1930 Coupe
 

Been running good for about 1 year. Yesterday ran idle up in garage and I heard a pop and now no spark. Changed coil and condenser- still no spark. Could the generator gone bad? Battery is good. Jumped fuse on top of starter to eliminate that.

If generator is bad , will they still run?

Re: 1930 Coupe
 

Is the distributor shaft turning when you press the starter? If not, the timing gear is stripped, which will cause the no-spark scenario you describe. Check that first.
Marshall

Re: 1930 Coupe
 

yes

Re: 1930 Coupe
 

Distributor is turning. Checked that yesterday.

Re: 1930 Coupe
 

How did you check for spark?

Re: 1930 Coupe
 

It's seldom productive to start replacing parts without determining the cause of the problem. Often even counterproductive since additional problems can be introduced in the process making it even more difficult to diagnose and solve.

After performing Marshall's test, I'd check for spark at the points. Key on, open and close points with a screwdriver. If no spark, check for a short in the wire between the dizzy plates, bad ignition switch, short or break in wiring to coil or ignition switch.

If spark at points, check for spark at the plugs by disconnecting the spark plug leads and shorting one a quarter inch or so to ground with a screwdriver while cranking the engine key on. If no spark, rotor may be shorting internally.

If spark at plug, check timing.

If timing OK, maybe it's not an electrical problem?

Re: 1930 Coupe
 

Check for spark-- held a spark plug lead close to block.

Re: 1930 Coupe
 

I checked all the areas for 6 volts that is mentioned in Ford Model A handbook. Everything looks good so far. I will dive into the distributor tonight. Hopefully I will find a shorted wire in there. There is 6 volts on the arm of the points when open.

Re: 1930 Coupe
 

Do the points fully close? With 6v at the point arm when open, you should see a little spark when you cross the point arm with the fixed point with a screwdriver blade (ignition on). You should also see that little spark when you crank the engine over by hand with the cap and rotor off. If you don't, the points may be set too far apart and are not closing. If you do see a spark there, try a known good rotor and test at the plugs again.

Re: 1930 Coupe
 

I'll put an end to this thread. Car is running. Unfortunately never figured out what was wrong. Pulled distributor, made sure there were no shorts, retimed it, and it started.

Thanks to all who tried to help. Wish I knew what Is was. I also filed the points a little. Maybe that was it. happy motoring.

Re: 1930 Coupe
 

I've seen one car do the same thing, and the distributor cast iron body wasn't grounding to the head. Clean bare metal where the two meet inside the hole, then a good coat of anti-seize should fix it.

Re: 1930 Coupe
 

Thanks Tom. One thing I did notice was that the contact in the distributor that the wire from the firewall screws into was within a 1/8 of the body of the distributor. I did bend it a little to give it more distance from the body of the distributor. Do you think it was possible that the spark was jumping from the contact plate to the metal of the distributor? Reason I ask is that when I first got the car I screwed the wire in too far and grounded it because I pushed it in so far. Done want to tell you how long that took to figure out. Appreciate all your insight and knowledge