distrubtor problem

[FlatheadTed]

Run a jump wire direct to the coil from battery ,hot side Neg.

[jerry shook]

Ted. I tried that and it still goes dead after 8 to 10 min.

[Andy]

Does it go dead because of no fire or no fuel? You may face a fuel problem. Run a line from a gas can.

[KiWinUS]

Originally Posted by JM 35 Sedan

I knew the distributor was rebuilt by Bubba. Did the coil come with the distributor from Bubba? It sounds like the coil or the condensor is breaking down once the engine has warmed up.

John the distributor has just been rebuilt by Bubba n the coil & new condensor were checked by bubba & the the whole unit tested & inspected be he shipped it to me .
The problem , although it appeared to be the distributor assembly, is the same as before the new Dizzy & coil were installed. I suggested to check resistor & switch plate .

[Seth Swoboda]

Originally Posted by jerry shook

The coil and and condenser was on the distributor from bubba. Before changing the distributor it did the same thing so i bough a new coil and condenser and it still would quit, thats why i bough the new dist thinking it might help.

Put an external resistor in the line just before the power goes to coil. See if this helps. Sounds like your coil is getting too hot and breaking down.

[flatjack9]

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You should be able to feel if the coil is getting very hot.

[JM 35 Sedan]

OkayJerry, I reread all the previous posts on this. There is not much left in the way of electrical components that could cause this. Thinking back to a similar problem we were having with Glen Sanders' '36 fordor sedan this past June, his problem turned out to be the wire wound ignition resistor mounted on the inside of the firewall fuse block. Due to high.resistance connections on both ends of the nichrome resistive wire, the resistor became very hot, reducing the voltage so low to the coil, that the ignition failed and engine would stop running. After everything cooled down, the engine would start again only to very quickly repeat the no run condition, again requiring another cool down period before the engine would start again..
He bought a new wire wound ignition resistor at NAPA, installed it on the fuse block, and that solved his problem. He has been driving this car for the last 3 to 4 months with no further ignition problems.

[FlatheadTed]

Lift the carb top to see if the fuel level is low when the issue happens .ted

[jerry shook]

I had a man come by that has owned and worked on flat heads all his life and he is 88 years old. every one around here calls on him when they have a problem with there flathead he checked ever thing. still no answer said he diden know what else to check. i have tried all the suggestion the crew on here have give me with no luck. bom-fussled to say the least.

[JM 35 Sedan]

Jerry, have you actually tried replacing that wire wound igntion resistor that's mounted on the firewall fuse block? Also, what is the voltage measured at the coil wire connection when engine is cool vs. hot?

[G.M.]

Originally Posted by jerry shook

Ted. I tried that and it still goes dead after 8 to 10 min.

Take the coil off and look on the bottom for any numbers or dates scratched on the bottom. Old coils can be buffed to look new and modern replacements don't work very good. The only coils that really work are rebuilds from Skip Haney. G.M.

[jerry shook]

Jim i took the coil off the top of the dist because it was getting to hot to touch even when the eng was not running, and put the top plate for the coil mounted away from the dist it cranked and run for 5 min and quit the coil is still getting very hot still. something is causing the coil to heat up. help

[deuce_roadster]

Could a bad ground between the engine (distributor) and battery cause too much current to flow in that part of the system causing the heat? Remember the points are the ground side of the circuit. If there still is spark to the plugs when it quits, it would have to be the fuel system. It wasn't clear to me in previous posts where it said there was good spark to the plugs if that was before or after it quit.

[flatjack9]

Originally Posted by jerry shook

Jim i took the coil off the top of the dist because it was getting to hot to touch even when the eng was not running, and put the top plate for the coil mounted away from the dist it cranked and run for 5 min and quit the coil is still getting very hot still. something is causing the coil to heat up. help

Too much current to the coil. You need a proper resistor.

[FlatheadTed]

Jerry try to fine out the colour of the spark at the plugs if any ,use a screw driver to the wire and to ground .Borrow another distributor that's known to be good and try that .Ted

[Seth Swoboda]

Originally Posted by flatjack9

Too much current to the coil. You need a proper resistor.

EXACTLY! JM, Flatjack and myself have been suggesting this the entire time. There is no way Jerry tried the external resistor as suggested. If he had he would have found that he is getting too much voltage to his coil causing it to heat up and fail.

[JM 35 Sedan]

Also, shorting of coil windings can increase as heating increases. A guy in our club was running without an ignition resistor (probably had resistor jumped/shorted out). This gives higher voltage and increased current flow to coil. This improved starting for awhile, until the additional heating of the coil windings eventually caused them to short and completely fail the coil. The outer surface of the case of this coil was covered with tiny hair line cracks due to thermal expansion of internal windings. He had another coil rewound by Skip Haney and hopefully put the resistor back in the ignition circuit. His car is running very well now.

[jerry shook]

Seth. What would be the correct resistor, i tried one that is a 1.35 oms the parts store had several going up to 1.85 oms. I placed the resistor in the wire from the switch to the coil is this correct. Hope im not a problem i just not good on electronics.

[flatjack9]

What is the resistance of your coil on the primary side? Combined you should have around 3 ohms resistance. As noted, the coil may be shot. There's another post about coils and the Bosch #00012 is highly recommended. It does not need an external resistor.

[Seth Swoboda]

Originally Posted by jerry shook

Seth. What would be the correct resistor, i tried one that is a 1.35 oms the parts store had several going up to 1.85 oms. I placed the resistor in the wire from the switch to the coil is this correct. Hope im not a problem i just not good on electronics.

Jerry, no problem. Sorry if I came across too brash. You are in the right place to solve your problem. You have 6V postitive ground. You are also using the resistor mounted inside the car on the firewall. If I understand correctly you also installed an external resistor near the coil. When you have all of this wired up take a voltmeter and record the voltage going to the coil after it has passed through the resistor(s) while the ignition switch is on. See what you come up with. Perhaps you now have too much resistance. Also, take a voltage reading using just the firewall mounted resistor.

You may also have a bad coil. If this coil has been overheated many times it could no longer be working.

If you gave us hard numbers on both voltage readings we will be able to further diagnose the problem. You have an ignition problem. You either have spark being delivered out of time or you have weak spark or a coil breaking down. I know electrical problems can be very hard to solve. The ignition system on the early V8's is really very simple once you get the hang of it.

I think JM and Flatjack9 are right on track here. Get us some hard numbers to work with so we can help.

ps. Where are you located? Perhaps a fordbarner is close by and can take a look at your problem in person?