The Ford Barn

40cpe · 07-29-2015, 01:02 PM

My friend and I are still chasing a problem with a 6 volt '41 distributor. It gets 2.5 volts at coil with points closed and engine off, 3.8 V with engine running. When cold it starts right up and runs rather well, not perfect. New points at .015 by owner, new coil and condenser suppled by owner. We tried 2 different ICR 40 resisters. Battery voltage 6.1V. After driving a 5 miles or so, the running becomes progressively worse. It won't start when warm except with the resistor bypassed. We haven't driven it until it quits, but I suspect it will. We installed a temp 6V wire through a switch to the coil. Momentarily witching it on when it starts running badly helps, but doesn't cure it. The coil is too hot to hold your hand on after this 5 mile run. The 6V feed was only used momentarily so I don't think it is the cause of the heat.

Questions: Is it normal for the coil to be too hot to hold (120 degrees +)? Does skip only rebuild original coils? Does he have cores? Does he rebuild distributors? I know we could contact him, but he is busy and I won't bother him if he can't help with our situation.

Thanks for your feedback.

07-29-2015, 01:02 PM	#1
40cpe Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Star, MS Posts: 4,032	'41 helmet distributor My friend and I are still chasing a problem with a 6 volt '41 distributor. It gets 2.5 volts at coil with points closed and engine off, 3.8 V with engine running. When cold it starts right up and runs rather well, not perfect. New points at .015 by owner, new coil and condenser suppled by owner. We tried 2 different ICR 40 resisters. Battery voltage 6.1V. After driving a 5 miles or so, the running becomes progressively worse. It won't start when warm except with the resistor bypassed. We haven't driven it until it quits, but I suspect it will. We installed a temp 6V wire through a switch to the coil. Momentarily witching it on when it starts running badly helps, but doesn't cure it. The coil is too hot to hold your hand on after this 5 mile run. The 6V feed was only used momentarily so I don't think it is the cause of the heat. Questions: Is it normal for the coil to be too hot to hold (120 degrees +)? Does skip only rebuild original coils? Does he have cores? Does he rebuild distributors? I know we could contact him, but he is busy and I won't bother him if he can't help with our situation. Thanks for your feedback.