.
Good luck

[CCCC]

With a sudden death like that, the problem most likely is some sort of broken circuit or short. If the dist is spinning the prob most likeley is not inside there unless the wire to the coil is shorted or not connected - even at the coil terminal. As someone said above, see if you have spark at a plug. If not, check all the connections leaving the dist and then the coil output. Possibly the condenser died and also maybe fried the points. Still, most likely a bad connection.

PDW