74 260z distributor on wrong ??

[Shawninvancouver]

hooked up as per fsm..   does it look correct to you??  blue to neg on coil and wb to pos..  

Edited June 10, 2021 by Shawninvancouver

[Zed Head]

I'm not sure if the wiring is correct but if you have power to any of those three terminals you should have power to all of them, because of the way the ballast is designed.  The last terminal in your ballast is not connected to the others.  Either the wire broke or the screw came loose.

You want a three prong ballast just to match what you have.  It might be three prongs to protect the ignition module.

Looks like they are hard to find though.  Take yours off and see what's broken.  Might just be a loose screw.

[siteunseen]

18 minutes ago, Shawninvancouver said:

hooked up as per fsm..   does it look correct to you??  blue to neg on coil and wb to pos..  

This shows the blue the first from the left and black/white the second. From Blue's Tech Tip bible of facts.

 

 

[siteunseen]

Here's a great thread that I just found that hits on your situation. Read it.

 

[Shawninvancouver]

here is a shot from the 260 fsm  shown here.. i think i have mine hooked up like this.. also.. the wire with power was the black white hooked up to left of ballast closest to front of car -- 

Edited June 10, 2021 by Shawninvancouver

[Zed Head]

The ballast is still broken if all three terminals don't have power.  The way it's wired won't affect what you showed with your test light.

[Shawninvancouver]

What type of 3 Prong with screw down terminal generic ballast can I find at an auto store? Can I test it with the 2 prong one?

[Zed Head]

You can test it by connecting the wire on the dead terminal to the middle terminal.  This will run more current through the coil and ignition module (more heat) but should be okay for a test.

I looked around the internet and did not find any three terminal units.  The four terminal units could be used also, one of the terminals is just a junction for the negative terminal of the coil.

[Shawninvancouver]

what brand makes a 4 terminal with screws?? i will try to find it  - if you tell me what brand you saw...

[Zed Head]

Here is one.  I would not do anything until you check the one that you have though.  And before you do some other tests. 

If you find that your ignition module is bad you will probably replace it with a module that does not need a ballast resistor.  It would be a waste of money.

You could wire in a GM HEI module and just get rid of the ballast resistor entirely.

https://zcarsource.com/ballast-resistor-260z-280z-74-5-76-used/

[Racer X]

12 hours ago, Shawninvancouver said:

ya - im on it..  i will get the photo and let you analyze what you see...   once i do this one time  i will know for next time.. 🙂

 

11 hours ago, Shawninvancouver said:

i just watched a video i did of checking for power at the coil area..  power goes to one side of the balast but does not come out the other side  and does not get power to the coil..  is that correct???

Wait.

After all this fiddling about with the distributor and top dead center we jump to the ballast resistor?

Diagnostic strategies need to follow a logical set of steps. Doesn't matter if it is a Datsun, Toyota, Ford, Chevy, whatever. The principles are the same. 

You need fuel, air and spark.

If an engine doesn't fire when cranking, start by eliminating the easy to check things first.

Like the power supply to the ignition.

So.

Remove the wires from the ballast resistor.

Using a DVOM, check for continuity between the terminals, and from terminals to ground.  There should be continuity between the terminals. There should not be continuity from any terminal to ground. 

If there is no continuity between the terminals, then the resistor wire is open, and the ballast resistor is bad and needs replacing.

 

 

 

 

[Shawninvancouver]

Yes racer. Look at video on post 65.  Coil is hooked up by fsm but power does not travel across ballast. I was looking at tdc and dizzy as I was not getting spark.  I didn’t think of the ballast being bad. I thought the problem was with the dizzy not sending power / signal back to ballast / coil.  Maybe the whole issue is bad ballast.