So the other day i was driving and noticed the tach stopped working. a day or too later i noticed the car was running like crap. and whenever i floored it you can hear it breaking up. i parked it and tried to turn it back on a few minutes later and it wouldnt start. im getting spark from the coil but its extremely weak. i just put a new coil and its doing the same thing. the coil is getting power. what the hell could it be? im so stuck.
\1987 iroc 350 tpi with external coil.

 

i would start by checking if the spark plugs are gaped properly, and see if your plug wires have any cracks, or spots where they have been melted by the manifold or anything that would cause a short. Also check if the distributor cap has any corrosion. Just remember when removing the distributor cap, lable the wires so you can get it back together properly.

 

i took the wire that goes from the coil to the distributor and checked the spark. there was almost no spark. you can barely see any spark. so its not really th eplugs, its the coil itself thats not giving the right amount of spark. i changed the coil and its still sparking weak. i dont get it.

 

make sure the balancer/timing tab is correct, check the distributor, check your grounds, ECU, and timing belt...

hope this helps...

 

like bigboy said, check grounds.

also pull off the dizzy cap and see that it looks like.