Possible coil getting hot ???

1932 V8

1932 V8

Senior Member
Hello , I seem to have an issue with my 32 when she has been driven for a while. The engine runs nice and cool , 170 deg , and she runs great when cold and in the first 1/2hr or so . The more it is driven, like a 2 hr ride down the freeway, it will start to run rough and have a stumble off idle. It will not take a hard load meaning going up a hill , the more you push it the worse it is . I have perfect fuel pressure at all times , 2.5 or so , and I believe it is ignition related .It always starts and it is reliable . We just got back from Deuce Days in Canada and drove the car about 2000 miles. It had the issue the whole time and it was consistant. At 65mph when warm you can hear it running a little rougher than when it is colder like when we first got on the freeway. Basically , the more heat the worse it ran but if you pulled over for a gas stop and let it sit for 10 min it would run better . I am going to move the coil and see what happens but I was just looking for opinions on the coil getting hot from the header tube . To close ???
Thanks , Mike
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I guess we need a little more info.
Whats the resistance of the coil from pos to neg in ohms.
Are you running a resistor?
What distributor are you using?

If i was to take a gamble i would just replace the condensor ......:eek::D
 
Good suggestion on Bubba's part. If that is not the case....have coil reworked to today's standards. Been there .....done that ! Condenser is $ 11 bucks at NAPA !

Mike
 
Mike, I will be watching this thread closely because I have exactly the same problem in my 32. I have the later divers helmet coil, so I recently bought a modern conversion plate to run a separate coil, and it made no difference. Symptoms are exactly the same, starts and runs great when cold, but after it warms up, the misfire starts. Only mine gets worse in traffic.
I dont think its fuel, but I want to fit a spacer under the carb to rule that out, and would prefer to have an electric pump in the tank to maintain some pressure in the line. But it feels like a spark problem. All I have left is to swap the distributor.
I hope we get some help from Barners on this one.
Cheers, Tom.
 
Welcme to the world of FLATHEADS.A very common problem expecially with old coils and condensers.Do your self a favor,replace them with modern technology[skips coils and napa condensers.
 
I have a crab dist rebuild by Bubba . I do run a resister , 1.5 ohm with a 1.5 ohm coil as suggested by Bubba's .
 
Tom.....I had the same problem and used the coil conversion kit too. It worked but not great. Several guys here recommended Skip Haney in Florida to rebuild coil. That and a napa IH-200 condenser and I've never had a problem since. As a matter of fact I sent him another coil to rework just in case I needed a spare. I have no problems at all now.

Mike
 
Just more more info , this is a 12v system with the coil mounted in the passenger frame rail . It is a few inches away from the exhaust tube which is what the pictures are in my first post but it is hard to see . I should have been more clear as to what the pictures were of .
 
I'm waiting for a "Skip" Haney coil rebuild as well. Mine is weak and affected by the heat. I will post the results.
 
Without a doubt Skip Haney coil and napa condenser and your problem will be gone. I went through the same thing with my 46. I did everything I could think of and nothing helped I was even think of selling my car until I did the above. I have had any problems with it sense.:D
 
I don't think that is a particularly good place for the cool. Seems like it would be easy to mount the coil temporarily in a cooler location and see if that makes a difference.
 
Hi Flatjack . That exactly what I was thinking of doing . I tried to hide it a bit . I tend to go for a clean look sometimes and it has gotten me into a lot of mechanical trouble . You would think I would learn:rolleyes:
I am taking a ride tomorrow eve and I just wrapped it with some insulation for the fun of it .
 
Make a tempoary heat shield out of an aluminum throw away pie pan or something similar if the insulation does not prove the heat effect.
 
1932 V8....it was great to see your car in Victoria, BC. The look of your car is a people stopper, as there is something about a none 'show paint' on a Roadster. 477 '32s attended the meet, hard gathering to miss. Driving my buddy's '32 highboy back to Alamo got a 'bit hot', to say the least, hitting 100 F in Northern California. Nice to see a flathead being driven long distances....makes believers out of the skeptic. Hope to have my '32 Roadster out there in 2016. Robert
 

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Very cool , It would have been nice to meet you . That is a great event because of the drive and the location . Out of all the 32's , there were about 8 of them I would take home if you told me I had to keep them forever :) But it was a lot of fun . We are already planning the 2016 event . We want to do a trip to take about 4 days up a maybe the same back . I had about 100 miles on the new engine when we took off . She did great the whole time . There were some other cars that had issues and engine problems and I would " kick them while they were down" so to speak by asking , Is it a Flathead ??? They of course would say no and I would say " There's your problem " !!!! Funny stuff .
Your car looks great . We will have to hook up in 2016 and hopefully sooner .
Take care , Mike
 
Hey Bubba or others , When it is hot and the problem is there , can I check the coil voltage ? output ? and maybe see the problem ???? What tests should I do when the problem is there ? I can just throw parts at it but I would like to learn and pin point the problem . I have the time and it is a consistent problem so it is a good one to find and fix and maybe help someone else out someday .
 
I had a Skips coil and checked condenser on my 32 when I drove it from Ma. to Oregon. Ran fine even after climbing up the road to the Kendicott mine in St Louis. AT the top the S/W temp gage was beyond the 240 F. Shut down and decided to see if it would start. Just touched the starter and it started and Idled fine. And yes it was a 221 Flat head. It is all I run, Skips set up. WFM. kc
 
1932 V8 said:
Hey Bubba or others , When it is hot and the problem is there , can I check the coil voltage ? output ? and maybe see the problem ???? What tests should I do when the problem is there ? I can just throw parts at it but I would like to learn and pin point the problem . I have the time and it is a consistent problem so it is a good one to find and fix and maybe help someone else out someday .
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I was thinking about that this morning. How would i approach the problem if it was mine?
In your case its either the coil breaking down or the condensor. Being a gambler my approach would be "dealing" first with what its not.
Its more than likely not the distributor as it was just rebuilt and broken in on a machine, and distributors usually dont break down with heat..
Also pretty unlikely to be the coil as you are using the proper coil with a resistor.
That leaves the most likely heat failure as the condensor, based on a track record of condensor failure when hot.
I would make me up a condensor test lead , solder two long leads on a condensor with alligator clips on each end.

( Really just about any old condensor would work ) Then when the car acts up cut the condensor lead ( you can get to it on the car just cut the black lead in to) then install the test condensor hooking to negative side of coil and ground. Start the car, if it now runs good you have found the problem.......

Let me know and i can ship you a couple condensors that are tested.......
 
Thanks for the reply Jim. I have another condenser . Its a new one from Napa (If its good?) It is the same type that you put on my dist so it is an easy change . I need to wait fo a hot day as the problem is more pronounced when it is hot. Any thoughts on the coil being to close to the exhaust ? Maybe I could put a heat gun on it to see how hot it is getting ? But I would need to know how hot is to hot ? Thoughts ?
 
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