We're not talking about a major spark here either, just enough to see it in an area with no direct sun light.

 

It's best just to change out condensor and new points. If you don't have a handy test light, you can make this tool cheaply. Here's the ingredients:

1) 2 alligator clips
2) 16-18 regular gage wire
3) small light buld-flight light type with two prong tails. 12V
4) electrical tape

Cut two wires the length you want them. Connect the alligator clip to one end of each wire and the other end to the tail on the light bulb. Elecrical tape at bulb as clean and secure as possible. Imagine a kite (aka. bulb) with two lines coming down and the two people holding the lines are the alligtor clips. Clip aligator clip to points wire and the other to a ground on bike. Now you can test it out. Can also be used to run down your cylinder to check wear.

 

One pic is worth a thousand words

 

Hey! That's exactly what I'm talking about Anyway, if you get yourself a smaller bulb and longer wires, you can drop that down your spark plub hole and check out the condition of your cylinders, when you have to. Make sure it's secured with tape.

Good luck and let us know when that sucker fires up!

 

thanks for the tips guys, just ordered a condenser from j&p, so when that arrives I'll give her a go. the points are new, so that shouldn't be a big deal.

isn't there a condenser from some year of chevy that works too? I thought I had heard that but I wasn't sure

 

1969 Chevy Nova--six cylinder to be exact from my friend on Shovelhead net.

 

You'll find that the 6 cylinder chevy points work also in that bike. You can also use a dwell meter to set the points. If I can remember correctly (been a long time) it is one half the reading on a 4 cylinder scale on the meter and 32* dwell is where it should be at (the scale will show 64*). Much more accurate than a feeler gauge. Try gapping them first and then measure them with a dwell meter doubled on the 4 cylinder scale just for the heck of it.
One more thing is that if the condenser was bad, the points could be burnt also regardless if they were new or not.

 

Correct, and the points are the same too. I've been buying my pionts and condensers for my shovel at NAPA for years!

 

I had a simular problem with my shovel, I'd replace the coil if it's older.

[IMG]local://upfiles/17396/A7800BFC873E402BABAFF6EB4348EF05.jpg[/IMG]

 

Did you get it fixed yet?