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Hi all,
My 41 110 for some reason will not start. Turns over fine but no spark. New condenser , points good all connections good. Messed all day Saturday no start. Sunday morning finally started. Ran for 10 minutes fine. Purred like a kitten. Backed out of garage and died. Again no spark. Pushed back into garage and there she sets. Suggestions? Thanks in advance. Cronjie

I would verify you have a solid 6 volts to the coil coming from the ignition switch.. The switch and the wire feeding the coil as it passes thru the armored cable are both known to act up. The coils can also open and become intermittent when they start to get hot and condensers can short when hot -- even brand new condensers..

When it fails, measure the voltage at the coil. It would be better to remove the cable end cap to reach and check the terminal directly for voltage and a good connection. If that is a project you can get a fairly good idea at the distributor side terminal. When the points are open you will see the 6v at that terminal and when the points are closed it will read near 0. You may have to "bump" the engine to get the points open for a proper measurement.

If you measure the terminal under the end cap and it is good while the voltage at dist end is always near 0, suspect the condenser or if your distributor has one of the short flexible wires connecting the points to an outside terminal, check the wire. The old fabric insulation on those wires is known to fail and fall off and let the wire short.

Here is another bit of info that might help ( or could be another problem) When I turn over the engine the under dash lights near the doors flash bright and dim. When I stop cranking they go back to normal brightness.

Could be several reasons for courtesy lights to dim. They are fed directly from the battery via the main feed and do go thru the ammeter. I would expect the ammeter needle to reflect the bright and dim lights by dipping farther into the discharge side when lights go dim. Is that happening? If it deflects is it a tiny amount or a large jump?

If the wire inside the armored cable is having problems and vibration is causing it to ground against the sheath, that could cause the dimming as well as the no start. If one of the battery connections is loose or a cable damaged, vibration could again cause problems. The battery itself could be low or going bad and is not able to maintain current or voltage when the starter is cranking. Also, the starter could be having problems. If a winding on the armature was shorted that would draw a lot of current and could cause the dimming. I would think that would be a fairly rapid flicker and you would hear the starter making a different sound if that is happening. The engine could also be causing an on/off strain and the starter motor to draw varying current such as if there was a cylinder or two with no compression..

Anything that causes the voltage at the coil to drop much below 5v when the starter is operating will result in a very weak spark and a hard to start engine. I would measure the voltage at the coil while cranking and see what is happening. If you have an analog type meter that would be best because the faster response should pick up fluctuations better. Depending on how fast it updates, a digital may work satisfactorily. Some of the inexpensive digital meters do not update the readout quickly so the numbers are constantly behind what is happening and on something that is fluctuating never reach true value.

Thanks a lot for all the good info. I will check everything you mentioned and see what I can find out. C.

I think I might have found the issue. The points have a thin copper band that attaches onto the connection with the condenser. The terminal was I think loose enough to allow that band to come free and just be out in the open. I clamped the copper band down to stay put while I tightened up the connection. Car started right up on first try. Shut it off several more times and started right up. Let it warm up good and shut it off. I don't know if the copper end is supposed to have a hole or cut out for the post or not. It was just a flat end. Maybe should get a new set of points? Sure was good to hear it start right up!

The copper tab and the steel spring should have a hole or a notch to attach them to the binding post. We have seen a few sets without the hole/notch and we throw them away.

PM me your address and we'll send you a set of points.

I have sent a modern design set of points that has a single stainless steel tab which is both the conductor and spring. It is made with a notch for easy installation

Happy Motoring

May all your meals be square and all your wheels be round

Thank you!! And thanks to all who provided me with all the great info!