Mallory Ignition

"Note the regulator has a wire that is not attached. Generator is in sad shape. There is a rotor button in the distributor. Does that mean a points system?"


The missing wire is the battery wire from the starter solenoid battery connection side. If you have a loop ammeter, the wire goes from the starter solenoid through the loop on the ammeter to the circuit breaker panel. Then the same terminal of the circuit breaker panel connects to the far right terminal on the voltage regulator. If you don't have the loop ammeter and have the volt meter gauge, the wire goes straight from the starter solenoid to the circuit breaker panel and from the circuit breaker panel to the voltage regulator.

No, the rotor does not mean it is a points distributor. The style of the rotor might, I'm not that familiar with the older Mallory distributors. You need to shine a light on the distributor while you take to photos to brighten it up. Also, remove the rotor so you can see what is under it.

The wiring diagrams have fuse panel, but I think they switched to circuit breakers sometime during the model year, but not positive.
 

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JSeery said:
"Note the regulator has a wire that is not attached. Generator is in sad shape. There is a rotor button in the distributor. Does that mean a points system?"


The missing wire is the battery wire from the starter solenoid battery connection side. If you have a loop ammeter, the wire goes from the starter solenoid through the loop on the ammeter to the circuit breaker panel. Then the same terminal of the circuit breaker panel connects to the far right terminal on the voltage regulator. If you don't have the loop ammeter and have the volt meter gauge, the wire goes straight from the starter solenoid to the circuit breaker panel and from the circuit breaker panel to the voltage regulator.

No, the rotor does not mean it is a points distributor. The style of the rotor might, I'm not that familiar with the older Mallory distributors. You need to shine a light on the distributor while you take to photos to brighten it up. Also, remove the rotor so you can see what is under it.

The wiring diagrams have fuse panel, but I think they switched to circuit breakers sometime during the model year, but not positive.
Click to expand...

Wow. I didn't even know there was a breaker panel. I've seen nothing that I can identify as that.
It took some prying to get the rotor button off. I was concerned about breaking it. Apparently, it just slides over the rotating shaft. I never found a screw holding it. I guess it had been on there for a long while.
Thanks for the wiring diagram. Check out these pics of the mallory distributor.
 

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1939Deluxesedan said:
Wow. I didn't even know there was a breaker panel. I've seen nothing that I can identify as that.
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If it is a circuit breaker panel it will look something like this. If not the same type of panel will have a fuse holder in the same place as the circuit breaker. It should be mounded under the dash on the firewall near the steering column. Part 12250 on the diagram in post #21. The ballast resistor on the panel would not be used if covered to 12v. The panel could have been removed, how knows. If so you need to trace out the wiring and see what is going on.
 

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If the carburetor has been off , i would first see if the engine has compression .
Yes electronic distributor.
Before you spend money , i would check the compression. Check oil for color , making sure it doesnt look like peanut butter ( indicating oil and water mixed )
The module may or may not be good . Was this in a flood ? Not being mean just curious. There’s a lot of corrosion. Especially in places that there should not be .
 
A compression test might be a good idea. The oil looked like old oil. A little brown. No gray color like when water gets in. I changed the oil.It has set up for years. The guy I got it from acquired it when he married this woman who's dead husband had had it and was the restorer (I believe). He hauled it down from Indiana. It has sat in a field covered with a tarp for a decade or more. I think the tarp trapped moisture in. Pretty sad. I guess you could say I'm a old Ford rescue person. It's able to breath now and under my carport, My overall impression is that someone started the restoration, and got side tracked, or diverted. Keep in mind its a convertible.
So this thing works off of a light beam that is pulsed as the unit spins? Now that the cap is off, should I see the beam when the coil is energized?
Is there some one I could send the unit to who could check it out, or someway to determine that myself? Thanks!
 
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