Help 38" ford No Spark, New 2 BARNyard

DannyboiAz

Junior Member
I need help with this project i have going i need to get it running as quick as i possibly can. The truck is a 1938 ford i can turn the engine over but theres no spark when i test for it . ive had some people try to help but didnt get no where. If someone could help point me in the rite direction on what i should do next that would help me out alot. i know nothing about the distributor so i dont know how to test . Thanks for looking)
 
I love these situations that have to be fixed like yesterday. Its most likely the coil,condenser or in the dist. or all of the above. ken ct.
 
welcome to the 'Barn....Arizona??....when was last time engine was run??....and what have you checked up to this point??....do you have juice to the coil??....Mike
 
If I were diagnosing this problem, you gotta start from the back and work forward. Meaning starting with the cables and diagnose all the way to the battery and see whats not working. Wires? Condenser? Points? Coil? Grab the multi-meter and start giving us results so we can help you diagnose it! As Mike in AZ said, the first thing to test would be to see if youre getting power to the coil. Then move on to the coil wire going to the dist. Are you getting spark? What color? Then into the points you go!
 
Well we were brought the truck to put together so i dont know if the engines even good, but like i said it turns over fine jus doesnt start i checked the plugwires with a light and im not getting any spark i dont know these engines at all i dont know how to check the coil if u can give me instructions on what to check that would be great i have all the tools so thats not a problem , im looking at it and dont know which part is the coil
 
I'd suggest getting a Motors Manual and familiarize yourself with the system. The coil sits on top of the distributor. Check to see if you have voltage to the distributor.
 
Mines been converted so long I don't even remember what the 6v coil looks like, but, the distributor is in front of the engine, follow the plug wires and you'll find it, the coil should be on top of it. Check any wires connected to it for voltage WITH THE IGNITION ON first and foremost. We are looking for voltage going into the coil, once we determine we have voltage going into the coil, we will need to determine if there is voltage coming OUT of the coil. If there is no voltage going into the coil, we obviously need to figure out why.

In most cases an engine is an engine, they all require the same basic things to run. The parts might look different and be in different places but it's still just an engine. These are some of the most basic systems you could ever want to work on!
 
Start with the small wire attached to the coil on top of the dist. Take it off and see if it is hot when the switch is on. If not check under the dash on the firewall to see if the resister is getting juice from the ign switch. If wire to coil is hot, STOP where you are and get on site assistance. Any futher tear down by an inexperienced person can do more harm than good. Also, if this vehicle has been sitting for a while and the engine is well worn, you may have to pull it off to get enought compression to start it because the rings may be stuck from setting and gummed up.
 
Also it may pay to clean the points with a bit of emery first. When these cars haven't run for a while the can get a film on them. That may be your only problem. I experienced it myself.,cleaned the points, kicked her in the guts and she started straight up

Gb
 
thanks for all your replies i did what you guys said and finally got spark only to find out that the engine has no compression
 

Attachments

  • IMG_2421.JPG
    IMG_2421.JPG
    181.9 KB · Views: 25
  • IMG_2431.JPG
    IMG_2431.JPG
    251.8 KB · Views: 33
I would say it has no compression because it has been sitting and the rings are gummed up. If you have gas and spark, pull it off and run some MMO thru the carb, works wonders.
 
Back
Top