Ghost car

Tudie 36

Tudie 36

Senior Member
Here's a new one in my Flathead adventures. 1936 Ford Tudor. I have converted to 12v with the Vintage Garage kit. Everything had been just great for a few months then when leaving a cruise in last week she would only turn over but finally fired and got me home. had to work on some other stuff for a couple of weeks and didn't attempt to start again till yesterday, turns over and over no start then, suddenly decides to start and run. I shut her off and re started 4 times as soon as I stepped on the button like it had been before to my Delite, thought it was just a glitch. My buddy stopped by later that day and wanted to hear her run. Turns over and no fire up again. I said screw it, I'll start searching for the short or whatever it is next week when it's cooler in the garage and I have time. Turn off the switch and while we are sitting in front her talking, all the lights turn on. Christine? I disconnected the battery for now. Any ideas beside poor mechanic skills? I'm thinking loose connection in the multi gauge reducer or original switch. thanks in advance for pointers. Greg
 
petehoovie said:
"loose connection" is where I'd start...At resistor, at ignition switch and at coil...
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Thanks, I've checked coil and ballast resistor I fire wall mounted, The original switch I was a little concerned with from the get go. I cleaned it up best I could and went for it,
 
Switch it back to all stock components 6volt with an Optima 6 volt battery and get on down the road like many of us.
 
Put a continuity meter across the terminals of your ignition switch and wiggle the toggle. The brass wiper inside may be making intermittent contact. You can restore the original switch with a new carbon plate, or replace the complete switch.
You haven’t told us what coil setup you have, but a 12 volt conversion may include an internally resisted coil, which cannot be used in connection with the original dash mounted resistor. If your coil is mounted on the distributor as original, then yes, the dash mounted resistor should be in the circuit.
I’ve never converted to 12 volts myself, so anything else I might say about that would be back seat guesswork.
 
ford38v8 said:
Put a continuity meter across the terminals of your ignition switch and wiggle the toggle. The brass wiper inside may be making intermittent contact. You can restore the original switch with a new carbon plate, or replace the complete switch.
You haven’t told us what coil setup you have, but a 12 volt conversion may include an internally resisted coil, which cannot be used in connection with the original dash mounted resistor. If your coil is mounted on the distributor as original, then yes, the dash mounted resistor should be in the circuit.
I’ve never converted to 12 volts myself, so anything else I might say about that would be back seat guesswork.
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It’s a 12v coil with a ballast mounted beside it
 
Check carefully for loose connections - under the dash particularly.


Trust me, if you have any loose live wires and they come in contact with earth it will ruin your entire day!
 
I've seen it numerous times where stranded wire is only working by a few strands. It works and then it doesn't. It's usually hidden by the covering. Look for wires with a kink in them.
 
Tony said:
I've seen it numerous times where stranded wire is only working by a few strands. It works and then it doesn't. It's usually hidden by the covering. Look for wires with a kink in them.
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I had a braided ground from the battery that looked brand new, but had internal hidden battery acid corrosion. After driving all day and into the night with headlights on, lights dimmed, then engine off. No continuity unless I wiggled that positive ground cable. It made a pretty wall hanger.
 
I would do a voltage drop test on every point of the ignition system until I find where the problem is. Go on YouTube and learn how to perform a "voltage drop test" with a voltmeter with the ignition turned on. I was a mechanic for 30-years and this is the way we used to find problems rather than throwing parts and guessing at the problem. It will show you exactly you where the open or missing some of its voltage is in the circuit, bad wire, switch, connection... It could just need new a routine tuneup like new points.
 
I have a new ignition switch, the electrical part and brushes on the way. I was having intermittent issue with the lights going on and off then I noticed when switch was flipped on the fuel gauge and the amp meter would not come on without a wiggle or pushing down hard on switch. Think this could have been my issue the whole time?
 
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