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EFV-8 Club Forum / General Ford Discussion / Not starting?

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Discussion Topic: Not starting?

52flatv8

10-19-2025 @ 5:02 AM

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Hard to find, but in the distributer, there is a wire under the plate that the points & condenser fasten to. The insulation can wear off and go to ground. Been there, done that. Good luck.

carcrazy

10-18-2025 @ 9:41 AM

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If you have spark when you check at the ignition wires, you use either and the car still won't start, the spark plugs are fouled. This happened to me when I was at a national meet. I replaced all of the spark plugs which had 9,500 miles on them and the car stared right up and ran fine.

Drbrown

10-18-2025 @ 7:59 AM

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Condensers are often a problem. They age and off-the-counter new can be defective.

jyakel

10-06-2025 @ 12:04 PM

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51504bat and Tom O,
Thanks for your prompt reply and directions was to where to start looking for the trouble here. I will let you know what I find.
John

TomO

10-06-2025 @ 9:20 AM

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To trouble shoot: pull the coil wire from the distributor and hold it close to a ground while the engine is cranked with ignition on. You should have a good blue spark.

If you don't have a spark, check the voltage on the ignition switch side of the coil. You should have 6Volts there. If not, the ignition switch is bad or a wire is disconnected. If you have 6V there, the coil is bad.

If you have a weak orange colored spark, the coil or condenser is bad.

This should get you started, good luck.

Tom

51504bat

10-06-2025 @ 6:56 AM

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Short answer yes. I was on the way to a swap meet a couple of years ago and the 8ba in my '39 p/u started to run like cr*p and it died as I pulled into the meet. Turns out it was a newly installed condenser. Found a NOS set at the meet. Installed them and it's been running fine ever since. Of course there could be other causes.

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jyakel

10-06-2025 @ 4:32 AM

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Gentlemen,
Last week I drove my 1950 Ford Fordor Custom to church and back just fine. No problems. Yesterday (Sunday) was to be the same routine, a drive to church and back home, a trip of 24 miles round trip. However, my Ford would not start. It would turn over but no start. A shot of ether made no difference, it just cranked and cranked with no start.

So, where do I start to trouble shoot this? Yes, the gas tank is 3/4 full. My Ford has the flathead V8 6 volt system. Good cables, good battery, no corrosion on terminals. Can a coil just die without any warning? I would think that is unlikely. Points, condenser, can they die without warning?

Your good advice will be greatly appreciated.
John

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