41 Ford Starting Problem

[joes41]

My 41 Woodie often will not start unless I bypass the resister by running a wire from the battery to the connection on top of the coil. When I do this it fires right up and I pull the wire off. I have an 8 volt battery and the voltage regulator has been adjusted so the battery charges. The problem exists when the engine (V8) is cold or hot. I would appreciate any suggestions. Thanks, Joe

[ken ct]

Yea,loose the 8V battery. ken ct.

[George/Maine]

When you are raising the voltage "ohms law "you lower the current.By cuting out the resister you increase the current to coil.
You could try only a 12 volt resister.You should try to get the voltage running to 3.5 to 4 volts at coil by adjusting the resister size.

[G.M.]

You don't want an 8 volt battery in these old Fords. You need a good 6 volt, Optima's work real well and you don't have the acid problem. I don't know what coil you have but you need a stock coil and have it rebuilt by Skip with an IH-200 condenser and the original resistor. You also need 2/0 battery cables with all connections and grounds CLEAN and TIGHT with electrical grease on the joints. If you have a green battery disconnect get rid of that if it's not a problem it will be. G.M.

[Russ/40]

Adding to what has already been said, I'll bet you have a poor wiring job. Did you put the 8 volt battery in? Usually they end up in cars as people try to cover an electrical problem. I suspect there were problems that ended up with the 8volt. Check the overall health of your wiring. That means good clean and tight connections. I disagree that 2 gauge is appropriate for battery cables, use 0 or 1 gauge. Does your car have the appropriate gauge wiring harness? Is your starter in top shape with a good bare metal ground? Starters pulling too much current will draw the ignition voltage down to levels that may be inadequate for the proper spark.

[peterb]

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I too use that way of starting some of the time when my ford is hard to
start.
Jake Flemming in Dallas has a set up for the Lincoln v 12 using a switch to
flip to start and then back to regular resistor for running. Gives the coil extra spark for starting.

[ford1]

LOL, dont pay any attention to those guys, there is nothing wrong with an 8volt battery as lond as the regulator is set right, it makes the engine spin quicker especially in cold weather, get a ballast resister for the ignition, it puts the full 8volts to the coil for a short time to get the car started them slowly goes back to 4 volts as it heats up, will do that every time you start the car

[G.M.]

Russ I said 2/0 cable not 2. About 30 years ago I developed a way to get the full 6 volts to the coil when starting. I ran a wire from the starter side of the starter solenoid to a 5 amp diode mounted on the coil side of the resistor. When the starter button is pushed the voltage going to the starter is sent through the diode to the coil bypassing the resistor giving the coil the full 6 volts only while the starter is engaged. While the engine is running the diode blocks the voltage from going back and trying to run the starter. One draw back is the car will start and run without the ignition switch but will only run while the starter button is pushed. I decided not to market this item because of that feature but have diodes on several of my cars and have had no problems. Once in a while I push the starter without turning on the ignition switch and realize I didn't turn the switch on as so as I leave off the starter button and the engine dies. You can check the direction of the diode with a volt meter, it will block the voltage in one direction and allow it to flow in the other direction. I also use 2 diodes to wire a Radio Shack noise maker for the turn signals. These are little round devises that work on 4 to 20 volts. Tie the ends of 2 diodes in parellel to the hot wire of the device and the other wire of the devise to ground. The other end of the diodes go to the left and right front turn signal wires. I also use the same method to use the fog lights for turn signals and fog lights. G.M.

[coilover]

Kind of along the line of what GM does but a bit higher cost. I use a horn relay mounted under the solenoid so just one longer wire to the coil is needed. A wire from the hot side of the solenoid is run to one terminal on the relay, from another to the coil, and the third wire is run to the starter button terminal on the solenoid. Since both the starter button and horn relay are activated by grounding the full six volts passes to the coil just while the starter is engaged. There is no back feed from the relay to keep the engine running when switched off.

[joes41]

Thank you all for your suggestions. You have given me good ideas to work on, Joe