VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND EARLIER 1929-1932 Ignition left on.....the 30 Roadster won't fire

Some how the ignition switch popped out to the on position overnight and now the car won't fire up. Turns over fine, but won't start. I have a feeling I might have fried something? No spark at the plug tip.

OHM meter reads 1.3 on the 200 and 6.73 on the 2000 for the coil. The points look OK, as far as I can tell. The ignition switch when on registers the gas tank gage. Just zero spark on the plugs.

Check your points you have burned them closed.

Dave

Hi Dave, they move and I emory sanded them slightly. Added more info above.

Did you reset the point gap after you sanded them?

Is there a spark at the points if you manually open them?

You also could have burned out the condenser.

When I say sanded it was one pass with a fine emery cloth, not enough to change the gap. I removed the wire I believe comes for the ignition switch, on the same post as the condenser wire is on and checked it with the ignition on. It shows 6.33 volts.

how did you validate NO spark at plugs ?
and as Rusty noted, do you have spark at distributor when you open points ? you should see and blue spark and hear a clear clean snap when you manually open the points ( i do this is a long flat bladed screwdriver and do NOT touch the metal part of screwdriver or engine with bare hands !!

Update, yesterday while removing a wire off of the distributor post that had broken, where the ignition wire and the condenser wire are attached, part of the Bakelite insulation on the post fell off where the wires attach. In the morning I'll check to see if there is any insulation left. I think the wires are touching the distributor housing....I'll report back.

Well, that didn't solve the problem.

are you referring to the distributor cap ??
i would replace that if so, they are readily available

No, the post that protrudes from the distributor that the points are connected to as well as the ignition wire and the condenser wire.

I popped the points out and cleaned the post ( a long screw really) and replaced the paper insulation the points band rests on but should that band be touching the head of that screw inside the distributor housing but away from the contacting the metal of the housing?

I suppose I need to see if the points are sparking next.

the internal portion of the electrolock, ( part with threads on the end that goes into distributor can NOT touch any of hte metal or it will ground out and NO SPARK. that screw end makes contact via the nut with the points arm. the points arm must NOT touch the distributor housing either !! hence a gasket/ separator.

here is a write up did when i installed mine on my 1929 a while back, tons of photos and input from Chipper and JunkYard Dog :) if you do NOT have the illustration showing the order of assembly. it is in the Tech Section here on VCCA :)

https://vccachat.org/ubbthreads.php/ubb/showflat/Number/397715

New update: Took the bolt out of the distributor body that held the points in place and also holds the ignition wire as well as the condenser wire, cleaned it up, took the points out and replaced the thin paper "insulation strip' with a new one I made from a gasket, put it all back together and set the points at .25 and low and behold, she fired right up! Ordered new plug wires though, as the old ones were those cloth covered repro ones for show, that were getting a tad crispy. I had turned the engine over with the distributor cap off to see what was going on with the points and it looked like the gap had gotten out of adjustment. That and the corrosion I believe, were the cause of no spark. I tested the coil, at first, it was good, tested the wire from the ignition switch, 6.3 volts, checked the condenser with the meter, that was good, so that brought me to the points. Happy days are back.......

Great to hear
on your new wire set make sure you got the old school copper core wires and NOT the new carbon core style !!