Ignition system questions.

[KijanaKiume]

Hello yall! I'm stumped and I would love some advice. I have a 74 CJ5 with the AMC 258 i6 / 4.2l . The PO had hacked up the wiring something bad. I have undertaken the job to rewire the vehicle and put the headlights on relays. Working late one night I had a moment of stupidity. I ran the coil power wire from the ignition switch to the negative side of the coil and left the key on all night. End result is i melted a coil and burned up all the electronics in the distributor. I bought a new coil and a new distributor. Installed the new coil and swapped all the electronic parts from the new dist to the old dist and ran a new power wire. Attempted to run vehicle. It will not start now. The coil get extremely hot. The old one would run on 12v. This coil says to use with a resistor . Yall have any ideas what would make it not start or what resistor i would need to wire in? I have power all the way up to the coil when cranking or key on. Thank you in advance!

 

[Torxhead]

I would think you would have the Prestolite distributor with a plastic vacuum advance cannister. You probably fried the ignition control module also. You also need a resistor to cut down the volts to the coil.

 

[KijanaKiume]

Thank you for your response. I have got a resistor so that's one problem solved. My Jeep does not have a ignition control module. I have power and I have ground to the coil and yet no spark. I have replaced the coil twice to no avail.

 

[Posi]

What ohms resistor did you install? Should be 1.8 + or - .05 if stock distributor.
Have you inspected the distributor contact points?

 

[Torxhead]

So, if you do not have an icm then you have the breaker point type distributor. Another possibility could be the points or condenser went bad.

 

[Lumpy Grits]

IF, it is a 'point' type ign. Install a new condenser.
You want one that is a min of 25mfd.
Coils do not live long with reversed polarity-
LG

 

[Hedgehog]

Get a DUI HEI distributor and call it good. No matter what you are working with old technology. The HEI system is a nice bundle with everything you will ever need in an ignition system, including the coil. The nice part is, one wire with a full 12v from your ignition switch is all it takes to run. Yes, it will be a little expensive, but well worth the price.

 

[rchoudini]

What should the resistance be on a coil. Both primary and secondary.

Will this one work for a 78 CJ7 w/AMC 304 ?

Max Voltage 42000V
Primary Resist 1.2 Ohms Secondary 8.9k Ohms

 

[Lumpy Grits]

What should the resistance be on a coil. Both primary and secondary.

Will this one work for a 78 CJ7 w/AMC 304 ?

Max Voltage 42000V
Primary Resist 1.2 Ohms Secondary 8.9k Ohms

WELCOME
You would probably get quicker answers if you start'd a separate 'thread'.
GOOGLE, is your friend
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h8vSwfnX3Xc
LG