Very interesting discussion on basic electricity but I must have missed the objective. I also suspect that your measurement is voltage rather than current.

Did I read the thread correctly that the distributor does not have a capacitor? The purpose of the capacitor is to prevent arching when the points are opening and therefore creating a "cleaner" spark. If you do not have a capacitor, that could cause the secondary spikes as the arcing occurs. The capacitor also "slows" the initial field build up to prevent sparking when the points are closing that could be your secondary spike.

Since you have spark, does the car run?

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Jim Villers
190SL, 230SL 5-speed, 95 E320 Wagon, 01 E320 Wagon, MGB, Boxster 'S', 190SL "Barn Find"