Strange timing behavior

ryanheacox

ryanheacox

Well-known member
Just took the A out for the first time up and down the road. Stopped to see the a neighbor and heard it start to slow down and eventually die. Couldn't get it back going and ended up pop starting it. Seemed to only fire with the spark lever pulled down. Died again pulling into the driveway and had another hard time getting it going.

Attached is a video link. Seems that just the act of moving the lever keeps it going which confuses me.

Timed it so the points open about two notches down and the point gap is set at .020. Points are also third party NOS.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4I8ifqvupxU
 
My first guess is that something must be loose. If it was a make-break short, it should backfire some of the times. Loose cam??? loose point plate??? water in the fuel???
Good luck.
 
Put lever in full retard and place pin in timing gear dimple (DTC) and recheck the distributor rotor position. Cam might have come loose. Idling in full advance when everything is normal is not good for the motor. It actually should stumble due to being too far advanced when idling.
 
Well as far as I can tell, the terminal on the lower plate wire that attaches to the points was intermittently contacting the spring and grounding out. I noted that the old plate that came out had the flag terminal on the wire bent at a 90 and the new one was flat. I didn't think anything of it at the time but I knew it would be very close to the spring.

Timing was right were I had it and after bending the flag terminal it fired up and had no problems. Will have to drive it up and down the road tomorrow to make sure.
 
You fixed it. Yeah, the wire part of the flag terminal needs to bent down or it will contact the distributor body. Feels good, doesn't it?
 
Walter agrees good fix!
 

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Here is a picture Marco posted of the flag terminal.


Bob
 

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ryanheacox said:
Bob, thats what mine looks like... now :D

Dick, we push started it. We had a nice long steep driveway.
Click to expand...

When I was 16, I was pushing and starting my A way to much ! You don't need much of a rolling speed, a little hard on second gear grinding the gears. After school one day it wouldn't start, got some guys to push and I put it in second gear, they pushed and it started when in a arms length :-)
 
Big hammer said:
When I was 16, I was pushing and starting my A way to much ! You don't need much of a rolling speed, a little hard on second gear grinding the gears. After school one day it wouldn't start, got some guys to push and I put it in second gear, they pushed and it started when in a arms length :-)
Click to expand...

Takes a little bit longer when you aren't getting spark :D
 
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