low & no spark on #3 cyl

[alexiskai]

If a short occurs within the distributor body, it often affects cylinder 3. You'll find out when the new one arrives. If that doesn't help, here's a thread from '17 describing something similar with the #1 cylinder. The OP never circled back to report the fix, though.

https://www.fordbarn.com/forum/showthread.php?t=216127

[ryanheacox]

Originally Posted by alexiskai

If a short occurs within the distributor body, it often affects cylinder 3. You'll find out when the new one arrives. If that doesn't help, here's a thread from '17 describing something similar with the #1 cylinder. The OP never circled back to report the fix, though.

https://www.fordbarn.com/forum/showthread.php?t=216127

Come to think of it, I'm pretty sure my original distributor body started arcing from the #3 contact. Interesting observation.

[alexiskai]

Originally Posted by ryanheacox

Come to think of it, I'm pretty sure my original distributor body started arcing from the #3 contact. Interesting observation.

I don't have personal experience with this behavior but that's what I've heard. I'm not sure why it is. I couldn't find any images of a cutaway body to show how the wiring is run, but I found the diagram attached below from a MAFCA seminar. If the diagram is accurate, the body is axially symmetric – so there's no reason wire 3 should fail more than wire 2.

If replacing the distributor body solves the problem, I hope the OP will run some tests with a multimeter across the contacts on the bad distributor body to see whether the #3 wire has any measurable anomalies.