Posted by Peter Florance on July 04, 2008 at 10:07:20 from from 70.174.37.250
In Reply to: no spark -ballast resitors location-78' 530i posted by cp-rookie on July 04, 2008 at 08:54:55:
You probably don't have ballast resistors. That's on 528i
Only a fuseable link, which is probably good as the voltage on 15 is good during cranking (it is good during cranking, yes?)
The points work by closing and grounding pin 1 of the coil. At spark time, the points open and create the spark.
I would check so see if the points are still grounding pin 1 of the coil.
You can removed the ignition wire from dist cap and stick a spark plug in it (from a lawnmower etc) and lay it on metal part of the car to test for spark with distributor cap removed
The points should spark a little when they open and close.
Recheck terminal 15 and make sure the 12V is there during cranking.