Fried Coil- External Resistor

[Killer Frogs]

Without too much history I put a new ignition coil, plugs, distributor, and wires in my bronco. It has a 302 that is from a 69 Falcon. It was running then sputtered until it stopped running, no spark from the coil. Any guesses? Bad coil or bad resistor wire under the dash?

 

[DirtDonk]

It's not for lack of info so much as there are still too many possibilities to guess at just one.

But first, what type of distributor did you put in? Points or electronic? What brand?
For the wire, it's an easy test to find out if there is any voltage getting to the positive side of the coil. Just turn the key on and put a volt-meter probe to it. Should be anywhere from 6 to 12+ depending on certain conditions.

Could it be a completely unrelated issue? Unfortunately, yes. But we'll deal with the known-new stuff first.
Just let us know what type of setup you have and the voltage readings.

If you don't yet have a volt-meter, now's obviously a good time;D
Unfortunately, with Early Broncos, any time is a good time to own a volt/ohm meter!

Good luck.

Paul

 

[Killer Frogs]

It is a dura last distributor with points, I'll bust out the volt meter tonight.

 

[Desert Dweller]

Unhook the power lead from the coil when you test it, 'cause if the coil is grounded out (bad/burnt, etc) you won't get a volt reading.

 

[DirtDonk]

With it disconnected from the coil, you should get a full 12v all the time since there's no load on it to build up heat and increase resistance.

If it's too much less than that, it's probably gone bad. Of course, other things could be your points getting loose and closing up while running. Or something breaking.
Or even, in extreme cases, your engine block's distributor bore being just so rusty or gunked up with, well, gunk, that the ground signal can't make a full circuit to ground.
It's rare with points, but it's not impossible either.

Paul