Need a strong spark.

james hitchcock

james hitchcock

Well-known member
Been trying to get Ol Walter started after a winter slumber. I cant get a good spark. I'm getting a little when the points open. But no nice blue spark at the plugs. Battery charged, newer distributor with internal condenser. Had been fine last year. Where should I start ?
 
Sand the points and adjust the gap if necessary Factory specs for points gap is anywhere from eighteen to twenty two thousants .
 
Walter agrees on the above! But how's your battery?
 

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Sometimes a weak six volt battery won't have the power to run the starter and fire the ignition at the same time . At such times I will use the hand crank to start the engine and let the generator charge the battery a bit .
 
Good point Purdy!
I usually start by cleaning all the connections in the junction box, under the dash, connection to generator and to the starter connection. This is in addition to filing the points and checking the distributor connections.
Good Day!
 
Purdy Swoft said:
Sometimes a weak six volt battery won't have the power to run the starter and fire the ignition at the same time . At such times I will use the hand crank to start the engine and let the generator charge the battery a bit .
Click to expand...
Purdy,
You must be STROOOONG!!
Bill Wimp
 
It really doesn't take a lot of strength to hand crank the model A . I get it on compression stroke and lift up .
 
Most likely the points just need to be cleaned. You can prove this by stopping the engine with the points open, then turn the key on and short the points contacts on and off with a screwdriver while holding the coil wire 1/4" from a head nut. If you now get a good strong blue spark, then you know the condenser and wiring is good.


After several points cleanings, mine still didn't start one time when using the starter, but it fired right up on the first pull UP with the hand crank. Then everything was fine after running the engine for 2 minutes.
 
Tom Wesenberg said:
Most likely the points just need to be cleaned. You can prove this by stopping the engine with the points open, then turn the key on and short the points contacts on and off with a screwdriver while holding the coil wire 1/4" from a head nut. If you now get a good strong blue spark, then you know the condenser and wiring is good.


After several points cleanings, mine still didn't start one time when using the starter, but it fired right up on the first pull UP with the hand crank. Then everything was fine after running the engine for 2 minutes.
Click to expand...
Replace a rail screw with a tiny red light. Wire it to the POSITIVE coil wire & the other wire to a ground. THEN, you'll know if you have SPARK!!
Bill Flashing
 
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