Mine won't start either

Rich Largent

Rich Largent

Member
Been following the fellow who had the new engine that would not start. I seem to be in the same boat. Bought the car recently and after the owner put a new battery in it is started and ran great. Since getting it home it seems to have a mind of its own. Its getting gas, timing and spark seem okay, ammeter deflects and did show a charge the last time I had the engine running. The car has an alternator and I notice when I turn the key on I get a 2 to 3 amp discharge. Am I looking for a ground here that could be killing the starting circuit or does the alternator require some current at start up? I'm all ears as all the tests I seem to conduct point to everything is fine!!!!
 
Do you have access to a copy of the Model A Ford Mechanic's Handbook. If so, the troiubleshooting section should be the easiest way to figure it out. If not, multiple folks here can offer suggestions. You will need to explain what you mean by "Its getting gas, timing and spark seem okay" for us to be able to diagnose it. What tests have you done and what findings did you get from your tests?
 
I have Les Andrews book and I've performed the five ignition tests he outlines. All positive. I have checked the timing, pin in, rotor opposite #1 plug etc, set new points at .020, cleaned and checked gap on all plugs and replaced the condensor. As far as gas goes I have rebuilt the Zenith Carburetor, replaced all internal parts and set the float level. It is getting gas. Idle screw is set 1-1/2 turns out and mixture at start is 3/4 turn CCW. Throttle is set to be partially cracked. The amp draw when I turn the key on is baffling as I'm doing this without another hand available to check spark while cracking. Does this help?
 
Plug a timing light into the coil wire.

Crank engine.

You will soon see if you have any spark.
 
You should have a 2-3 amp draw when you turn the ignition key on if the points are closed. Turn the ignition on and put a business card between the points. This should stop the 2-3 amp current flow. With the business card still in place check to see if voltage is on the arm of the points. Use a volt meter or a trouble light. If voltage is not there it is probably being lost somewhere in the pop-out cable assembly.

A good thing to have is a pop-out by-pass cable. It screws into the distributor in place of the original. You can then clip the wire on the other end direct to the low side of the coil primairy after removing the original wire.

Tom Endy
 
Most likely suspects if those 5 check OK would be Defective Coil, defective Condenser, or Ignition Switch Open. (Do you have a pop-out, or a later ignition switch?)
 
If your getting gas spark and air it will run. If your endlessly cranking it without any sputtering then check for spark and gas. If your ammeter is bouncing while it's cranking over your problem is gas. Make sure your getting a steady flow of gas to the carb. Remove the gas line from the carb with the gas off. Put the end in a can and turn on the petcock and make sure the flow is steady.
 
I am the person with the last problem. Can't honestly tell you why it was acting up but I finally got it going and ran strong. Then the next day I was in the same boat. Wouldn't start and same problem. I got it eventually going but sounded like it only wanted to run rough and only on 1 cylinder. Then it will speed up and run on 3 and vise versa.

Is it possible for something to knock out the timming on these cars if its not set right? You can follow my link at car won't start!
 
I'm starting to think it's possibly the zenith carb. I'm getting a good flow into the carb but is there a good chance that something is broken in the carb and not allowing the gas to go up into the engine. I have taking apart the carb 3 times and each time there is good amount of gas in the bowl and all the jets are cleaned out with compressed air.
 
Intake manifold air leak maybe? That could cause a lack of fuel actually getting into the combustion chamber.
 
Rich Largent said:
Been following the fellow who had the new engine that would not start. I seem to be in the same boat. Bought the car recently and after the owner put a new battery in it is started and ran great. Since getting it home it seems to have a mind of its own. Its getting gas, timing and spark seem okay, ammeter deflects and did show a charge the last time I had the engine running. The car has an alternator and I notice when I turn the key on I get a 2 to 3 amp discharge. Am I looking for a ground here that could be killing the starting circuit or does the alternator require some current at start up? I'm all ears as all the tests I seem to conduct point to everything is fine!!!!
Click to expand...

You never said you choked it. Pull the choke for a couple revolutions only, then let it go back in. Do you see gas running out the carb after choking it? If so, then I'd look for an ignition problem. If not, then I'd look for a fuel problem.

Do you have the screen in the fuel shutoff valve. It's highly recommended to keep junk out of the valve and line. If the car ran OK when you parked it, then maybe the points just need to be cleaned. It would be very unlikely the condensor or coil went bad while setting a short time.
 
Tom,
Thanks for the info on the current draw at "switch on". That's what I get and yes with a card between the points I get 6 volts on the point arm.
 
This is a very long shot. Had the same problem,when I did get it to run never on all four . Everything checked out as OK . Changed the distributer cap and an instant cure ,ran sweetly on all four ,worth a try .

John in heavy showers turning colder evening England.
 
Sounds like something in the high voltage circuit. It is relatively easy to swap out the coil, coil wire, condenser, rotor cap, and timer (distributor) cap, one at a time, and see which one is the magic fix.
 
Does the ammeter bounce when you are cranking?? If so you are getting juice and ground at the points. Stick a good handle screw driver into the head and tilt the screw driver shaft toward the top of one of the spark plug heads about an eight of an inch. Crank the engine over with the key on (car in neutral and emergency brake on) and see if you are getting a bright blue spark jumping to the screw driver. If you are alone you can do this by pushing the starter rod under the hood. When the points close and open they cause the coil to spark. The coil spark travels though the top cap into the rotor. If no spark (check a couple of plugs to be sure) check your rotor tab. clean it with a little sand paper if corroded and bend the tab up it up a little. They can get a bad connection and your car will not start. You could also have a bad coil. To check the coil with the key OFF place the coil wire (pull out of cap) and place it within 1/8 inch from any engine part. Pull the cap off and then turn on the ignition key. you can gently open and close the points with a screw driver or try twisting the play in the cam. You should see a spark at the points and each time you open a closed point the spark will jump out of the coil wire to ground. So close and open your points to check.
 
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