no spark

[lasermangene]

I have 1931 ford tudor can't seem to get a spark, new coil, new coil wire, new battery new wiring it will fire once in awhile but dosen't stay running getting gas can see it dripping out of carb. only thing I haven't replacedis the ignition switch any ideas what might being going on?

[Jason in TX]

The fact that it occasionally runs poorly, I'm guessing your timing is off.

Try this:
1) take the distributor cap off,
2) turn on the key
3) set the end of the coil wire that goes into the cap close to a head stud or any metal on the block. (don't hold it with your hands!)
4) use a screw driver to manually open and close points. This should make the coil wire spark to the head screw, telling you that you have "spark"

If you have a strong spark there, your timing is off. Use Marco's instructions on the following link. Print it out, put it on your fender and follow all the steps to make sure your timing is really set well.

http://www.abarnyard.com/workshop/timing.htm

[SGT in Ont.]

I would also check the wire between the 2 plates to make sure you don't have ashort in the distributor.

[Jason in TX]

^^ SGT in Ont. ^^ Great point! This is often overlooked. There is a wire connecting the bottom and top plate in the distributor that sometimes the insulation rubs bare, shorting out the distributor. Make sure it's not rubbing on the side of the inside of the distributor.

Check out the ford garage talking about distributor plate issues

http://www.fordgarage.com/pages/adistlowerplate.htm

This is the bottom plate showing that wire:

[Tom Endy]

Use a trouble light or a volt meter. Put a business card between the points. Turn the ignition switch on. Check to see if there is battery voltage showing up at the arm of the points.

Tom Endy

[Milton]

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If the voltage mentioned above is a no show, and you're using an aftermarket ignition switch, and the other solutions don't fix it, loosen or remove the instrument panel and recheck for the voltage.

[lasermangene]

I reset the points have spark at points but no spark at coil wire

[30ccpickup]

Make sure the bottom of the coil where the coil wire plugs into is clean. It has a tendency to gunk-up and prevents a good contact.

[Tom Wesenberg]

Grab the distributor rotor and lightly try to turn it to make sure the cam is screwed down tight. My first guess would be a poor quality switch, or dirty points. I've seen new in the box points that wouldn't ground the coil. It was probably caused by someone on the assembly line touching the tunsten contacts, or a bit of oil getting on them. I had to remove the flywheel and sand the points on my Lauson engine about 8 times before I finally had constant reliable spark, when I first got my 1939 motorbike running.

[Mike V. Florida]

Some possibilities are:
1.Blown or defective fuse (use of a fuse is an aftermarket item)
2.Bad connections at ammeter, or ammeter itself (ti find out put a jumper wire from one post of the terminal box to the other to take the ammeter out of the circuit temporarily)
3.Bad ignition switch and/or cable, or loose cable connection at switch.
4.Loose or broken wires at bottom of coil
5.Loose or broken wires inside terminal box
6.Loose, bare or broken pigtail wire under distributor plate, or wire grounding to plate or distributor body
7.Points not opening, or point arm grounding to cam due to worn rubbing block
8.Worn electrode in underside of distributor cap
9.Loose or broken high tension wire from coil to cap
10.Condenser burned out or grounding (some condensers are too long and can touch the distributor body inside)
11.Weak coil
12.Rotor not turning due to loose cam screw or bad timing gear.


Ok now break out a volt meter (a light bulb can give false readings).
Start at the fuse block, you should have voltage on both sides of the fuse. If you only have voltage on one side, replace the fuse of fuse block.

Now with voltage on both sides of the fuse, move up to the junction box. There should be voltage at both terminals. If voltage is present only on one side the problem is at the ampmeter and you should Jumper the ampmeter for now.
You should have voltage on both sides of the coil. If not,
remove the red wire on the coil and check again. If you now have voltage on both sides, you have a problem further on. If the voltage is still only in one side you have a bad coil.

Open the points with a piece of paper and remove the condenser. Turn the key on and you should have voltage at the points.
Replace the condenser and you should still have voltage.

If voltage is missing, remove the top plate and check for voltage on the bottom plate.

Check is the connector from the ignition switch screwed in to far? Do you have voltage on the wire to the upper plate?

Is this wire shorting to ground or broken?

Are the point closing.
Let us know what you find.

[tudor 29]

my 31 coupe wont start if the dash panel is just hanging,,, it has to be attached with a least one of the four screws 12v neg ground,old nu-rex system needs ground i guess.

[James Rogers]

Does the rotor turn when the motor does? Could be a broken drive or timing gear.

[Tom Wesenberg]

Originally Posted by tudor 29

my 31 coupe wont start if the dash panel is just hanging,,, it has to be attached with a least one of the four screws 12v neg ground,old nu-rex system needs ground i guess.

I thought I read where you can burn up the Nu-Rex unit if you have a poor ground.

[rwoodcock]

We had a similar problem last week. As stated, make sure you don't have a short in the wire, but also make sure you have all the correct parts in the distributor. We had left out the washer (spacer) that goes under the upper plate where the points go through the plate. (a insulator gasket, the wire lead from the lower plate and nut hold it against the upper plate. Not having this in will affect the points opening and closing as it allows the pivot point to rock.