have no spark. completely lost.

i have a 46 cj2a with the 4-134 in it. coil is new. new wires. new plugs. new points. new cap and rotor. have current at the top of the distributor but nothing going to the plugs or even down the wires for that matter. at this point im am absolutely lost as for where to go to next. i learned to drive on this willys jeep when i was 7 years old. i had my head under a hood ever since but for some reason ive got a got that popped up over the winter on this one. first time ive ever had a problem with it and before i replaced the parts(ignition) they were all original. gotta love the jeep... so what is my next plan of action

And the other thing to keep in mind is that there have been many reports of new ignition parts being faulty out of the box, particularly condensers.

start at the beginning 1.  do you have power at the coil + when key is on 2. make sure wire from coil - goes to distributor points. 3.bump engine around until the points are closed. 4. check the secondary coil wire for continuity with an ohm meter (1000 OHMS PER INCH) Install the secondary coil wire  in the coil with  other end about 1/8 inch from a good ground. 5. flick the points open and closed you should have a spark between coil wire and ground. If not check for power at points. if you have power. run a file across the points the spay with carb spray and run a clean business card between the contacts flick them again, still no spark  change out the condenser (Iwould start by using the old one) remember to lube the rubbing block at the distributor cam after spaying the carb spray in the distributor. Doing this will  eliminate any guess work if all this works and still no spark at the plugs it's the rotor cap or plug wires check the wires with an ohm meter inspect the cap and rotor.

Here is something that is not mentioned  Is the battery wire hooked to the positive side of the coil?

You have power to the cap..Distributer cap?  If so not the points.  Check that you have the wires ALL the way down in the distributer cap.  Sometimes they go in but do not click all the way down.  Then with one spark plug laying down grounded to the neg. see if you have spark.

im gonna end up replacing the distributor. with the money ive put in to parts to replace this one i could have already bought a new replacement. im upgradind to an electronic ignition and doing away with the points system. it makes more sense and is more dependable along with being just as easy to work on. tahnk you to all that pitched in advice. once i get the stock distributor out im gonna look it over inside and out to find the problem. ill post what i find. thanks again.

Joe,

Ran into the same problem myself with a '47 that I have and use for light farm work. Wanted to know what came about with your solution.

I have no spark (every once in a while a thin orange spark)...good juice to the distributor, both primary and secondary coils check good (replaced the coil anyway) points check good, condenser is new, cap & rotor new, plug wires new, but damn thing won't start.

After some reading I am suspecting it may be grounding out somewhere in the wiring harness before it reaches the coil. I am going to check the primary and secondary coil again for proper spark. But by all accounts it (spark) looks like it leaves the distributor and disappears...only thing I can think of is that the spark I am getting at the coil is not enough and thus the weak and very intermittent spark I get at the plug.

I have a very well versed Jeep mate that assisted me and he is perplexed as well......

These old post still saving sanity today. Was having a similar issue. Found that the square nut inside the distributor where the points are connected was grounding itself out against the distributor body. Was driving me crazy for a week! This was an ICW by the way.

ICW IAT IAD are all Autolite distributor number prefixes