Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Captain Backwards strikes

Collapse
This topic is closed.
X
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • Captain Backwards strikes

    So, as something of a hobby, I play with cars. Specific old imported cars, not that it matters. I like giving out advice, and have a decent reputation in some circles.

    In one of the FB groups I belong to about this type of car, someone complained about a non-starting car. I asked if he had checked for spark, and it turns out he didn't.

    I suggested checking for voltage on the power wire, and making sure the wires were plugged into the right places, and so on. He responds that he has the black wires all plugged in together, to the negative terminal, and the green wire to the positive terminal.

    I explain that he has it backwards, that in fact the green needs to be on the negative and one of the black wires on the positive. (And the other black should be unplugged for testing.) Because the green wire comes from the points, and the thicker black wire comes from the battery.

    "But I have the wires plugged in this way and I am not getting any spark!"

    Yes, that's likely because you have the coil plugged in backwards.

    "But I have the wires plugged in! This way! And there's no spark!"

    Then we get people chiming in with "Make sure to check <parts that have nothing to do with the spark system>", and "you have the wrong coil".

    Just try plugging it together the way I outlined, OK?

    "So, I hooked the battery directly to the coil, and still get no spark."

    You hooked it up BACKWARDS. Try reading my posts, you moron!!!

    Here, let me post a snippet from the factory wiring diagram. See the wire colors? See the terminal numbers? Now look at your coil, and tell me which numbers match the ones on the diagram.

    Hopefully he hasn't fried his tach (that's where the thin black wire goes) or his coil (from hooking it up backwards).

    I'm done with that fool. Unless he actually bothers to read my posts, there's no point in writing them...
    “There are two novels that can change a bookish fourteen-year old’s life: The Lord of the Rings and Atlas Shrugged.
    One is a childish fantasy that often engenders a lifelong obsession with its unbelievable heroes, leading to an emotionally stunted, socially crippled adulthood, unable to deal with the real world.
    The other, of course, involves orcs." -- John Rogers

  • #2
    reply back, "So what happened after you followed my directions (that I posted three times)?"

    Comment

    Working...
    X