'40 160 ignition mystery
Posted by Joe Santana On 2012/6/30 22:22:06
It's a mystery to me, but I know you'll be thinking How dense is this guy?
The day before yesterday I removed and replaced the overdrive solenoid. In the process I discovered a loose wire topside under the dash on the overdrive plunger switch. So I think that was the cause of my problems with the overdrive. However I'd already made a new gasket, put some silicone on the edges and reinstalled the overdrive. I test drove it. It worked great.
Yesterday, while it was hot and muggy, I used the overdrive into town, coasting down the hill into town much of the way. The ignition cut out, but as I was freewheeling through the tunnel, I was able to start it again. Then, when I arrived at the Hilton to pick up my daughter's friend, The Duchess just quit, no ignition while idling. After a couple of tries it started again, and we drove to the airport to pick up my daughter. No problems restarting there after parking and cooling down a bit.
Last night, after putting the car on jacks to check the overdrive, the car wouldn't start. No ignition. That little wiggle of the ammeter when you have spark was nonexistent. I checked the wires under the dash and they felt tight.
This morning I disconnected the ignition wire from the coil, turned the key, touched the wire to ground. Sparks and half. Turned off the key.
I reconnected the ignition wire to the coil and disconnected the coil- to- distributor wire. I put on some leather gloves, got some insulated pliers, turned on the key and touched the wire from the coil to ground (the shift levers on the steering column).... nothing. No spark.
I called my friend Vaughn. Most likely the coil. Before removing it, I pulled out the distributor to coil wire, attached one end to the ignition wire, and touched the other end to ground. Nothing. Yes I touched the ignition wire on its own to ground again and it was hot. I connected a test wire to it and touched the other end of the test wire to ground, and it sparked.
So then I thought it might be the wire only. Shouldn't a spark plug wire conduct electricity? Shouldn't it spark like the test wire did under the same setup? Maybe not, because I had an old coil to distributor wire, tried that, and no spark there either. So I thought that one was bad.
I bought a new coil-to-distributor wire. I bought a new 6V coil. I connected everything and no spark to the plugs. No spark from the coil to ground.
So I am at my wit's end. So I hope you have some wit left to help me.
I will take some photos and attached them in a few minutes.
Attach file:
(36.78 KB)
(41.83 KB)
The day before yesterday I removed and replaced the overdrive solenoid. In the process I discovered a loose wire topside under the dash on the overdrive plunger switch. So I think that was the cause of my problems with the overdrive. However I'd already made a new gasket, put some silicone on the edges and reinstalled the overdrive. I test drove it. It worked great.
Yesterday, while it was hot and muggy, I used the overdrive into town, coasting down the hill into town much of the way. The ignition cut out, but as I was freewheeling through the tunnel, I was able to start it again. Then, when I arrived at the Hilton to pick up my daughter's friend, The Duchess just quit, no ignition while idling. After a couple of tries it started again, and we drove to the airport to pick up my daughter. No problems restarting there after parking and cooling down a bit.
Last night, after putting the car on jacks to check the overdrive, the car wouldn't start. No ignition. That little wiggle of the ammeter when you have spark was nonexistent. I checked the wires under the dash and they felt tight.
This morning I disconnected the ignition wire from the coil, turned the key, touched the wire to ground. Sparks and half. Turned off the key.
I reconnected the ignition wire to the coil and disconnected the coil- to- distributor wire. I put on some leather gloves, got some insulated pliers, turned on the key and touched the wire from the coil to ground (the shift levers on the steering column).... nothing. No spark.
I called my friend Vaughn. Most likely the coil. Before removing it, I pulled out the distributor to coil wire, attached one end to the ignition wire, and touched the other end to ground. Nothing. Yes I touched the ignition wire on its own to ground again and it was hot. I connected a test wire to it and touched the other end of the test wire to ground, and it sparked.
So then I thought it might be the wire only. Shouldn't a spark plug wire conduct electricity? Shouldn't it spark like the test wire did under the same setup? Maybe not, because I had an old coil to distributor wire, tried that, and no spark there either. So I thought that one was bad.
I bought a new coil-to-distributor wire. I bought a new 6V coil. I connected everything and no spark to the plugs. No spark from the coil to ground.
So I am at my wit's end. So I hope you have some wit left to help me.
I will take some photos and attached them in a few minutes.
Attach file:
(36.78 KB)
(41.83 KB)
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