Well lets see if this rings a bell. I had to take my points off to replace a rotted wire. I put the points back in and it runs. Had to take the points off again for something else and put them back on and it just backfires. I'm trying to diagnose what is wrong and I have found something weird. When I put a continuity tester on each side of the points it shows continuity which is normal. When I put the points on top of the cam to open the points it also shows continuity. This seems crazy. Any ideas?

 

Not timed on front Cylinder...180 out causes poor starting and will Not Run anywhere near right.. If I understand..Points wire is always grounded...Not gonna work...only ground thru Points.
Details...Slow Down, and Concentrate on Details...Knowing Exactly how the thing works is Paramount

 

Remove the condenser from the circuit it may be shorted. Try this and report back, touch red lead of voltmeter to moving contact of points, black to ground. Ignition and kill switch on, motor not running. Points closed should be 0 volts, points open should be 12 volts.
Did you remove just the points or the timer plate they are mounted to?

 

All I did was take the points off. I needed to replace the screw that holds the points in because it was wollered out. I never moved the motor. This is the confusing part

 

But I never tuned the motor over. I just took the points off to change a worn out screw and put them back on.

 

What are you working on?

I don`t think you are understanding continuity and how it applies to this scenario...

Tell us exactly what the tester probes were touching on each of your tests.

 

82 shovelhead with points ignition

 

Again

 

I had the tester probes on each side of the contacts, one on the top and one on the bottom. I got continuity. I put a thick piece of paper between the contacts and still got continuity. I would have thought that the continuity would have been broken. I've never completely understood the logic behind how they work but I always known how to work on them. I've always gotten them to work until this particular time.

 

Flip the RS switch to off.. If you don't have one disconnect the coil.