VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND EARLIER 1912-1928 No Spark engine will not start

Hi,
A 1926 I have no spark at the wire to plug. I have installed a brand new 6V coil. I have power to the coil. Is there supposed to be a condensor some where? Cap at points is good. Timing is dead on points just opening with #1 TDC.
Please help!
Thanks
Woodbutcher

Do you mean cap and points, or do you mean cap as in capacitor, the other name for the condenser. The lack of condenser will not stop the car from running. It is there to suppress the arc across the points when they open. Without it, the points will burn out faster. I would check for bad grounds. Other things i have seen is point not really closing, grounded out points, bad coil.

I will check the ground. That is a possibility. Every thing else is new.
Thanks
Woodbutcher

also check that the points are indeed closing. check with a meter. i once had a set that i thought closed, but in fact were open a hair i could not see. Drove me nuts

If the condenser is bad or outer case is not grounded you will only have a weak spark at the plugs.

Hi Chipper,
I do no see a condensor any where. They do not show one in the repair manual. Is there supposed to be one? I will work on it tonight. My thoughts are it is a grounding problem.
What size battery cables shoud I be using. Right now I have #1 gauge. I feel I have to go to double 0. Your thoughts.
Thanks
Woodbutcher

Woodbutcher
the original 1927 coil has condenser built in, I use original 1927 coil and carry a modern coil with external condenser under seat. When using modern coil I mount external condenser on base where coil mounts to assure good ground. I carry a multimeter under seat also and when spark issue arises I first check for 6 volts at coil from switch side and then if ok (also carry hot wire jumper) REMOVE DISTRIBUTOR CAP AND check points for 6 volts when points open meter leads on each side of open points if so i then close points (turn fan) until closed and check for zero volts (then ok) if all checks out check for spark at plug if strong then gas problem.
Ken 45145

It is common for people with the 4 cylinders to think that a condenser is not needed as they don't see one on the coil or distributor. The fact that it is contained within the coil is not obvious. As I wrote above, if the condenser is bad or not grounded you will not have enough spark at the plugs. Proved that too many times on my own cars and trucks.

I use 2 ga. cables on my '28 and it cranks over just fine. I also make sure that the ground path between starter and battery is good and clean.

Woosbutcher, You can check the ignition system using a volt meter. Attach the volt meter to the coil, positive to positive and negative to negative. With the ignition switch "on" there should be a reading of 6 to 8 volts on the meter when the points are closed and "no" voltage when the points are open. You can check this part with the distributor cap removed. Turn the engine with a crank or starter. If the voltage is on and off with the points opening and closing then your ignition wiring is good. use the distributor end of the coil wire for this test. If there is a small spark from the coil wire to ground as the points open and close then the coil is good. If there is no spark from the coil to ground then the coil is bad. Connect a 6volt condenser to the positive side of the coil and ground the base of the condenser, this should triple the spark from the coil. Often times the coil alone will not produce enough spark to spark across the spark plug under compresion with enough heat to ignite the fule mixture. You may need to splice a piece of wire on the condenser wire to reach the + post on the coil and ground the base of the condenser. Hope this will help.
Hutch

Thanks I now have spark. It now fires up a little but does not start. I did notice the resistor ( I now have the original coil back in) is rather warm to hot. Is that normal?
Thanks,
Woodbutcher

I have engine runnig for 1 min. or less. Hit starter fires back up and does the same. Any thoghts? Will only run with spark fully retarded. Do I need to set back timming a little?
Thanks
Woodbutcher

Woodbutcher, If you are using a vacuum fule pump and the vacuum valve is not shuting off your engine may be flooding out. Check it out by taking the vacuum line loose from the pump and see if it runs longer. There is enough gas in the canister to run the engine for five minutes or so. Remove the top of the pump and be sure the float is actuating the vacuum shutoff valve and that it is not leaking air. If the fule pump fills with fuel the engine will suck straight gas into the intake manifold and flood it out. It took me two months to figure this out.
It won't hurt to set the timing back a little.
Hutch

Thanks thutch7244,
I will check that out also. It ran for about 3 minutes at the longest then quit. I have reinstalled the original coil, before I tackled this again last night. I did not have a condensor for the modern coil. After runnig for 3 minutes, it quit. I could not get to restart. It was then I noticed that the resistor on top of the coil was so hot I could not touch it. I checked spark it was very weak. I think the coil is breaking down. I will pick up today a condensor, and hook up the modern coil as described in this topic.
I will keep you posted.
Thanks
Woodbutcher

Make sure your coil is marked with internal resistor. You can purchase a condenser for the 1954 Chev engine and it will work fine with the modern coil, in fact the coil for the 1954 would be a perfect selection.

Hi Ray,
I picked up a coil at NAPA that says does not need external resistor. I will call and get the condensor for a 1954 Chevy. I will not get back to the truck till tomorrow night.
Thanks
John