Helmet coil disassembly

[J Witt]

In chasing some ignition problems, I have the distributor off my '36 and apart. There is a black goo like heavy wax or grease oozing out around the carbon brush and the brush is firmly stuck.

The two halves of the coil housing seem reluctant to come apart, and in fact I may be going about it wrong. Are these pieces meant to separate?

This goo looks like it may be the insulating material from inside the coil, and at a minimum the brush needs to be replaced. I'm reluctant to force anything here for fear of breaking the plastic housing.

Whatcha think, folks?

John

[Mike in AZ]

sounds like your coil is breaking down....and nope, they're not supposed to come apart, from what i know....good luck....Mike

[BUBBAS IGNITION]

No the coil has overheated and melted inside. Time for a new one or a built Skip Haney coil...

[JM 35 Sedan]

The black goo oozing out is a sure sign your coil has seen extreme heat and most likely the primary and/or secondary coil windings are shorted. The two parts of the phenolic plastic housing are riveted together and there's basically nothing you can do now by taking them apart, unless you happen to be into the coil or transformer winding/manufacturing business. Your best move would be to send that coil, or another one like it if you have a better core, to Skip Haney in Punta Gorda, FL, and let him rewind it for you.

[Walt Dupont--Me.]

I have a 36 flat-top style coil. It's brand new right in the box. On the box ( NIEHOFF )---FF-179 IGNITION COIL I've had for over years. some one ought to have it. If so PM me. Walt

[G.M.]

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Originally Posted by J Witt

In chasing some ignition problems, I have the distributor off my '36 and apart. There is a black goo like heavy wax or grease oozing out around the carbon brush and the brush is firmly stuck.

The two halves of the coil housing seem reluctant to come apart, and in fact I may be going about it wrong. Are these pieces meant to separate?

This goo looks like it may be the insulating material from inside the coil, and at a minimum the brush needs to be replaced. I'm reluctant to force anything here for fear of breaking the plastic housing.

Whatcha think, folks?

John

You coil "melt down" is a result of leaving the ignition switch on when
the engine was not running. This causes a dead short of the coil winding
if the points are in the closed position. The only other thing that would
cause this is 12 volts to a 6 volt coil or no ignition resistor. G.M.

[J Witt]

Sent the whole assembly off to Skip today. Thanks for the responses, I'll report in a week or so.

John

[G.M.]

Originally Posted by J Witt

Sent the whole assembly off to Skip today. Thanks for the responses, I'll report in a week or so.

John

Do you think the key was left on? This is valuable info for others. G.M.

[J Witt]

Key left on is what Skip suggested. I've only had the car for a couple of months and, of course, the operating history is unknown. The PO only drove short distances and in cool conditions, so he may not have ever noticed any issues. Or I may have done it and not noticed. Not possible to say for sure.

The car sat in a museum collection for many years, so anything could have happened. It's eighty years old after all, the cause may just be material breakdown.

The engine was running acceptably well when cool and not being worked, but in heavy Atlanta stop and go traffic, it ran much worse. I'm looking forward to having proper sparks.

John

[VeryTangled]

Originally Posted by G.M.

Do you think the key was left on? This is valuable info for others. G.M.

Hi Everyone, Isn't the issue the ignition switch being left on?

Personally, I leave the key that unlocks the ignition switch on most of the time.

It's especially important to remember that switch when you're having starting hassles.

I think GM's point is that it's very easy to switch it on, fail to start, and move along to troubleshooting, without switching it off.

[J Witt]

Got the rebuilt coil and distributor back from Skip Haney today. Workmanship is very nice and the car runs the best it ever has. Feels like another 20 hp and so smooth at idle it's hard to tell the engine is running.

Kudos to Skip Haney Five Stars!


John

[Zephyr Q]

Skip does good work, when he did my Lincoln coils a few years back I was surprised what a difference it made.

[J Witt]

I have to add this picture. The engine idling with the overhauled distributor, with a nickle balanced on the intake manifold:

Thanks again, Skip.

[mhsprecher]

Showoff! ;-)