Intermittent Spark on 66

[videosteve]

Hi, new owner here of a 66 Landau. It's in great shape with a few minor repairs needed. This forum if fabuluous! Glad y'all are doing this. Today in an effort to verify correct timing I discovered what appears to be intermittent spark to plug #1. I tested the plug wire by swapping the #1 wire with one I knew was good. Same result: the timing light showed intermittent flashes, not the consistent ones generated by smooth idling. I checked the timing light by checking all the other plug wires: all tested fine with consistent, steady flashes. My question is: is this a problem with the distributor? If so, what recommendations to repair and how? Stephen in Raleigh, NC.

[phjohnso]

I'm not a mechanic but could this be related to bad points - or bad condenser - or loose wire in the distrib?

maybe the coil could be bad??? Voltage regulator??

not sure - but that is where I might look - are the plugs new????

[videosteve]

hey.. thanks for the quick reply... plugs are new. If it was the coil or the volt reg, it seems like the other plugs would be experiencing intermittent spark also. This problem only appears on the #1 plug wire (it WOULD be the one necessary to time it with!), since the timing light flashed intermittently while attached to this plug wire.

What I'm thinking is something inside the distributor. It appears to have an electronic kit installed in the dist. Would there be a worn part inside with those parts???

Also (this is weird), the coil is just sort of sitting next to the dist, not bolted down or anything...

[Joe Van Datta]

Originally Posted by videosteve

Hi, new owner here of a 66 Landau. It's in great shape with a few minor repairs needed. This forum if fabuluous! Glad y'all are doing this. Today in an effort to verify correct timing I discovered what appears to be intermittent spark to plug #1. I tested the plug wire by swapping the #1 wire with one I knew was good. Same result: the timing light showed intermittent flashes, not the consistent ones generated by smooth idling. I checked the timing light by checking all the other plug wires: all tested fine with consistent, steady flashes. My question is: is this a problem with the distributor? If so, what recommendations to repair and how? Stephen in Raleigh, NC.

Sounds like the problem might be in the distributer cap, ck . for continuity from number one on the cap to the plug wire.
You should definitely tie down the coil.
Joe