The Ford Barn

Freoway · 12-06-2014, 04:55 AM

Hi folks. Just joined. Bought a '36 Roadster V8 RHD. Nice original beast. It had a long trip from the country in the eastern states of Victoria to Western Australia. It was started several times along the journey from truck to train, etc. The very last time, when it was being loaded on to a trailer for the final trip to my house, it wouldn't start. The battery was flattened, so they obviously tried for a while. They may or may not have left the switch in the on position. When I went to try starting it, there's no spark. It has the original dizzie and coil. There's power to the coil. When I crank the engine, there's definitely no spark on any lead. I've removed the coil and checked the primary and secondary circuit resistance. 1.8ohm and 6,000 ohm, respectively. I hooked a big lamp in series to see if the brightness fluctuated as a result of the points opening and closing - it did. Could it be the condenser? It seems very strange that it's been running fine until this recent journey. There's also a problem with the foot starter switch. It works intermittently, but as I understand, that's on a separate circuit.

Any common faults with these?

Cheers, Lloyd

tubman · 12-06-2014, 05:02 AM

First off, welcome to the board. I'm sure you will find it an invaluable resource as many of us have. A "nice original" '36 roadster? Wow, what a find. As to your no spark problem, I have one word "condenser", but I think you already knew that. If that's not it, then the coil.

ems customer service · 12-06-2014, 07:28 AM

had similar problems, it turned out to be a ground connections, in my case, the distributor is grounded to the block by it physical contact with the block and the backing plate the points bolt to. to make the story short, i had to clean every metal to metal contact surface in the system. fired right up

Freoway · 12-06-2014, 07:35 AM

Thanks. I had my suspicions. I'll check it tomorrow. I'm learning my way around the '36. All simple and straightforward, except for the slightly unusual distributor. Now I've opened it up, I can see how it works. The previous owner converted the car to 12V and had the original coil rewound for 12V. Cheers, Lloyd

funrunr · 12-06-2014, 08:24 AM

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Welcome to Fordbarn. very lucky find. I'm guessing that it's the car in your avatar.
Very nice looking, we love pics so don't be shy.

12-06-2014, 04:55 AM	#1
Freoway Member Join Date: Dec 2014 Location: Fremantle, Western Astralia Posts: 43	No spark Hi folks. Just joined. Bought a '36 Roadster V8 RHD. Nice original beast. It had a long trip from the country in the eastern states of Victoria to Western Australia. It was started several times along the journey from truck to train, etc. The very last time, when it was being loaded on to a trailer for the final trip to my house, it wouldn't start. The battery was flattened, so they obviously tried for a while. They may or may not have left the switch in the on position. When I went to try starting it, there's no spark. It has the original dizzie and coil. There's power to the coil. When I crank the engine, there's definitely no spark on any lead. I've removed the coil and checked the primary and secondary circuit resistance. 1.8ohm and 6,000 ohm, respectively. I hooked a big lamp in series to see if the brightness fluctuated as a result of the points opening and closing - it did. Could it be the condenser? It seems very strange that it's been running fine until this recent journey. There's also a problem with the foot starter switch. It works intermittently, but as I understand, that's on a separate circuit. Any common faults with these? Cheers, Lloyd

12-06-2014, 05:02 AM	#2
tubman Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2013 Location: Minnesota, Florida Keys Posts: 10,321	Re: No spark First off, welcome to the board. I'm sure you will find it an invaluable resource as many of us have. A "nice original" '36 roadster? Wow, what a find. As to your no spark problem, I have one word "condenser", but I think you already knew that. If that's not it, then the coil.

12-06-2014, 07:28 AM	#3
ems customer service Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: detroit mich Posts: 162	Re: No spark had similar problems, it turned out to be a ground connections, in my case, the distributor is grounded to the block by it physical contact with the block and the backing plate the points bolt to. to make the story short, i had to clean every metal to metal contact surface in the system. fired right up

12-06-2014, 07:35 AM	#4
Freoway Member Join Date: Dec 2014 Location: Fremantle, Western Astralia Posts: 43	Re: No spark Thanks. I had my suspicions. I'll check it tomorrow. I'm learning my way around the '36. All simple and straightforward, except for the slightly unusual distributor. Now I've opened it up, I can see how it works. The previous owner converted the car to 12V and had the original coil rewound for 12V. Cheers, Lloyd __________________ Lloyd Hammond Fremantle, Western Australia '36 Ford Roadster (RHD) '57 Ford Thunderbird

12-06-2014, 08:24 AM	#5
funrunr Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Belleville,MI Posts: 1,428	Re: No spark Sponsored Links (Register now to hide all advertisements) Welcome to Fordbarn. very lucky find. I'm guessing that it's the car in your avatar. Very nice looking, we love pics so don't be shy. __________________ Thank God this is only a hobby!