Battery?

[tucker6077]

Hello Everyone. On my 33 when I start it up it starts strong but after a 3 mile run if lets say I slow down enough to turn into my driveway the car stalls and does not have enough battery to re-start. While idling I pulled the ground wire off and the car still runs. BTW I love this Forum, everyone is so helpful !

[38 coupe]

Sounds like electrical resistance more than low battery. Check all connections between the battery and starter to make sure they are clean and tight. Possibly the starter needs work, sometimes they have problems when hot.

[Planojc]

Most parts houses can check your battery.

[rockfla]

IF it is still 6V system make sure your battery cables are for a 6V system IE large enough diameter and NOT ones for 12V system. ALSO make sure your grounds are all nice and clean. Have your battery check with a hydrometer or by a capable equipment load tester NOT just a VO meter!!

[Drbrown]

Is the voltage regulator working correctly without a grounded system ? With the battery disconnected, the engine gets enough juice from the generator to keep the spark going.

[SoCalCoupe]

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Rather than quote everyone, I'll just agree with all of you.


Tucker, how long have you had the car? Did you just get it and has it been this way since you got it or was it better in the past?


This really isn't a HARD problem to solve. You CAN get the car working correctly on a 6v system but it is tedious and frustrating to work through all the possible causes of your very common hard start problem. Checking grounds, cable size and battery are all great recommendations.


I've had this happen more than once. The last time it was the battery. Very easy to have the parts store check it out. If it is bad battery, replace it with an Optima; you'll never look back.


Not familiar with the '33 but on my car, after checking all the existing grounds, I found that whoever had refurbished the car 20 years ago had neglected to install one of the most important grounds, the one to the engine block. There should be a ground directly from the battery to the engine, or perhaps from the battery to the firewall and then another from the firewall to the engine.


COULD be the starter. Other folks have reported that. I removed my starter and found a lot of paint on the mounting surface. It should be bare metal. I scraped the paint off and polished both surfaces with a scotch-bright, big improvement. Could also be the starter itself.


Probably not the generator since the car runs with the battery disconnected.


Could be the voltage regulator. You need to check the battery voltage when the car is off and then check the voltage when the car is running at higher RPM, 1500-2000. You should see a slightly higher voltage indicating that the generator is charging the battery. You probably won't see the generator charging the battery at normal idle speed. You'll need a precise voltmeter to detect the slightly higher voltage while charging. My 0-25 V analogue voltage meter is worthless for this test, you can't see the difference. Many folks say a digital voltage meter doesn't work well on these cars but mine does.


I bought a very high quality Fluke digital multimeter to check things out and it worked great for me. I won't guarantee your results though. I'm a tool junkie, not flathead electrical expert.

[koates]

A fairly common issue with 1932-34 Fords is the foot starter switch where the internal copper contacts can become worn and burnt causing a bad connection to the starter. You must push down really hard on that switch to make a good connection. If you dont push down HARD then a bad contact can be the result. Check that the terminal nuts a tight on the switch which is a bit hard to get at mounted on the steering box. Regards, Kevin.

[DFS]

I struggled with 6V stalling and difficulty restarting for years. Wait awhile or overnight, without recharging battery, restart with no issue. Finally resolved - had the ignition coil rebuilt. My guess - the coil would heat up and fail. Electric troubleshooting is a step by step series of substitutions and reconnections, and is rarely what it appears at first.

[SoCalCoupe]

Originally Posted by DFS

Electric troubleshooting is a step by step series of substitutions and reconnections, and is rarely what it appears at first.

Couldn't agree more. Lots of great ideas from guys on the 'Barn. You have to look at them one by one, check them off and eliminate them as possibilities.

[tucker6077]

You guys are all great and I am humbled!

[BlueSpark]

I agree with everything here except the notion that an analog voltmeter is somehow better than a DVM. Sounds like a wives tale (yeah, what do wives know about voltmeters anyway?) Even a cheap DVM, as much as I hate them, is accurate. Anyhow whatever you have is your best friend when you have electrical issues. Here is how I would approach this problem. Connect the meter right across the terminals of the starter. It should read reasonably close to 6V when cranking. If it does and the starter isnt spinning good theres your problem. If it goes low go to the battery. Connect the meter right to the terminals and try cranking. It should stay pretty close to 6V. If it does, connect the meter directly across the starter switch. Voltage should change from 6V to 0V when cranking. If it doesnt go to very close to zero, the switch is the problem. If this looks OK connect the meter one by one directly across every connection in the starter circuit to make sure there is nearly zero voltage drop when cranking. Anything significantly other than zero volts indicates a problem with corrosion or something. If these look OK put the meter directly across each of the cables in the circuit. Again you should see close to 0 volts. You WILL find the problem this way.

[19Fordy]

Please disregard this post.

[tucker6077]

Will give it a whirl ! Thank You!