Help she no go....

[Dick Steinkamp]

Now I'm confused. You said in your first post...

Originally Posted by 1930artdeco

...and I have 6v with a meter at the points. I also hear and see a spark when I open and close the points.

You now say...

Originally Posted by 1930artdeco

I though the lack of spark...

Do you have a spark or not?

[1930artdeco]

Sorry Dick, the latest test was cleaning the base of the dizzy and trying to start her. I didn't get anything-not even a cough. But I also have not had a chance to do any more testing. I will get a chance this weekend to try and test things out again. Oh, I think what you are referring to is the fact that I thought the lack of spark to the plugs was that the dizzy was not grounding through the head. I will update the thread this weekend.


Mike

[Dick Steinkamp]

What I was referring to was that in your first post you said you could see and hear a spark when you open and close the points. Then in post #19 you write about the lack of spark. Where in the process did the spark go away?

[1930artdeco]

I have not tested for voltage at the points since the clean up. I can still hear them arcing (or what I perceive of them arcing) as I crank the engine. All I did was clean up the base of the dist. and try to start her. So I may still have spark at the points, I just have not had a chance to check yet.


Mike

Ps. Sorry for the confusion.

[1930artdeco]

UPDATE.


Since I last tinkered on her:


-I re-timed her and go her dead on with the dimple right in the hole. And the rotor at #1 stud in the body

-I unscrewed the cable thinking it was in so far it was grounding the lower plate out

-Tested the coil and got a good blue spark
-6v at the points and continuity checked from points to stud


Last night she attempted to fire with all the and the cable not bolted down. This morning I bolted the cable down and now get nothing and the cable is in only about 2 complete turns thinking the spring was so strong it was grounding. Just out of curiosity I did a continuity check on the cable and got continuity between the brass dimple on the cable and the aluminum housing plus the armored cable. I thought the wire is supposed to be isolated until screwed into the dist. housing.



Mike

[Purdy Swoft]

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The condenser must be well grounded to the distributor housing . The screw on the passenger side of the distributor that holds the condenser in place must be tight with no grease between the condenser and the housing .

[Dick Steinkamp]

If you time it according to an established procedure, in the process you will have checked for spark at the points AND checked that the points are making and breaking the circuit to the coil.

Here is a good procedure...

http://www.model-a.org/adjust_timing.html

...and another...

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

In both procedures, if the test light isn't going on and off as you move the cam, you have a short somewhere in the system.

[wmws]

Originally Posted by 1930artdeco

UPDATE.


Last night she attempted to fire with all the and the cable not bolted down. This morning I bolted the cable down and now get nothing and the cable is in only about 2 complete turns thinking the spring was so strong it was grounding. Just out of curiosity I did a continuity check on the cable and got continuity between the brass dimple on the cable and the aluminum housing plus the armored cable. I thought the wire is supposed to be isolated until screwed into the dist. housing.


Mike

If you have continuity between the armored cable and the inner wire that screws into the distributor you have a short between the two.

[1930artdeco]

OK. With the key off I get continuity but with it on I don't get continuity. I also don't get spark at any plug but I swear I hear it arcing and trying to jump. I just don't see anything. Thank you for the help with my problem.


Mike

[wmws]

Originally Posted by 1930artdeco

OK. With the key off I get continuity but with it on I don't get continuity. I also don't get spark at any plug but I swear I hear it arcing and trying to jump. I just don't see anything. Thank you for the help with my problem.


Mike

That is as it should be. Do you have a good spark at the end of the coil wire when held about 1/4 inch from a head stud. If you do but still have no spark at the plugs then check to see if the rotor is turning and if you have a good spark at the plug connections.

[1930artdeco]

Another update....


A recurring theme here was the popping up of the cap. So I bent the rotor tab up and got just a bit of pop. On a whim I tested out a theory and was right. Apparently, one can push the rotor on and have it sit too low on the cam. So I pulled it up a tad and bang she almost fired right up. Eventually, I got her to run but at a very fast rough idle and when I lowered her RPMs she died. BUT, I got her to run so I know she will and I just have to make some adjustments to the carb-I hope that is all-and readjust the muffler as I have a leak. Thank you for all of your help in the past and future.


Mike

[Dick Steinkamp]

I don't think we heard about the recurring theme of the popping up of the cap (unless I missed it)...and I'm not sure what you mean by that. Does the top of the distributor body actually "pop" up? I can't figure out how this would happen with the hold down clips in place.

It also seems to be the opposite of the problem of having the rotor sit too low. If the rotor sits too low to make contact with the carbon knob on the inside of the cap, nothing would be pushing on the cap.

The rotor must be fully seated on the distributor cam. When seated, if the rotor tab does not contact the carbon knob on the inside of the cap then the tab has been bent down (a lot!), or the rotor is wrong or broken.

[wmws]

Possibly the end of the rotor arm is bent down so far it is not close enough to the buttons on the distributor body. When he raised the rotor up a bit it got close enough to the buttons.

[1930artdeco]

Dick, some people had commented that the cap should pop up when the clips are removed. Well this one didn't do that. So Bent the tab up and it still didn't 'pop up'. So this time I just did not push it down that far. It is still seated though. But when I did not press it down so far then the cap popped up. I did not want to bend the rotor tab up as the dist. between it and the metal studs is within spec. I may need a new cap. Oh well, onto getting her running and adjusting her.


Mike