cranks but will not fire

[laceman]

I purchased a 76 spider and had it running great and took it out the other day after setting the timing and it died, lost RPM's and no throttle response it just shut down. When I purchased the car I replaced the points and it fired right up. since then I have been working on setting the timing. it still cranks over but will not start I tried another coil check point gap and still nothing. Maybe the condensors? any help would be appreciated, Thanks

[bradartigue]

Check -

That the belt didn't slip a tooth (verify by lining up the crank and cams)
That the distributor didn't spin due to a loose nut

If you have spark, fuel, and compression at the right time it will run!

[nate302]

EDIT: Go to brad's site ^^ and read his manual. Nice job brad on the manual.

[mbouse]

If you have spark, fuel, and compression at the right time it will run!

best and simplest advice of all. that it ran the other day is a clear signal that you most likely have compression; and, unless the Timing belt was really worn out, the chances of it slipping at this stage is low... but possible.

spark and fuel remain as the most potential suspects. you should be able to see fuel entering the barrel of the carb .. but, before you do that.. what does the filter look like? have you replaced it? if you remove the fuel intake at the carb, will the fuel pump squirt fuel everywhere?

pull a plug wire and stuff a screw driver in the plug boot. set the screwdriver near the cam cover and crank the engine. do you see spark?

but... you said that you messed with the timing. now it does not work. how did you mess with the timing? just moving the distributor? hmm... just move it back.

[laceman]

Checked for spark no spark going to check condensors tonight and coil and see what happens.

[mbouse]

triple check the connections at the coil, and the big white connector behind the ignition switch. it's the pink wire from the switch to the coil that you are concerned about.

[majicwrench]

Might want to make sure distrib is turning too.

[laceman]

Found the inline fuse blown on the smaller pink wire from the ignition. Runs great now I also converted to single points during the process runs alot better. Still learning the car but love it. Thanks everyone for the help.

[nate302]

Found the inline fuse blown on the smaller pink wire from the ignition. Runs great now I also converted to single points during the process runs alot better. Still learning the car but love it. Thanks everyone for the help.

If you run into the fuse popping a lot, you may have a short in the line. The general basic idea is greater resistance = less voltage, a short = extremely low resistance, and the fuse can only handle so much, so it then pops the fuse. Also, make sure that it is the correct Amperage. Most of the spider's fuses are rated @ 8 amps, all except fuse #1 which should be 16.

-Nathan

[laceman]

Good to know I will check. Thanks.

[maytag]

i've read this a couple of times now....
Why are folks converting to single points? what's the idea there?

[htchevyii]

The dual points system uses one set when cold and another when warm to change the ignition timing for emissions. The cars run better in the normal mode.
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