I have a 302 ford in a 54 ford Pu I just bought. I can not get it to start. It sat for a while. I changed out all fluids,etc. it turns over but won't start. I couldn't get spark from coil. I changed coils and still no spark. I ran a hot jumper to the + side of coil to + side of battery. Still no spark. What else can I do?
How are you checking spark "from the coil?" Have you checked the points to see if you're getting spark there, or are you simply grounding out a plug to see if it starts? If you've got juice and it cranks I'd check the points and condenser. There's really not a whole lot in the system in general.
Or burnt? If it is electronic verify that it is getting electricity to the modulator/pickup coil in the distributer. if so than I would guess that the unit is burnt.
It is points, stock. I tired grounding coil to intake, no spark. Would bad points and condenser prevent coil firing?????
Ok, what distributor does it have? Points or electronic? If it has points you need to make sure that the points have the right gap which would be about .016 or the thickness of a match book cover. You want to rotate the distributor so that the rubbing block on the points arm is on one of the high points of the distributor cam. Then you should make sure that you have that .016 gap. You might also want to pull the #1 plug which is the first one on the passenger side of the engine on a Ford and bump the engine over while you hold your finger over the plug hole to bring #1 up on tdc of the compression stroke to make sure that the engine is in time.
Uh, yes........ You are on norcal, list your location, perhaps there is someone close by who can come over and get it firing....
uh huh. Turn the key on then reach in and open the points with a screw driver. Do they spark? Now check with your multi meter and see if they are getting and zot. If yes and the points didn't spark the points are fried, if they are not getting any zot make sure that they are getting zot and try again. Something to look for is that sometimes the points are shorted out against the distributer case. Maybe they are not comming open when the distributer turns, the rubbiing block gets smaller with age and you will need to adjust them. If you donot have the proper tools a match book cover is the old school way to adjust them.
Let me see if I follow: you have hooked up positive power from the battery to the coil (+) and are taking the negative (-) side and running it to ground? Not gonna work. Hook your negative side up to the distributor. Turn the key - really I like to use a button jumper so I can see what's going on under the hood - and see if the points spark. If they do, problem solved. If not, you need to determine what the problem is. Since you've replaced the coil, I would try the condenser next, but you can check it with a multimeter too. Mike
FoxSpeed,....Where, in NorCal ? be glad to help, if we're not too far aay..... [email protected] 4TTRUK
When you are hot wiring it you should put a resister ICR 10 or ICR11 Echiln to the pos terminal,and make sure you have a 12 volt coil. Echlin number if needed IC10 and go for new points and condenser.
so, did you ever have this engine running? what kind of wiring being used, original '54 or aftermarket? double checked condition/connections of all wiring? what type of ignition switch used - original/aftermarket? ballast resistor in system - tested? tested both coils used? battery cranking good?
Neg to coil from distributor. Positive to 12V. 12V to coil, check. Fuel, check. No spark when coil wire grounded. So, I am led to believe that points or condenser would prevent coil from firing?
Check the little copper pigtail in the distributor that connects the points and condenser terminals to the external coil wire input terminal. Years ago had one go out on a Firebird and no one could figure it out. Jury rigged the pigtail and engine ran.
Have you pulled the distributor cap off and cranked the engine over--is the rotor spinning around??? Your oil pump shaft--- which connects to your-- distributor shaft--which connects to your---cam shaft----it's a very- very -very -slim chance the little gear went south!
Yes, the first thing you need to do is check the points and condenser as others have mentioned. Make sure the points open and close when the engine is cranking, make sure the points contact surfaces are clean, and not carboned up from use. If you have a point file, the carbon can be cleaned off, if you don't have a point file a small piece of 400 wet/dry sandpaper folded over will work. Just make sure no sandpaper or grit is stuck on the points after. Check the wire that attaches to the points, making sure it doesn't touch any metal other than the point tension spring. The condenser if it fails will usually short open and cause the points to fry (carbon up badly). Good luck.
Since no one has answered your question about points...let me try to help. You really need to understand the basic idea of how this works if you are going to successfully trouble shoot the problem. The "contact points" are just a switch that turns on and turns off the current flow through the coil. When points are closed the current flows thru coil, creates a magnetic field around the coil.....when the points open, the current flow is interrupted, the field collapses, causing a high voltage output from the coil thru the center heavy wire and into the distributor. The distributor, as it's name implies, sends the high voltage current to the appropriate spark plug. Now, if you are operating on 12 volts, the 'hot' wire feeding the + post on the coil should have a "ballast resistor" which reduces the voltage going to the coil to around 7 to 9 volts. This helps reduce electrical arcing at the points as they open and close. As others have indicated, the point gap should be about .016" when the distributor shaft cam opens the contact points. The contacts must be relatively smooth and CLEAN......free of oil or corrosion. It takes surprising little, and invisible to the eye, oily contamination or lint to keep them from making proper contact. If you clean the contacts properly and adjust the gap to the correct clearance you can test if everything is working up to the coil by supplying current to the coil + post and with the points in the closed position, opening the points with a non conducting tool (wood, plastic etc.) and holding the heavy wire that comes FROM the coil close (1/4") to a grounded metal surface on the engine, it should produce a spark eveytime you open and close the points. You also can do this by merely cranking the engine over with the starter motor and holding the coil wire as indicated above. If you get a spark from the coil wire, try cranking the engine, with the rotor, cap and wires all in place, but pull one spark wire from a plug, insert a screw or bolt that is about the size of the sparkplug contact into the spark plug boot on the end of the wire and hold it near a metal surface while cranking the engine. If it sparks, and you have fuel present in the carb, the engine should run. Ray
Thanks for all the help.. My local parts store is getting me a tune up kit, rotor, points, and condenser, cap. The shaft is turning, after I replace the parts, 16 thousands gap to points, I will let you all know the results., I have another problem with lug locks and no key!!!! I will post that separately. Thanks again. gasry
No, my mistake, pigtail connects the points and condenser to the external coil input terminal. This wire is usually uninsulated, so check to make sure it is not being grounded. The advance plate is grounded via the distributor body.
what i meant to say: check to make sure the pigtail from coil to the points is not worn or damaged so that it grounds out to the dist base under the advance plate...jack
I hope you get it sorted. I am having a similar problem at the moment. In my case I wasn't getting spark, and ran a test light to the positive side of coil, no worries, neg side and no test light. Worked out it was the condenser that had failed. Replaced condenser. Still no spark. I guess in my case the points are fried. Let us know how your tune up kit goes.
Also make sure breaker plate is grounded. With a test light, clip end on a good ground, check for power at the + side of the coil. With the clip on a good + source (battery + or back of alt +), check -side of coil while someone else is cranking it, it should pulse or blink on and off (points opening and closing). With clip end still on a good + source, open up dist cap and touch the plate the points are sitting and it should be grounded (test light on).
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