Hi everybody, I have a restored 38 ford Pu here in original condition, 6 volt system, positive ground. The engine starts easy and runs good to a couple a weeks ago.. the engine starts not easy and runs good on idle, when i give some throttle it starts sputtering and didnt rev up. I checked everything, clean the carb and so on, checked the spark, a big blue spark looks good to me. I do some searching on the web and found that the resistor could be the problem so i replaced it whit one i have in my spares box (it is not a original one ) Starting up and the engine runs OK, giving throttle works good and revs op easy. After 30 minutes and some little driving around my house the engine starts sputtering and looses torque again. Back in the shed again and tomorrow i checked some things. This morning the engine starts and runs smooth. When i disconnect the battery the sputtering and bad running goes harder, when i connect the battery it runs back normal. With the battery connected there is 4,8 volt on the coil, with the battery disconnected there is 14 volt or so on the coil, that didnt look normal to me, what could be here the problem ?
Sounds like a bad condenser or coil. When it starts acting up, turn the car off (or if it does it for you...) and feel those two parts. They should be warm, but not HOT. If replacing either of those parts doesn't rectify the problem, check your points as the next logical step.
I have already replaced the condensor, that resolves the problem for a few hours or so. Maybe, the new condensor blow up again, what can be the reason that they blow up ? I will check the coil this weekend. In my Ford is in the dash a ignition coil resistor, this thing gets really hot , what is this thing doing ? If it is the coil, can i use every (aftermarket )6 volt coil ? (remember , i have positive ground)
I still think the condensor is the culprit, and I have seen new condensors that were bad right out of the box. A condensor can go bad sitting on the shelf. Condensors are a part that has not been used on a production car in 40+ years. The new condensor you just bought may have been sitting on the shelf in the box for 20 years.
Found this on the Ford Barn..................To check condensers you need a test machine or a ****og volt/ohm meter with a needle. Put the volt meter in a high ohm scale, touch one probe to the lead and the other to the body of the condenser. Every time you switch probes from body to lead the meter should jump up about a 3/4" and slowly drop back to zero. This will show how it should work if good. Almost EVERY one will test good when the condenser is cold. Now the real test. Heat the condenser with a heat gun or a propane torch from a distance. Heat it until you can't hold it between two fingers for more than about 1/2 second, this depends on how tuff your fingers are. Let the heat soak in a minute or so. Now repeat the ohmmeter test. If it acts like it did cold it's good. if the meter don't move or go's all the way up it's no good.
As mentioned, probably the condenser. That said, I did run into a ignition problem that surprised the hell out of me. We all remember the GM cars that would burn a hole in the rotor. After many condensers and point adjustments on my 38 Ford, I pulled the rotor off the shaft to inspect it. Sure looked like a carbon track on the inside of the rotor to me. Not having a replacement I wrapped a few rounds of electrical tape around the shaft and reinstalled the distributor. Ran like a top.
As others has mentioned, I would try changing the condenser and see what happens. Many use the Napa Echlin IH-200 condenser with excellent results. If you are still experiencing the same problem, you may want to move on to replacing the coil. Is yours stock? If so, there is a fellow named Skip Haney in south Florida that specializes in rebuilding these coils which in-turn resolves the symptoms you have been describing. The website is: www.fordcollector.com If you decide to purchase the cylinder style coil from your local Napa or Auto Zone please keep in-mind these coils have an internal resistor built-in therefore you will need to byp*** your resistor. Hope you are able to resolve the issue. Steve
If you are running the original helmet style distributor with original coil send the coil off to Skip Haney www.fordcollector.com an have it rebuilt. I fought coil problems with 2 different coils (1 nos standard ignition) before I did. Fixed a problem of loosing fire when hot. Let it cool down and it was fine.
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