I just completed an engine swap. The motor started briefly but now it won't start. For some reason I'm not getting spark. I put new coil and module in. I checked battery lead to dist and am getting over 12v. Fuses are good.

The car sat for a couple years so I drained fuel. I pulled a plug and wire and grounded and no spark. Even though the motor is turning over, is it possible the battery doesn't have enough voltage to energize the coil?

I appreciate the help.

 

No spark situations are a pain but there are only a few things that will cause a no spark.

So youve replaced a coil (these usually wont fail straight off the bat)

Youve replaced a module ( i have had some dead on arrivals - get it tested)

Pickup coils being dead/faulty will cause no spark, after stuffing around with one that was troublesome recently, just get another distributor. Theyre a cheap investment and your old one may be rusted or corroded beyond repair

 

Thanks for the input. The distributor is pristine and shouldn't need replacing. The ignition is somewhat simple. Just need to keep pecking at it.

 

check the wiring to the pickup coil inside the cap for any cracks etc. then get a multimeter and test the resistance. theres a few vids on youtube about checking it.

Genuine no sparks are irritating and on these cars more so due to chevs single point of failures.

For instance i have had 2 ICM's die with 2 different sets of symptoms. One was a full no spark at any point, another had spark but the computer couldnt get any reference from the distributor and would spark but not actually fire or run.

The pickup coil is the dark evil buried deep within the distributor. you can have a pristine distributor and this little thing can fail, normally you would have to pull the dist, pop the pin, pull it apart to replace. at which point its easier to replace the dist. I'm not saying that the dist is the issue, but a genuine no spark situation is a good sign of something being off.

A few ideas:
Run some direct power from the battery to the coil/dist - see if its something in the loom causing you grief.
Pull the centre plug from the dist, attach a plug, ground it and see if youve got spark
IF YOU HAVE SPARK there but not in the cylinders, check the cap, button, rotor etc.
IF YOU DONT, test the coil
still no spark, now youre looking at the pickup coil.

make your troubleshooting/purchase decisions from there.