# She broke down



## 69GTOCONVLOVER (Oct 29, 2013)

Hey fellow gtowners. Today was the first time she gave up on me. Lost throttle response all the sudden and now the car doesn't start anymore. Its not a gasoline problem. Maybe something to do with electricity? 

Please help.
Martin


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## Ace (Mar 9, 2014)

Does it turn over?
Do the other electronics work? (e.g.;lights come on?)
What type of an intake system do you have?
Need more info to do any troubleshooting.


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## 69GTOCONVLOVER (Oct 29, 2013)

All electronics work, and it does turn over. All original, normal air cleaner etc.

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## Instg8ter (Sep 28, 2010)

Do you have a points distributor or HEI electronic ignition? Check and see if you are getting spark to the plugs.


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## 69GTOCONVLOVER (Oct 29, 2013)

Points distributor. Just checked, no sparks...

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## SCG Pontiac (Feb 23, 2014)

If you have a tester see if you have 12 volts on the positive side of the coil with the key on. If you have nothing there start testing voltage from the battery at the starter, and coming from the ignition. Make sure the coil still has the leads tight on their posts.


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## chuckha62 (Apr 5, 2010)

Make sure the breaker plate ground didn't break. This is the little braided ground strap inside the distributer. It attaches to the breaker plate and the distributer body. As the breaker plate moves back and forth, the braid flexes (hundreds of tousands of times in its' life) and will fail eventually.


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## 69GTOCONVLOVER (Oct 29, 2013)

There is no power coming from the coil to the distributor

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## SCG Pontiac (Feb 23, 2014)

make sure you have 12 volts coming from the battery. Make sure you have 12 volts at the starter. Make sure you have 12 volts at the coil. If any of those are no search for why, loose wire? bad battery? wire not connecting at the ignition etc. You should be able to find the trail of voltage and see where it stops. Run a wire from the battery to the hot side of the coil to see if it will start.


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## geeteeohguy (Feb 2, 2008)

Pull the distributor cap and have someone crank the engine over while you look at the points. Are they opening and closing? If not, suspect a worn rubbing block on the points. Very possibly worn points or bad condenser. First thing I would check is the points.


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## SCG Pontiac (Feb 23, 2014)

you mention no power coming from the coil but is there power going to the coil. If you verify all grounds are good and you verify that your battery is putting out 12 volts I would jump the coil with a wire as described in previous post. The problem may be in your 45 year old wire harness. You should have two wires on the positive side of your coil. One is a resistance wire that feeds less than 12 volts to the coil so your points do not burn. Many times I have seen this wire cause issues when it gets old. Also check your points are they burned or do they look normal?


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## SCG Pontiac (Feb 23, 2014)

if as you stated there is no power to the distributor you MUST have power or your car will not start. Points can be bad for sure but without power new points won't fire


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## 69GTOCONVLOVER (Oct 29, 2013)

I was thinking of a fuse not giving power to the coil, can that be it?

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## 69GTOCONVLOVER (Oct 29, 2013)

Cable from coil to distributor is not doing anything, even from battery - to + it doesnt do anything

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## SCG Pontiac (Feb 23, 2014)

not sure what you mean battery - to + ?


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## SCG Pontiac (Feb 23, 2014)

You really need to start at the beginning BATTERY does it have a full 12 volts coming out of it. If you do not have a voltage meter to verify then take a battery out of a car that is running and try it in your car first. If you can't verify 12 volts available then everything else downstream is a wild guess and electrical guess's will drive you nuts. Start at the beginning.


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## SCG Pontiac (Feb 23, 2014)

sure check fuses it is pretty easy thing to do


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## PontiacJim (Dec 29, 2012)

69GTOCONVLOVER said:


> There is no power coming from the coil to the distributor
> 
> Sent from AutoGuide.com Free App


Coils do go bad. Run a jumper wire from your battery positive side to the positive terminal at the coil. If it fires up, then you have a power problem going to the coil, and you have to trace it back from there. If it does not fire up, then I would replace the condenser, points, cap, and rotor just to know they are all good. Gap the points. You can use a matchbook cover in a pinch as your feeler gauge.

Timing chains also go all of a sudden. Confirm this by having your dist. cap off, rotor on, and rotate the engine to confirm the chain is turning the camshaft, which in turn will rotate the distrib. rotor.

Spark and gas is all you need and if you know you are getting gas, then its spark.


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## 69GTOCONVLOVER (Oct 29, 2013)

I just checked and I am getting 6v at the coil, replaced the coil and still got 6...

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## chuckha62 (Apr 5, 2010)

Did you check the ground strap that I mentioned? Remember, electricity must flow in a loop. No ground = no voltage.

I've seen really good mechanics get stumped by this one.


...and as mentioned, the condensor can be good one minute and bad the next


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## 69GTOCONVLOVER (Oct 29, 2013)

Chuck, could you help me find that braided strap? I honestly have no idea where to look for it..

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## PontiacJim (Dec 29, 2012)

69GTOCONVLOVER said:


> I just checked and I am getting 6v at the coil, replaced the coil and still got 6...
> 
> Sent from AutoGuide.com Free App


Might be about right as I recall the wire to the coil is a resistor wire that only allows 6-8 volts so the points do not burn. If you changed the coil to a new coil, you are getting voltage as you said, then it is also possible your coil wire to the cap has gone bad or broke internally. I have had this happen a time or two.

This would be my next move. If you have power to the coil, a new coil, you should be able to crank the engine over and hold the coil wire end which would go into the distributor cap very close to the block, but not touching, to make the brass end spark. Hold the coil wire with something that will not give you a shock. Should get a nice arc as someone spins the engine over.


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## chuckha62 (Apr 5, 2010)

69GTOCONVLOVER said:


> Chuck, could you help me find that braided strap? I honestly have no idea where to look for it..
> 
> Sent from AutoGuide.com Free App


Remove the distributer cap. On top of the distributer, you'll find the upper advance plate (mechanical advance) that the rotor attaches to. Under that (an inch or so down), you'll find the points and condensor attached to the breaker plate. The plate moves back and forth via the vacuum advance module, therefore it's a floating ground at best. In order to maintain a ground throughout the travel, the manufacturer installed a small braided copper strap that attaches the breaker plate to the distributer body. Over time this strap breaks. Look and see that the strap is there, not broken and attached at each end.

It's not very big at maybe 2.5 inches long and an eighth of an inch (tops) thick.


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