So I was driving my 50 ford and entering my neighborhood it jerked real bad 2 times and I thought maybe it was me with the clutch. I pulled into driveway and this evening I went to take it out and we were driving and it jerked and then stalled. I restarted and same thing and stall. I thought maybe has because I don't have a gas gauge and that's not this issue. After stalling a bunch of times I made it home. Now I can't really get it started and I'm not sure where to start. It's been running great. It's. V8 flathead that I just converted to 12 gauge and have been running fine for the last 3 weeks. Any idea what causes jerking and stalling
I switched to 12v coil. But I'm thinking its bad. I'm going to attempt to get to autozone in the am to fig it out
X2 on what Chopper Cliff said. You absolutely need a ballast resister to reduce voltage to the coil. The points will fry in hurry without it.
ahhh....the "bad coil" diagnosis. Many coils have been needlessly changed because tinkerers don't understand how the ignition system works. They just keep replacing stuff, hoping they'll get it right sooner or later. OP did not answer the original question: Did you install a ballast resistor? You can change coils a hundred times and not solve the problems caused by lack of that simple part (resistor). Merely changing parts to 12V is not the entire process.
I did not put resistor from 12v to 6v. I rewired entire car to 12v. I changed to a 12v coil and also 12v condenser inside distributor. I was under the impression when rewiring the car to 12v that installing a 12v coil and condenser would not require a reducer?
My 73 GMC pickup is 12 volts from the factory. It has a resistant wire in the circuit to the coil. Some 12 volt coils are labeled that they are internally resisted. My 39 Ford acted the same way and the problem was the fuel pump. The pump was less than a year old. Crack the gas line and check the fuel flow. Mine would run fine and then quit. After changing pumps the sediment bowl filled in no time and it took a lot longer with the bad new pump.
This past year I had stalling problems with ole #8 but I denied and denied and denied it was the coil. Turns out it was the coil, an original 1956 Mallory 12V with the ballast resistor fastened to the top. It was a beautiful setup but frustrated the hell out of me. I kinda gnashed my teeth thinking of all the time I'd wasted because folks would deny the coil/resistor were bad. Stupid me. On the bright side, I won't let that crap haunt me again
Start at the basics! IS it getting Spark? check to see if its getting spark. If it is then see if its getting gas? BTW there are coils that are internally resisted that work just fine without using an external ballast resistor.
So I bought a resistor and new coil from autozone. That's not the issue it's still happening. It feels like it might be a fuel issue. If I floor the pedal and flood the carb it starts up but quickly dies.... What do you reccomend and how do I test if it's an issue. I'm pretty new to working on engines especially flatheads
Does this happen when hot? Check for vapor lock. Low fuel pressure will cause this. Install electric fuel pump. Resistor wiring looks good.
The way I test the fuel pump is to empty the sediment bowl. It should fill in a couple of engine revolutions. A mechanic told me that a fuel pump should fill a pop bottle in eight seconds. This was a long time ago and my memory is fading. I think I was twelve. The people on the Ford Barn could probably tell you exactly the flow rate. You might look on Van Pelts web site for flat heads. They have all kinds of information about flathead Fords. I have been having trouble with Airtech fuel pumps on old Dodges. I would try a different brand than Air Tech. I do not like electric fuel pumps on old Fords. They are not needed. A fuel pressure regulator is usually required because the carburetor can only stand about two pounds of pressure and then you have two additional things to go bad. Changing the mechanical pump is fun and easy. On a good day with only one or two coffee breaks the total time is a bout twenty minutes. Keep in touch and let us know. Thanks
You could have just bought an internally resisted coil but either way will work, Next would be to check fuel pump out put disconnect the fuel line at the carb and see that its pumping a good supply of fuel while the motor is cranking over. Use a bottle or can of some type to catch it so you dont spray it all over the engine.
I'll check fuel flow when my buddy gets here. Another thought.....if I was NOT running resistor before and I fried coil is there a chance I burned up the 12v condenser in the distributor? I can get the car to start up and then it seems to miss fire a bunch and stall out. It will even stall and seem like its off and when I give it gas it will pop back on for a sec and feels like its firing all weird then stall out Something makes me feel like its condensor or points... I was not running resistor to coil for last 3 weeks since change over.....is it possible I Fried everything? Fuel would not cause my car to jerk as hard as it did. I have ran out of gas and you kind of just sputter out to stall....this was like crazy miss fire jerking feeling that was intense?
You should understand that a 12v coil only needs the resistor if it is a dedicated resistor type coil. These coils are in fact 9v coils but due to the reduced voltage when cranking they produce the necessary hi tension voltage at the plug to properly fire with the reduced voltage for easier starting . When the engine starts then releasing the key should switch the feed to the coil via the resistor.Otherwise you will have 12v going into a 9v coil. That will lead to the points burning , the coil over heating and the likelihood of failing. Not all 12v cars are equipped with resistance type coils(9v). Many in the early days of 12 systems had true 12 v coils and no resistor. You need to identify if your coil is a 12 resistor type coil or not.They will usually be marked with an "R". If it is you should ensure that it is correctly wired so that it received direct supply on cranking and resisted supply when running.
Stock holley 94 carbs need NO more than 3 PSI fuel pressure. Some electric fuel pumps are set to 6-7 PSI. Disconnect the condenser. Will it fire up and idle then? The condenser may short when hot. Is the point gap still in spec? Somethings to try before throwing parts at it.
My coil says use with external resistor....I did not pay attention before and was running 12v at all time...I now have purchased a resistor and coil and that did not correct the issue. I am wondering if me burning out the coil would lead to condensor and points failing as well.....
I will go try and remove condensor.....I did not know I could fire it up without it. The engine is not hot at this point because it sat over night and I can't get it to start
don't forget to make certain the switch and wire to energize the coil are not shorting out or failing
It will run without a condenser. Don't run it for any length of time you will burn the points. If you ran it for any period of time with no resistor the points are most likely burnt.
Do yourself a favor and just go ahead and get a converted Chevy dist. from Bubba (or someone else) when you can, the car will run much better. But for now. Did you check that you were getting a good hot spark while cranking? you could change points and condesor also check for a cracked cap. You havent said if its getting a good hot spark at the plug while cranking. Did you check that yet?
IT'S FIXED!!! Thank you guys for the help. I replaced the coil, condensor and points and then gapped the points the exact amount that the manual says... It runs great! It actually runs better than before..it used to misfire a bunch but now it just purrs perfectly! I now added a resistor to the coil so hopefully this issue doesn't happen again. Thank you!
Good news, again do yourself a favor when you get a chance, and get rid of that distributor. Check out the ones Bubba sells. They are relatively cheap, and work much better than the stock distributor you have. You think it runs good now try one of those you'll like it even better. I put 3 of them on and all 3 made the engines run noticably better.
+1 on the Chevy HEI dizzy. They're relatively inexpensive, reliable as hell and you can get parts anywhere. Not to mention the improved starting, power and fuel economy. Posted from the TJJ App for iPhone & iPad
Glad to hear its running. You will be doing yourself a favor by getting a Bubba prepped Chevy distributor. The stock Load-O-Matic leaves a lot to be desired especially if you do any carb changes or try to run multi carbs.
Congrats on getting it going. Sticking with it, is how one learns. BTW I agree, get a better distributor. The load-o-matic, was a load of something else. You really need centifigal advance to run well. There are several good units out there. As long as it has centrifigal advance. You wont believe the differenence in the way it runs.