How to ck coil on front mt. distributor?

[b:256fe69337][/b:256fe69337]No fire to plugs but 11V to top of coil? Is my coil bad? How do I ck it without removing the distributor. I was told I would bend contacts if I tried to remove coil by itself? HELP!

It is simple and pretty fool proof to remove the distributor (I would get it on TDC on number 1 Compression before removing it). first issue is the points. If they are not opening, or are dirty/oily, or burnt. that is the issue. 11 volts is not correct for a ford front mount distributor. (unless you have a true 12v coil, then it is low) that era Fords are 6v and most commonly have a ballast resistor of 2 to 2,5 ohms to reduce the voltage as appropriate for 6volt operation. Jim

T2M........gonna make a WAG (wild A$$ guess) yer talkin' bout the weird 4-nipple front mount dizzy on the Ford 9N/2N/8N flathead engine. There are 2-virgins of the square can coil. The original 6-volt and modern 12-volt coil. Both take the same MANDATORY ballast resistor. As a general rule, the square can coil is semi-bulletproof. Iff'n you run it without the MANDATORY ballast resister, you will MELT the internal insulative tar and SHORT out the coil and loose all yer sparkies. Surprizingly enuff, ittza POINTS (0.015) that giff the most trouble. Me? First thing I'd doo, is un-snapple the capple and stick a corner of $1-bill (cheap) between the points and pull; POLISH the INVISIBLE corrosion from between the points. Now re-snapple yer capple and see iff'n that don't fixx yer problem.

As fer the 11-volts to top of coil, thats probably BURNED points. As I recommend, stick the corner of a $1-bill between the points and PULL. Remember, sparkies only occur when the points OPEN. So with a 12-volt system, you should read 12-volts when the points OPEN and probably about 8-volts when the points close.

As a side note, the 4-nipple dizzy is designed to be removed and points (0.015) replaced on the kitchen table. Just un-snapple the capple and remove the 2-bolts and walk to the kitchen. Installation is a reversal of the removal ...except... finger start the 2-bolts and install the rotor. Now rotate the rotor with its OFF-SET tang to fit the camshaft OFF-SET slot. With the 2-bolt scheme you CANNOT install outta time. Now tighten yer 2-bolts and re-snapple yer capple. Simple, eh? ........Dell, yer self-appointed sparkie-meister and 12-volt advocate for the right reasons