could i use a 12v test light to check if im getting power through my spark plug wires? like unplug a wire and touch the test light to the metal inside the wire and ground it somewhere and then crank the engine? will this shock the hell out of me? i need to know how to see if im getting power to the plugs becuase the engine is cranking and i can smell gas in the carb but no start. everything else electrical works fine. car just died while i was driving around last week. i had to tow it home. any hints or suggestion would be good.

 

better yet. just get a spark plug and hook it to the plug wire. or take and probe through the boot on the distributor. that way you won't shock yourself. if no spark then either the coil or ignition module is bad.

 

would i shock my self by hooking a test light directly to the wire? please help so i dont fry my brain.

 

You'll probably jolt yourself silly by using a 12V test lamp. Remove one of the spark plugs (or temporarily take one out of the lawnmower) and test it that way. Just ground the plug against a surface away from any gasoline, then briefly crank the engine.

 

spend 10 dollars on a spark checker and you'll know if you have spark and if the spark is strong enough. if you're wanting to check for spark fast and easy just hook up a timing light to each wire. like vader said besides trashing your 12v test light you'll have a chance to pratice cussing and shaking your hand rapidly.

 

i took out a spark plug and grounded it and fired the engine but no spark. so i went to looking in the distributor and found the culprit. my coil had been burnt up. it was brand new so i started looking for the reason it was burnt up. the guy at the speed shop installed the spring and isolator setup wrong and the spark had too far to go to get to the coil so it arched and melted a lot of **** in there. so i took it back and they gave me a new msd coil and hei module, which i figured the module was bad too, and i installed it and fixed the problem. also since i found this mistake in their work, i double checked the timing they had set when they installed the cam. and what do you know? it was set at -6*!! why would a speed shop set up a performance engine to run at -6* btc? i set it to 10* btc and it runs like a champ now. im so happy i can finally drive the bastard err sweet thing again. any tips on fine tuning the timing? is 10* too much, not enough? total after advance is like 38* at about 22-2500. is the advance coming in soon enough?

 

Or a free way is to get a screwdriver, stick it in the wire, then lay the wire near a metal object and look for a spark arcing.

You could hold the wire and have someone crank the engine