Packard Forum Index » Post-War (1946-54)

I have replaced all of the parts in the distributor: cap rotor condenser points and even replaced the wires and coil. I have checked the timing which is six degrees BTDC. I am getting spark to the plugs and i am getting fuel i don't know why i cant get it to fire up. I just rebuilt the carb last week and have adjusted everything just like the kit says. It ran previously before i rebuilt the carb. any ideas would be helpful

Have you checked to make sure the timing is not 180 degree off?

Do you get any back fire at all?

If you work the throttle do you see fuel get sprayed down the carb throat? If not, then there is a problem with the carb/fuel delivery.

If you pour an ounce of fuel down the carb throat the engine should fire over and run for a moment or two if the ignition system is correct.

If that works, then you know you still have a carb problem.

I encountered this recently--the wires were one terminal off all the way around the cap. Do this:

remove #1 spark plug and pit your finger over the hole, bump the starter until air pressure blows your finger off the hole. align the timing mark on the vibration damper as close to 0 degrees as possible.

pull the cap and see which terminal the rotor is pointed at, my guess is that you will find it one off. The terminal it IS pointed at needs to be #1, then follow the firing order after that.

To get any internal combustion engine to start you need these things:

compression
fuel
spark
timing

good luck, John

I checked the timing and it is not 180 out cause that is what i thought. The rotor is on the number one spot when number one cylinder is 6 degrees BTDC. the car previously ran so the wires are in the correct spot on the cap. I double checked all the wire positions again. What are the two wires that go to the carburetor for? Nobody that i have talked to on the outside world has ever seen a carburetor with electrical wires on it. It has me puzzled. BigKev, you think that my carb is out of adjustment?

The two wires to your carburator are part of the starting circuit. If your car is original, you depress the gas pedal to the floor to initiate the starter motor. This was also a feature on the same period Buicks.

Have you kept the battery charged. If it has gotten run down with sitting or all the starting attempts, the load of the starter motor may be enough to drop the voltage going to the coil. Even if you appear to have spark, it generally takes a few more KV to jump a gap when in a compressed vs normal atmosphere, so if the coil voltage is low, possibly the spark is too weak to jump the gap.

Did you check the carb for fuel as suggested in my prior reply? If you have fuel in the carb, then you should it spray into down the carb throat when you work the throttle linkage. No fuel - No Go.

the battery could be the problem because it has set for a couple weeks and i have been trying to start it quite a bit. There is fuel going down the throat of the carb because you can look down the throat and watch fuel squirt into the intake. All good ideas will check the battery thing.

I'm sure you know all of the following. But just in case.
Check to see if you have spark at the plugs. Simply take the spark plug wire off and, with insulated pliers, hold it close to a good ground and crank the engine. Make sure it turns over a couple of times to assure it goes through the ignition stroke. I usually take the spark plug out and lay it on the head to remove another variable in the system.

Then if you get spark, it's at the right time, you're getting fuel, and you have compression, you should up and running in no time.

checked the battery with a voltmeter and it was down to about three amps recharged it and tried again to start it. Still won't fire. Rechecked the points. Still won't run.