Won't start

mrtexas

mrtexas

Well-known member
Haven't thought about Model As recently as I sold both a few years ago. I'm helping out the guy I sold my 29 roadster to. Won't start.

He replaced the battery. It died on him out driving and wouldn't start. 6v positive ground, alternator, original pop out switch and added fuse on the starter. No horn, no lights. Fuse is good. I checked the voltage to the coil with the ignition turned on. No voltage. Hot wired with jumper from starter to coil, no start. Hot wired no spark.

I'm thinking pop out switch, condenser or light switch?
 
here's a super-simple hot wire with ignition swtich and armoured cable disconnected( in case there's a short to earth within either of them)

PS off topic my favourite palindrome is... A man.A plan. A canal. Panama!
 

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Check for voltage coming off your fuse. It may look good but may not be. Just keep going up with a test light or multimeter until you run out of juice and you will find your problem.
 
If it died on him originally there must be something shorting out the system, maybe disconnect the alternator just for a test, then maybe try another coil and the switch including armored cable, they will short. I assume the starter is turning over and that the engine just won't fire.
 
Original style pop-out switches look cool but are a reliability nightmare.

When they are pushed in (off) they are designed to ground the points. So it is possible for them to fail and keep the points grounded. This makes a hotwire not work. The switch needs to be disconnected from the distributor to get rid of this ground on the points.

Put a small piece of paper or business card between the points to keep them disconnected from the ground and then see if the wire-side of the points have full voltage. If you don't see full 6 volts like this, the points are still grounded. If they are, it's the switch OR THE WIRE INSIDE THE DISTRIBUTOR FROM LOWER PLATE TO UPPER PLATE IS SHORTED OUT. This happens more often than people realize.

The first step is to insert the little scrap of paper and read the voltage.
 
wmws said:
Check for voltage coming off your fuse. It may look good but may not be. Just keep going up with a test light or multimeter until you run out of juice and you will find your problem.
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:) That was it! Fuse looked good but wasn't. He just changed the battery and must have shorted it out!
 
You may possibly have a short somewhere that blew the fuse. I would wiggle some wires around and make sure the fuse doesn't blow again.
 
Brentwood Bob said:
The fuse holder can be a problem.
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The fuse was blown but looked good. Took out fuse and didn't test OK. Fuse probably blown when battery changed. Tooted the horn and it didn't sound right. Checked the battery and it was 12v! Henry, the owner, will take battery back and get a 6v. Owner towed the car 60 miles to get it to me!
 
Jim/GA said:
Original style pop-out switches look cool but are a reliability nightmare.

When they are pushed in (off) they are designed to ground the points. So it is possible for them to fail and keep the points grounded. This makes a hotwire not work. The switch needs to be disconnected from the distributor to get rid of this ground on the points.
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Thanks for this reminder!
 
Have you checked your ground from the battery? You mention nothing works so it must be something in common with all the circuits like the main fuse coming off the battery, ignition switch or the ground? Seems like if it was in the starter you would still have the other circuits working.

If me I would check ground first, then try by passing the main fuse as it sounds like you have one, then by pass the ignition switch.

Let us know what you find as we will file it away for when we run into this problem.
Eric
 
If the wiring in the armored ignition cable is original, I would replace it. I had a similar problem recently, and the insulation on the original ignition wire had crumbled to dust and shorted out....
 
mrtexas said:
The fuse was blown but looked good. Took out fuse and didn't test OK. Fuse probably blown when battery changed. Tooted the horn and it didn't sound right. Checked the battery and it was 12v! Henry, the owner, will take battery back and get a 6v. Owner towed the car 60 miles to get it to me!
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Check for burned out light bulbs !
 
People have talked about the fuse holder as a potential problem. Most of us have installed the glass fuse type. Would the ATO type blade fuse be a better set up?
 
pjdeb said:
People have talked about the fuse holder as a potential problem. Most of us have installed the glass fuse type. Would the ATO type blade fuse be a better set up?
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Probably better. Depends on which fuse holder you choose.

The key is to use a fuse that is fully enclosed in a weatherproof, waterproof fuse holder, not one that's out in the open, exposed to coolant, oil, dirt, moisture.

I have seen fuse holders that use the flat blade type fuses with a weatherproof rubber cap that fully encloses the fuse. That will be more reliable in the long run. Something like the attached photo.

The simple clip-in style fuse holders that are open to the elements also loosen up with age and vibration. This leads to poor connections and irregular running of the car. I have seen it multiple times while driving on long distance tours with others. We bypassed the fuse and the engine ran great again!
 

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  • Weatherproof fuse holder.jpg
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This is a topic that is plaguing me right now as well. Got one of those fuse holders ( & all new wiring, ignition switch, coil) got power from the battery to the starter, to the fuse holder, then...nothing. Pulled the fuse, & it looks good. Looks like i have something to look forward to tonight after work
 
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