Accidently left ignition on

tony starr

tony starr

Senior Member
Hi all, I accidently left the ignition on my '30 A turned ON. I know I have a dead battery now. What other damage have I done? Burnt out coil? I'm yet to check it over... just wanting to know what to look for first. Thanks!
 
you could have aligned the planets so to speak with the points held open and everything is OK...if pints were closed coil could have some damage to it. SLOWLY charge the battery and see what happens.
 
It is possible to burn up the coil, points and other weak links in the ignition system, for me it was just a dead battery, ---the Optima, totally dead, I hooked up my old stupid 6V only trickle charger, 10 min later hand crank start, 20 min driving later starter would start the car, -----but I have seen coils split apart, and leaking

many modern chargers won't start charging a totally dead battery, they need to see a voltage that assures the charger that it is hooked up correct----old chargers many times don't have that system---by old I mean something before the 70s, I got my 6v only trickle charger from out of the trash in 1963
 
Back in the day when men were men and booze still came in the inside vest pocket of your jacket, this happened a lot, just check things out and chalk it up to ...Opps
 
A guy in our club left his key on and it cooked the coil in 30 minutes. I seem to recall it being an aftermarket coil, which likely wasn't as good as an original Model A coil. As mentioned, slow charge the battery for several hours, then try starting the car. Circle the block several times or carry a spare coil until you are sure the coil will continue to work while hot.
 
Funny thing...after I read this earlier I went out to run some errands and I had done the same thing last night....left the ignition on.

She started right up, ran my errands, about 15 miles, turned her off 3 times and started right up every time.....I guess I got lucky!!!
 
Nabco said:
Funny thing...after I read this earlier I went out to run some errands and I had done the same thing last night....left the ignition on.

She started right up, ran my errands, about 15 miles, turned her off 3 times and started right up every time.....I guess I got lucky!!!
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Ck the points anyways.... And do a visual of the coil....
 
Nabco said:
Thanks Mitch, what exactly should I look for?
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Just make sure it doesn't look like it burned, or is leaking, the wiring looks kosher....Ck the points contacts for burning, dark discoloration, or pitting... A point file works good or like .. It's a good time to Ck the gap and lube the cam..
If the points are smoked replace them...
Maybe you got lucky and they were open
 
Mitch got it... My Dad always told me about that.... "DON'T LEAVE THE IGNITION ON, YOU'LL BURN THE POINTS" I guess his word never let me... I always double check I have my car turned off and ensure my battery disconnect is turned off..
 
Mitch//pa said:
Just make sure it doesn't look like it burned, or is leaking, the wiring looks kosher....Ck the points contacts for burning, dark discoloration, or pitting... A point file works good or like .. It's a good time to Ck the gap and lube the cam..
If the points are smoked replace them...
Maybe you got lucky and they were open
Click to expand...

Thanks Mitch, took a look at the points and they look fine, I had actually lubed the cam and checked the gap on Saturday.

Everything looks good on the coil....
 
If you want to take some fine fine sand paper or emry cloth and just slip it through the closed points to clean them, that never hurts.
 
Wow,
Now that's what I call a coil test! I load test my coils but not that long for sure!
Sounds like the FB boys ( Mitch, tom and gang) had you covered and if nothing else had a forced tune up to the points and ignition. It really stresses a coil to the max to discharge a full battery to it...
so just to be safe you might want to keep a spare known good coil in the car in case something happens down the road.

Happy "A" Motoring to you!
Larry Shepard
 
With a stone dead battery, in the country, with NO electricity or battery chargers, we'd just push it with a car, until the generator kicked in.
ONE Strong, Fast Mule can sometimes do it, in second gear. Just be SURE to use a LOOOONG chain, so you don't run him over, when it STARTS!!!
Bill Mulepower
 
larrys40 said:
Wow,
Now that's what I call a coil test! I load test my coils but not that long for sure!
Sounds like the FB boys ( Mitch, tom and gang) had you covered and if nothing else had a forced tune up to the points and ignition. It really stresses a coil to the max to discharge a full battery to it...
so just to be safe you might want to keep a spare known good coil in the car in case something happens down the road.

Happy "A" Motoring to you!
Larry Shepard
Click to expand...

Larry, just took her for another 7 or 8 mile ride, all good.....any symptoms I should watch out for indications something is going bad?
 
Nabco said:
Larry, just took her for another 7 or 8 mile ride, all good.....any symptoms I should watch out for indications something is going bad?
Click to expand...





Sounds as though you're going to be OK and got lucky that the points were open. What are the odds ? [Never mind, cuz I'm sure someone will know them.] :D
 
Just to make sure everything is ok I just took her for another 9 mile drive, no backfires, smooth idle at stop, no stalling, good acceleration...... It looks like I'm good....maybe I should buy a lottery ticket today!!!!
 
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