Crank but no go.

B

Beauford

Well-known member
Ok...back at it. You solved my ground issue. I crank the starter fully retarded, GAV out 1/2 turn and not even a burp. I believe I have timed it correctly. I have 6v at battery, coil (both sides) spark at coil wire, points spark. I did open drain plug on carb and no fuel so took new carb off and blew air through it. Reinstalled and now gas in bowl. Still nothing. I'm guessing my timing is not correct. Battery back on charger from all those starts. Last day of vacation and really want to test drive this chassis!!! Also, I have all wiring on a make shift wooden dash so no shorting issues.
 
So do you also have spark now at the plugs?Spark at the points and coil wire are the first two checks,now you need to do the third.Spark at the plugs.You say you blew the carb out,did you take it apart and blow out the passages?If you just blew through the openings the junk will just move around and settle somewhere else.Put a pan under the carb,take out the drain plug,and watch the fuel run out for a minute.A whole minute,not just 15 seconds.If it stays steady you should be OK.Put your hand over the carb mouth while cranking for a second,if it doesn't try to suck your hand in you will most likely find mice have moved into the muffler.
 
You mentioned new carb. You might have fuel in the bowl but is the float adjusted properly to keep the fuel flowing?
 
Bad rotor,bad cap,bad contact connections,rotor not turning.Take the plugs out,lay them against bare metal,like the top of the head studs,hook the brass clips on and crank it over.Make sure the studs are truly bare,no paint of rust on them.Spin it over a bunch and make sure the spark is consistent.A regular occurring snap,not just every so often.
 
I started up a very tight engine earlier this year, It would just barely crank. I did cheat a little and use some starting fluid to get the first pops out of it. You don't want to use starting fluid unless you are absolutely sure the timing is correct, it's very volatile and can produce severe backfire/carb damage.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ul8-IzIZ8kA
 
Yes Dick I pulled it out but as suspected above it's electrical. No spark on plugs. Here is a pic of cap. Not sure.
 

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lindy...I can x2 that so far...especially the one I bought from a big vendor in the early stages as I had zero idea who to deal with...live and learn
 
How about making sure that the shielded cable wire is connected to +coil terminal, which is what happens through the ignition switch.
 
Beauford said:
Correct Mitch..just need plugs to spark.
Click to expand...

Did you ground the spark plug base when checking? ? Did you check them all??
If nothing prob a bad burned through rotor...

Usually with a bad dist body you would have spark at some
 
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