'73 electrical issue

[jeffwharton]

'73 with manual transmission. Battery died when I accidentally left the accessories on. Recharged the battery, starter motor cranks, but will not start. Got a new battery (was going to get one anyway) and replaced the spark plugs (needed to anyway). Checked for spark against the block...no luck. Checked the coil-distributor wire for spark...no luck. Suspected it was a bad coil. Got a new coil and resistor but still got no spark. Turns out the coil itself isn't getting any power. Did some caveman wiring diagram interpretation...looks like one wire essentially goes from the ignition to the coil via the tach. Checked that wire and it is supplying power from the ignition. I'm guessing that the problem is somewhere between there and the coil. Is there something obvious or not so obvious I should be checking?

[Daniel]

Sounds like your points/condensor are not working therefore not allowing your coil to saturate.Check point grounds in distributor also.My grandfather would say don't leave that switch in that position you'll burn the points up(I wanted radio).It never happened to me but,maybe you found that exact position needed to damage them. Have fun!! Daniel

[jeffwharton]

Finally got it started. When I got the distributor cap off to check the points, I found out that at some point, a piece of the little plastic part of the LT terminal where the condenser and LT lead connect had broken off inside the distributor. The square nut that holds the LT lead in place was also missing (found it and the plastic piece at the bottom of the distributor). Not sure what happened first (plastic piece or nut coming off), but I guess the LT lead was flailing around and eventually fused itself to the breaker assembly. Points were also pretty well burned up. Replaced the condenser, points, rotor, and cap and fixed the LT lead. Starts like a champ now!