Help, '76 Scout II won't start!

[nl8485]

Our Scout II recently stopped working, and we can't pinpoint the problem. We believed that it was the coil, so we replaced it with a new one (petronix), but it seems that there is no voltage going to the coil at all. We also replaced the distributor with a petronix pointless. We have 3 wires and no gold box. Does anyone have any idea what the problem might be?
Thanks!

 

[wmills40]

Not an electrical guru here, but if there is no voltage coming in to the coil from the ignition switch, I'd check the switch. Are you checking it on the coil, or checking the wire against a known ground when removed from the coil? Is anything else working when you turn the switch? Radio, etc?

 

[Scoutboy74]

Lets have some more background detail along with a more specific timeline of events before, during and after the break down. A '76 would have originally come with the Holley gold box system. Did it have one in it when the failure occurred or had it been replaced prior to this most recent event? There is no such thing as a pertronix distributor. From what I'm gathering, it now has what sounds like a prestolite electronic distributor with a pertronix module installed. We should make certain id of the distributor model through pictures.

 

[nl8485]

Thank you guys for your quick responses.

Wmills40, we are checking it at the coil, also checking the distributor. Seems to have power going to the pertronix pointless sensor. We haven't had a chance to check the switch since you recommended it, but it does seem to be working when we turn the switch. It turns over but doesn't fire.

Scoutboy74, you are right, it is the prestolite distributor with the pertronix pointless installed. The gold box was removed before we purchased the car, and it was running fine when we bought it. What happened was very sudden; I turned a corner, heard a loud bang, and it started losing power. It wasn't getting any gas when I hit the accelerator, and then it died in the road and wouldn't start back up. We assumed it was the fuel pump, and replaced that and the fuel filters, as well as new spark plugs. It then seemed to be running ok, but after a few miles did the same thing again. That was when we replaced the coil and distributor, but it didn't help. We haven't been able to start it up since. If you still need pictures of the distributor, we can post tomorrow but it is too dark tonight already.

Thanks so much!

 

[Scoutboy74]

Are you saying you physically removed the entire distributor from the engine and stabbed a completely different distributor unit in place of the previous one? Have you ever done this job successfully before? There are some specific steps that must be followed to the letter, otherwise your ignition timing can be affected to the point that the engine will not start up. Please tell me in detail every little step you took once the engine stalled out the second time, including what type of distributor was in it during the breakdown and what distributor is in it now, because that is still unclear.

As for the noise, would you say it was more of a combustion related backfire, or more of a mechanical, metal on metal clang/bang? If a backfire, could you tell if it was at the tail pipe or under the hood? Did you happen to save any/all of the parts you removed? There May not have been anything wrong with some or all of those items.