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EFV-8 Club Forum / General Ford Discussion / Power Loss

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Discussion Topic: Power Loss

carcrazy

04-07-2026 @ 9:47 AM

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Ray,
The fuel level in your carburetor may be too low starving the engine of fuel at speeds above idle. There may be some blockages or air leaks within your carburetor preventing the main system from flowing the proper amount of fuel.

Dream38v8

04-07-2026 @ 5:09 AM

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Carcrazy, I'll be checking the vacuum lines later today. FYI when the car lost power the engine temp was under 160 and outside temp was in the mid 70s.

The amp gauge was neutral prior to losing power. When I turned on the headlights and fog lights the gauge did not discharge.

Ray

carcrazy

04-06-2026 @ 5:53 PM

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Your spark sounds great. Your coil is probably OK. Sometimes coils breakdown as they heat up. Is your spark still this good after the coil is hot and after the car has been drive several miles?

Dream38v8

04-06-2026 @ 5:27 PM

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Carcrazy, just saw your note regarding vacuum lines. As for the coil test checking spark plug spark. The spark is very strong and blue at the tips, but white in the middle. Should the entire spark be blue?

Thanks,
Ray

Ray

carcrazy

04-05-2026 @ 11:38 PM

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One of the vacuum lines on the engine intake manifold may have come off allowing a massive vacuum leak. Your vacuum windshield wiper motor may have developed a leak. Try running the engine with all of the vacuum tubes plugged with caps.

carcrazy

04-05-2026 @ 2:08 PM

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One quick and dirty way to check coil output, is to pull one of the spark plug wires from a plug and hold it next to a cylinder head nut or other non-painted part of the engine to check the spark. The spark should ideally be blue and able to jump a 1/4" gap.
Are you using the original equipment type of spark plug wires which feature solid metal wire cores? These are the best. If you have radio resistance or other carbon core wires, be aware that these are known to fail after many heat cycles or miles.

Dream38v8

04-05-2026 @ 12:31 PM

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Carcrazy and MG, thank you for all your suggestions.
1) Butter fly is wide open (carb new < 100 miles)
2) Ran the same with air cleaner completely off
3) removed gas cap
4) Checked flexible fuel line with engine running (no issue and a new fuel line installed < 100 miles)
5) Ran car with electric fuel pump operating during this check (new < 100 miles)
6) Exhaust equally strong from both pipes (running Fenton headers)
Since both exhausts are strong both carb barrels are working
7) Outside temp was approx 75 and engine temp <160deg

How do I test the coil output?

Did all the above with a battery charger conncecting.

Thanks again!

Ray

04-05-2026 @ 11:50 AM

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One barrel/one side of your carburetor clogged thus causing the engine to run on just 4 cylinders...

carcrazy

04-05-2026 @ 8:46 AM

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If your car loses power and won't drive over 20 MPH, there are a few things to check first.
Check to see if you engine is getting adequate fuel. Sometimes an engine will get enough fuel to idle but not enough to run at speed while pulling a load. Your fuel pump may be failing or your fuel line may be partially blocked or have some leaks.
Your exhaust system or muffler(s) may be partially plugged.
The vent to your gas tank may be plugged causing a vacuum in you fuel tank.
Your air cleaner may be plugged or the choke plate in your carburetor may be closed.
Your ignition coil may be failing.
Hopefully you will be able to find and correct the problem.
What was the outside temperature while you were experiencing this problem. Your car could be experiencing vapor lock.

Dream38v8

04-05-2026 @ 5:46 AM

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As in a previous thread my '38 was running great with all its new equipment. As I was returning from Cars and Coffee yesterday the car suddenly lost power. The car won't go above 20mph. I noticed the amp meter wasn't charging or discharging. Once home I connected the charger to the battery. It read 6.1V. Turning the fog lights on also didn't affect the amp meter reading. Is the issue the generator or cutout or both?

Thank you in advance. I had big dreams of finally being able to drive the '38 of Drive your V8 Day. I still hope I can.

Ray

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