Help! Car ain't running so well today...

A

alvisoroadsters

Member
Hey Everyone -
Car was running GREAT on Saturday and this morning - went to leave work and the car would not stop popping on decel, played with the GAV, and the car still backfires on decel. Noticed on the highway that it was bogging around 50-53 real bad. Yesterday it kept up pretty good at those speeds.

Could a condensor be causing this? It really feels like it was good yesterday and terrible today. Other than svrewing around with the GAV a bit, nothing done to the car.

So, symptoms are backfiring on decel, bogging and occasionally popping on accel - all sprung up today. Ideas? Thank you all in advance, this is my first Model A, and I'm not wise to the inherent quirks of this roadster yet.

Thanks,
Jake
 
You should have an extra condenser under the seat anyway, buy one and try swapping it out. I think A&L has the best one. If you have the choice of two from your supplier, buy the better one.

Charlie Stephens
 
Thanks Charlie - I'm guessing that's what it is. The car isn't idling well either, which could be

a) my inexperience,
b) something wrong,
C) a little of both...

Would a bad capacitor cause this? I feel like I have to really bump up the idle so it doesn't die. Had to bump start it three times when coming to a stop.

Thanks!!!
 
Sounds like it's running lean. Check your manifold gaskets, including the carb to manifold gasket. You might be sucking air somewhere. Also check your gas flow from sediment bowl to the carb. That bowl should be cleaned out every year.
 
Hold the coil wire 1/4" from a head nut and check for a hot blue spark. If you get a weak yellow spark, then try another condenser.

Does it hit and miss at random? Does moving the spark lever change it, either help or hurt?
 
Keep in mind that 90% of fuel problems are electrical, and 90% of electrical problems are fuel. (And 87.5% of statistics are made up. ;))
 
Several good suggestions already.
Set points.
Running lean.
Check for air leaks at carb and manifold.
Replace condenser.

Another one to check is the flexible wire under the movable plate in the distributor to make sure it is not frayed, shorting or broken.
 
Thank you guys. Noticed this morning with the petcock turned on there's a fuel leak running down the carb on to the air filter (not sure if stock).

Gonna get some parts just in case, can't hurt to have another capacitor laying around...

I just took care of something like this on my Mom's '58 - possibly a stuck needle and/or out of adjustment float? Other than a leak at a fitting, any common culprits for a fuel leak?

I didn't get a good look, but definitely saw fuel dripping off the linkages. That would explain the lean condition :)

I've never been so happy to see a fuel leak.
 
Points/Timing/Capacitor are definitely on the old "to-do" list.

Again, I was praising how well the thing was running on Sunday....Monday evening was a different story.

I'm assuming timing is still good, but points and condensor are still possibilities. I'll connect a spark tester tonight and see what's up (after I fix the fuel leak haha....)

Thank you all again for the support - this is my first A and I'm loving it
 
P.S.S

Ive also had a hell of a time trying to get the thing to idle at stops (one of the new problems from yesterday), a fuel leak/lean condition makes sense. The throttle lever would either put me in a situation where it was too low to idle, or was revving way high.
 
Sounds just like an experience I had. My problem was loose bolts holding the carb to the intake manifold.
 
It sounds like you may have a couple issues. Stopping and dying are usually due to incorrect float setting in the carb. The leak could also be a bad float valve. Your timing won't change by itself, but your point setting can. Don't mess with the timing, just check your points and condensor.
 
Last edited:
700rpm said:
It sounds like you may have a couple issues. Stopping and dieing are usually due to incorrect float setting in the carb. The leak could also be a bad float valve. Your timing won't change by itself, but your point setting can. Don't mess with the timing, just check your points and condensor.
Click to expand...

Good advice.
I wonder if half the people's timing problems aren't because they reset the timing, instead of resetting the points.:confused:
 
That's definitely some good advice! Here's what I found!...

Opened the fuel petcock, ran the motor for a minute and inspected for fuel leaks. BINGO. Fuel leaking from the carb base/intake manifold surface.

Shined a flashlight at that location and saw the gasket was broken and the right carburetor bolt was loose, the lockwasher was not collapsed.

Removed the carb, found a broken gasket and remnants of a previous gasket. Cleaned it up, installed a new gasket, and started to tighten up the carb.

Found the right bolt threads were stripped (Tilly carb), so tomorrow I need to put a nut and bolt on that side. Maybe that's all!? - I will definitely check the point gap tmmrw and post pics.

Thanks everyone!!
 
alvisoroadsters said:
That's definitely some good advice! Here's what I found!...

Opened the fuel petcock, ran the motor for a minute and inspected for fuel leaks. BINGO. Fuel leaking from the carb base/intake manifold surface.

Shined a flashlight at that location and saw the gasket was broken and the right carburetor bolt was loose, the lockwasher was not collapsed.

Removed the carb, found a broken gasket and remnants of a previous gasket. Cleaned it up, installed a new gasket, and started to tighten up the carb.

Found the right bolt threads were stripped (Tilly carb), so tomorrow I need to put a nut and bolt on that side. Maybe that's all!? - I will definitely check the point gap tmmrw and post pics.

Thanks everyone!!
Click to expand...

A nut and bolt will work, but here is another option for the carb base thread repair. http://www.ebay.com/itm/VALUECOIL-3...154307?hash=item1a08d25f03:g:jj4AAOSwu4BV0rIr
or a
http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-5521-5-...875340?hash=item1c219ac4cc:g:7MIAAOxyuR5TZFSQ
 
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