I have installed my motor in the frame and would like to hear it run. I can get it to turn over by touching the 2 wires from the solenoid to the positive post. I don't have any spark. Where do I put the wires on the coil. a red wire is on the positive to the distributer , what wire goes to the negative side. Does any power go to the positive side of the coil. I have had this motor for 2 years and haven't heard it run yet.
All you need is key on voltage to the positive side of the coil. The - side of the coil gets grounded when the points close. The battery negative should be connected to the block and you should have a ground strap between one cylinder head and firewall. The wire connected to the positive side of the coil is a resistance wire. That cuts down the voltage for longer point life. If you run the points on full battery voltage, point life will be shortened. Make sure you check point gap if you have changed the point set. There is a wire from the starter solenoid that jumps out the resistance wire when the starter is cranking the engine only.
The negative terminal on the coil attaches to the black wire from the distributor. That completes the circuit to ground when the points are closed. When cranking, you should have 12v at the + terminal on the coil, coming from the starter solenoid. When ignition key is returned to 'run', you should have about 9v at the + coil terminal.... that's from the resistance wire connected to the ignition switch.
If he's just testing the engine in the frame to hear it run, he can run 12v to the points with no resistor.
Actually, there won't be 12 volts at the coil while cranking. The load on the starter will pull the voltage down to around 10 volts. If you run on battery voltage for very long, point life will be shorter. For short periods, it will be OK.
