No Spark? help

M

my37ford

Junior Member
Ok, not to sound stupid, but I'm not real familiar with this type of electrical system, ok here goes. I tried starting the truck tonight to no avail, engine turns over easily but I have no spark at all, the engine was just rebuilt when we bought it and was supposedly ran after overhaul, the truck has sat in a barn for the last 5yrs and not touched. So if anyone can give me some clues of were to start, it would be appreciated, thanks in advance.:confused:
 
Clean the plugs-both ends. Remove the coil wire and clean its ends and the holes it fits in. Clean the dist. points and grease the dist. cam. I bet the points have corroded. Clen the batrtery terminals. Then report back to us as to what happened.
clem
 
Also, Is it a postive ground or a negative ground? If it's a 6 volt system still, you may have an issue. If Im thinking correctly, if you got the grounds on backwards it will still turn the motor but have no spark...

Just my .02

HTH

Cheers and beers
Hodge
 
Drunkandgreasy has got it. Ford 6 volt systems are positive ground. Check the ballast resistor inside the cab on the firewall and the ignition switch. You could also clip a jumper directly from the battery to the coil to see if it starts. Just dont run it a long time that way as you will burn the points.
Just another .02 Good luck on getting it fired.
 
As an electronics technician with over 30 years experience I can tell you, with confidence, that early Fords fitted with a points (not electronic) type distributor will run on either positive or negative ground configuration. So the reason that you have no spark is not in any way related to battery polarity.

The only things that you need to do when changing polarity is to "re-polarise" the generator and reverse the wiring on the amp gauge otherwise it will read discharge when charging and visa versa.
 
You are having the same issue I had last month......clean and set your points (might need to remove distributor) if you have the old eggshell distributor the points are very hard to reach.

My number one problem was my engine to firewall ground was very rusty so I had no spark.....the cleaner you get it the stronger the spark.

Best thing to do is remove and clean all wire and ground connections.
 

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Ok, I have not noticed a ground to the cab, my battery cable goes to the engine block and I have not noticed any other ground cables, will have to look when I get off work and make sure. I will also post engine pics and maybe all of you can share your experience with me and get this thing fired off. I'm not well versed in this type of ignition so please bear with me. I appreciate everyones input so far, it's nice to have people chime in and offer advice to someone you don't even know, thanks
 
If you have a volt meter check for voltage at the coil wire with the key on.
 
This is a really simple system. As stated before, check the points for corrosion and proper operation. You can also check for switch on power at the coil, and you may want to test the condenser. There really isnt much else to it. Eliminating components always makes diagnostics easier. If you arent getting any spark out of the coil to the distrubutor, there is no benefit to cleaning or doing anything else to the plugs for now.
 
I guess I should of mentioned that I'm jumping the battery to starter, hence I do not have the ignition key, but I should probably disconnect the key switch from the system, would that keep it from firing?
 
my37ford said:
I guess I should of mentioned that I'm jumping the battery to starter, hence I do not have the ignition key, but I should probably disconnect the key switch from the system, would that keep it from firing?
Click to expand...

Are you saying that you have no source of power to the coil?
 
You have no key so you can't turn the ignition on, is that correct? If that's true don't disconnect anything else. In place of the key switch run a jumper lead (16 ga) from the battery to the coil. Make the starter spin with your booster cable to see if you have spark. Polarity of the battery does not matter at this point.
 
.... just another 2 cents worth...as you are going thru your trial and error and process of elimination etc.....just remember to disconnet or toggle to "off" with your power source, cuz if the points happen to land in the closed position with the juice on for a lengthy period of time you will fry the points and/or resistor and even the coil...be careful...Good luck !
 
Mike51Merc, you it right on the head, I had no spark to coil, hooked a wire up and feed it alittle gas and beast roared to life. I have to get lower radiator hoses and belts for it so I can run it longer but she is alive and breathing. Thanks to everyone with their input and thoughts, its greatly appreciated. :D
 
you got oil in that thing??....lol.....congrats on getting it started......another flathead sprung to life!!!!!!!....Mike
 
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