Re: Electrical systems

Posted by HH56 On 2023/2/5 20:05:04

Parts shows the 1110841 distributor is correct for several 53 models. If there is a chance it is a former military vehicle it is possible that condenser might be something of military spec or possibly a previous owner needed a distributor and found a donor vehicle in a junkyard. Without seeing the breaker plate inside the dist can't say if a typical replacement condenser from Napa would work and mount in the same place but if it would mount a new condenser is inexpensive and worth changing anyway.

Make sure you do not have a shorted wire in the dist. If it is the type dist that has a fabric covered wire between the points and outside terminal, those wires are notorious for the fabric insulation rotting and a chunk falling off letting the wire short somewhere.

Before going much farther test for shorts. Put the meter on volts, one lead to ground, the other to the coil terminal coming from the ign sw. You should have around 6v with the ign sw on. Put the lead on the other terminal connecting to dist. If the points are open you should have the same 6+ volts and if the points are closed, close to zero volts. Crank the engine and the volts should swing from 6 to 0 as the points open and close. If nothing moves and volts stays high, either the points are not closing or there is an open wire. If it stays at 0 there is a shorted wire or condenser or the points are not opening.

If you have a voltage substantially less than 6v say around 5 or slightly over when cranking, there is a voltage drop that needs to be found and corrected or the spark will be very weak and may not be strong enough to jump the plug gap. Voltage drop is usually caused by dirty connections, too small of battery cables, a battery not large enough, improper timing, or a dragging starter that is pulling too much current.