Hi guys . My mk2 stopped while idling and refused to start again. Good spark from coil but nothing at plugs , not much in-between so I have ordered a capacitor , any other ideas?
If the coil has a good spark the likely problem is a defective rotor. A new distributor cap would likely also be prudent.
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Thanks Geoff, do you not suspect the capacitor?
take it off and measure to see if it is short circuit (this will stop you dead in your tracks)
You could also see what happens with the capacitor removed…if a short is the fault, I think you will see spark at the points, might even run…I dunno, not recommended to try
Not saying the other parts should not be on hand, for use as replacements now or in future, but I prefer to be systematic in my fault finding
Have you checked that you have a gap at the points (screw not tight enough)? Sometimes it’s the most simple things which trip you up. If not, and following recent issues with my MK2, the new condensers with the orange lead are all rubbish. The new rotor arms aren’t much better. Also, the new coils aren’t much chop. I had three condensers fail in a row and two coils boil. A friend in the UK put me onto the Distributor Doctor (UK). He has made specially, excellent quality rotors, points and distributor caps. He also sold me a Lucas Coil (made in India) which is used on almost every Indian taxi which is a good testing group! http://www.distributordoctor.com
Good luck!
Tim
I am a Distributor Doctor fan as well. His rotors are great. They’re all bonded with no rivet and have “DD” pressed into the brass arm. Beware of imitations. Paul.
If the capacitor was bad you would not get spark at the coil. I would leave things as they are and replace components one by one. Rotor first, then distributor cap and then points and condenser if necessary. My money is on you getting no farther than the rotor.
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Thanks guys 
systematic it is ! And a call to distributer doctor ! Watch this space.
Did you have a gap at the points?
Tim
Sparks at coil mean distributor defect, finger/rotor and cap. I would change both. Check HT wires condition also
Points gap was ok, had an appointment with the doctor who made a diagnosis , and also issued a mild rebuke because of the rust in the top of the distributor Well I’ve only owned it for three months and this is the first time the cap has been off . Stuff on the way to hopefully cure the problem.
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That’s encouraging news. Martin is a very knowledgeable and friendly fellow. I’m so thankful that there are people like him still around.
I’d love to hear how things work out when the parts are fitted.
Tim
Hi Tim, yes Martin was very helpful and will let you know the outcome . Ken
Hi guys, would. Someone please post a pic of the inside of a mk2 dizzy showing the configuration of the points, leads etc, I think I might have done something stupid. Also can a coil fail , just like that, when the engine is ticking over ? And finally, with the ignition on I should be able to open the points manually and get a spark , yes ?
OK Ken
Distributor less points and condenser.
First base plate of the points,
then place one of the nylon insulators on the threaded post, next the trigger half of the points with the eye of the spring located on the nylon insulator, continue by fixing the condenser making sure the small cross head screw is tight.
Now the tricky bit, the second nylon insulator passes through the eye of the feed wire , attached to the water shield,
then through the eye of the wire of the condenser into the eye of the points spring. Due to the nature of the spring it tries to sit off center to the threaded post
so make sure the top and bottom nylon insulators maintain centrality of the spring eye to the threaded post, this, of course, when tightening the holding nut .
I usually remove a distributor to replace points
BTW some nylon insulators are formed better than others…
Thanks for that Peter, managed to assemble points and leads, there are two, one to the condenser and the other to the incoming lead from the coil is that correct?
Disregard some of last message, black wire goes from insulated post with condenser wire to base plate earth.
First post is correct Ken, there is a earth strap / wire that is attached to the base plate then to the body of the distributor via one of the two screws that hold the base plate. Condenser wire and feed wire both attach to the threaded post but make sure that the connections spring eye, condenser and feed wire do not contact the threaded post
Got that correct, done the test for the coil, it is sparking but not sure if it is strong enough . Still can’t understand why it stopped dead while warm and ticking over . Not a murmur from it since. New points , condenser and red rotor. Still no spark at points and plugs.
Correct terminology!
The points and condenser attach to the swash plate, the plate underneath attaches to the body of the distributor via the two lugs diametrically opposed,
Check that the earth wire connection from swash plate to the body of the distributor is OK
Also, just in case, connect a jump lead from engine to battery earth in case of poor connection twixt engine and body.