Testing resistance on coil?

[SDMAN1981]

Hey guys, I got my no start issue with the El Camino resolved, it was the dizzy cap, so I replaced it and now it runs again. My question is when I was testing the resistance of the coil the resistance jumped from 0.7-1.0 ohms, when it jumps how do you determine the exact reading?

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[college man]

[quote=”SDMAN1981″ post=96411]Hey guys, I got my no start issue with the El Camino resolved, it was the dizzy cap, so I replaced it and now it runs again. My question is when I was testing the resistance of the coil the resistance jumped from 0.7-1.0 ohms, when it jumps how do you determine the exact reading?[/quote]

Don’t waste your time checking resistance. check the spark output
with a tester.Aslo check that 12v is being supplied to the coil and
switching on and off.

[SDMAN1981]

[quote=”college man” post=96434][quote=”SDMAN1981″ post=96411]Hey guys, I got my no start issue with the El Camino resolved, it was the dizzy cap, so I replaced it and now it runs again. My question is when I was testing the resistance of the coil the resistance jumped from 0.7-1.0 ohms, when it jumps how do you determine the exact reading?[/quote]

Don’t waste your time checking resistance. check the spark output
with a tester.Aslo check that 12v is being supplied to the coil and
switching on and off.[/quote

What do you mean “switching on and off”?

Also I checked the primary winding’s with a multimeter and it was fluctuating between 0.700 – 0.900 ohms…. shouldn’t it be steady?

[SDMAN1981]

[quote=”SDMAN1981″ post=97843][quote=”college man” post=96434][quote=”SDMAN1981″ post=96411]Hey guys, I got my no start issue with the El Camino resolved, it was the dizzy cap, so I replaced it and now it runs again. My question is when I was testing the resistance of the coil the resistance jumped from 0.7-1.0 ohms, when it jumps how do you determine the exact reading?[/quote]

Don’t waste your time checking resistance. check the spark output
with a tester.Aslo check that 12v is being supplied to the coil and
switching on and off.[/quote]

What do you mean “switching on and off”?

Also I checked the primary winding’s with a multimeter and it was fluctuating between 0.700 – 0.900 ohms…. shouldn’t it be steady?[/quote]

[SDMAN1981]

Sorry for the repeated posts…

What do you mean “switching on and off”?

Also I checked the primary winding’s with a multimeter and it was fluctuating between 0.700 – 0.900 ohms…. shouldn’t it be steady?

I’m trying to determine if this is what fried my dizzy cap, a bad coil…

[EricTheCarGuy]

As stated, don’t waste your time checking coil resistance. You can have a bad coil that tests good. Therefore don’t waste your time. You’re much better off checking spark output to see how well the coil is performing.

As for the switching, that is what makes the coil work. I don’t know what year your El Camino is but the way all ignition coils work is by collapsing the primary field inside of them. They do this by switching it on and off. As the field collapses, it induces voltage in the secondary windings and makes the spark. If the negative side of the coil is not switched on and off the problem is not the coil, it’s what is suppose to switch the coil. Depending on the year, it’s either the points or the ignition module.

[SDMAN1981]

OK, checked the spark output and was getting a little blue spark at 0.045 gap in spark tester… So I’m assuming it’s ok.

Also ever time I would tap the ground lead I would get the blue spark along with the electric fan going on and off.

[Bill]

An ohm reading that is unsteady is one of the reasons that test is not a good test. A slight amount of oxidation between test points or the test leads or a low cost meter is the reason for the fluctuations in the readings.

[Author]

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