Early Ford V-8 Club Forum

FORUM RULES: Users agree to these Rules when using Forum.

The site administrator reserves the right to change the terms and conditions of the user agreement without prior notice to the user. It is the responsibility of the user to regularly review the terms of this agreement.

The user agrees to the following terms:

All information that you provide to us for your membership is correct.
You will not use your membership to spam, harrass, or exploit other members in any way.
Vulgar, Abusive, Racist and Sexist Language will not be tolerated.
Commercial-type sales postings will not be allowed.
No mass posting or flooding of the boards is allowed.
No Advertising of parts or cars; no Ebay or business/commercial ads (please use the "Classified" for ads Wanted or For Sale).
VIEWING MULTIPLE TOPICS ON SCREEN: You can choose to see more than 10 Topics at a time ... Log In and choose "Preferences" from the top bar on the Forum page. Scroll down and Change the "Default Topics Returned" parameter to 25 or 50, and save the changes. Since this setting is stored in your browser 'cookies' (if enabled), it seems to use that stored value even if you are not logged in. So, if you use a PC that you haven't logged into the forum from, the setting still seem to remain at the default.
EXTERNAL PHOTO LINKS ON FORUM: You can still use external photo links in your posts on the new forum. They follow the rules of any link in that they have to have the URL link qualified down to the full image file name (example: .jpg). The links will open in a new browser window, the same as an uploaded image attached to a post. Since an image attachment to any post does not display inline with the post, the results are the same. You can use multiple external links within a post. This link is from photos on a site from Don Clink's 'Deuce@75' albums:

http://donclink.com/deuce_75_1/images/dscn2950.jpg

Using links from photo sites such as Photobucket can help in "size" issue with uploaded attachment files. For best viewing in web browsers, photos should be around the 800x600 pixel range, and probably not more than 1024x768. Most cameras today store HUGE jpg image files, as the default settings are in the 7, 8, 10, and 12Mb image sizes. The image files that are then attached are very large, and the browser can't display the full image size without using the scroll bars. Use the re-sizing functions of your photo editing software to reduce the image to 800x600, which reduces the file sixe and the image load time in the browser. Don uses Google's free Picassa3 software, which is an excellent photo management product. All of the photo albums of the Deuce, Grand National, and Auburn that are links on the NORG site were built using Picassa's web creation functions. And it's free? (THANKS to Don Clink for the info!)
HOW DO I SHOW MY EMAIL ADDRESS ALONG WITH MY USERNAME? You can LogIn on the Forum, and select PREFERENCES. On this page Members can add optional information such as their City,State, Country; Occupation; Hobbies: list a Homepage; list AOL Instant Messanger Handle; Signature; "Make Email Address viewable to others;" and even change the number of Default Topics shown on a page. WHEN others click on your profile, they will see this information.

EFV-8 Club Forum / 1940 Ford Discussion / Ignition help, please...

Reply to Discussion | New Discussion

<< previous || next >>

Posted By

Discussion Topic: Ignition help, please...

682bear

02-27-2024 @ 12:48 PM

reply profile send p.m.

Member
Posts: 20
Joined: May 2023

This is an addition to my other thread 'Engine Running Rich'.

I ended that thread by saying that I had sent my carburetor to Charlie for a rebuild. I got it back a couple of weeks ago, and finally found time to reinstall it today.

The car runs much better... but still not good...

I started pulling the spark plugs and testing the compression on all cylinders.... the compression is the same between all cylinders... no dead cylinders.

However, I did discover that the back plug on the drivers side doesn't look like it has ever fired...

A quick check proves it... it isn't firing at all...

The distributor is a rebuilt diving helmet from Third Gen Automotive with less than three hours run time. The condenser was replaced at the same time.

I'm guessing that I have a plug wire issue...

Any information or advice on checking the wires would be appreciated... the issue would almost have to be where the wire connects to the distributor cap...?

How would I go about testing that?

How difficult is it to replace the wires?

Thanks...! -Dave

682bear

02-27-2024 @ 12:49 PM

reply profile send p.m.

Member
Posts: 20
Joined: May 2023

Sorry, I should have mentioned it is a 1940 Fordor with a 59A engine...

-Dave

carcrazy

02-27-2024 @ 4:09 PM

reply profile send p.m.

Senior
Posts: 1587
Joined: Oct 2009

Inserting the #8 spark plug wire back into the distributor requires that you first remove the left hand (driver's side) distributor cap assembly from the distributor. Next remove the O-Ring that retains the outer cap to the inner cap so you can separate the two caps. The inner cap has four female terminals inside it. You want to insert the longest wire on the left side of the engine (black with yellow tracer) into the terminal hole marked with numbers 8 and 2. Make sure the wire is fully engaged into that terminal before joining the two caps back together and reinstalling the O-Ring. Note that there is a gasket that fits between the two caps. Place the cap assembly back on the distributor and retain it with the retainer bail (wire).

kubes40

02-27-2024 @ 4:33 PM

reply profile send p.m.

Senior
Posts: 3370
Joined: Oct 2009

I might suggest you remove the tube and wires with the caps intact. Test for continuity between the terminal and the end of the wire.
If the continuity is not good, then go ahead and tear that assembly apart and make darn certain each and every wire is firmly seated in the terminal plate.
Carcrazy has offered good advice and from what you are sharing, the wire or the seating of the wire or the terminal plate are at fault.

Mike "Kube" Kubarth

682bear

02-28-2024 @ 11:04 AM

reply profile send p.m.

Member
Posts: 20
Joined: May 2023

Ok, I removed the driver side assembly intact per Kube and laid it out on the bench...

I've shined the contacts on the inner cap up and cleaned the oxidation out of the spark plug clips on the wires.

Using a digital multimeter, I'm getting 1.4 ohms on wire #8, 0.3 ohms on wire #7, 0.4 ohms on #6, and #5 is showing no continuity.

On further inspection, I've realized that someone has replaced the connector on #5 (picture below)... the wire is protruding from the insulation inside the connector, but is not long enough to touch the connector. I'm assuming that, when installed onto the spark plug, the copper wire was held against the end of the plug.

I carefully seperated the two halves of the cap... all four wires are still in position and are held tightly... I didn't try to remove them, I just pulled on each one enough to determine that it wasn't loose.

I've read that these wires are supposed to be color coded with a tracer... as mentioned by Carcrazy... but these wires are all solid black and the plastic (or rubber) insulation on them has hardened enough to make them difficult to deal with.

I think it's probably time to look at new wires... I would guess that they need to be a small diameter in order to work them through the steel tube they are routed in... 7mm maybe? Where is the best place to buy these to be sure of getting the correct diameter?

Thanks- Dave

carcrazy

02-28-2024 @ 2:54 PM

reply profile send p.m.

Senior
Posts: 1587
Joined: Oct 2009

Many of the vendors report these wires as being "out of stock. One source that currently has them in stock is Dennis Carpenter. You can access his website under the Vendors section of this website. The part number for this wire set is 78-12259.

<< previous || next >>

NOTE: YOU MUST BE A REGISTERED USER AND BE LOGGED IN TO POST (and reply to) messages in this forum. If you are a first time user, please click the CREATE A NEW ACCOUNT in the masthead above to register and Log In. After that, all you do is LOG IN to enjoy using this site.

DISCLAIMER: The V-8 Club does no independent testing of any of the opinions, thoughts or suggestions presented in the website on the Forum, in the Tech Tips section, or any section. A reader should consider the website to be a forum wherein differing solutions to a particular set of circumstances may be discussed. Ultimately, the selection of an item for an individual's vehicle must be based upon the independent study of the vehicle owner in consultation with people in the hobby and restoration experts.

Early Ford V-8 Club Forum

Merchandise Questions

Membership Questions