fedoragent Posted October 1, 2010 Report Share Posted October 1, 2010 Hello Folks, My luck just ran out. My P15 stalled out in the middle of an intersection while on a drive with the wife. I'm literally on the side of the road waiting for the Auto Club. I try and start her and know the carb is getting fuel. She seems like she has no spark. Removed the wire from cylinder 1 and no spark. Putting that back, I removed the wire from the disti. There was spark. Coil was good. I'm thinking it is the disti. What do you folks think? FG. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Coatney Posted October 1, 2010 Report Share Posted October 1, 2010 Are you out of gas? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JerseyHarold Posted October 1, 2010 Report Share Posted October 1, 2010 Cap or rotor Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fedoragent Posted October 1, 2010 Author Report Share Posted October 1, 2010 Nope. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fedoragent Posted October 1, 2010 Author Report Share Posted October 1, 2010 Cap or rotor I'm thinking rotor..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reg Evans Posted October 1, 2010 Report Share Posted October 1, 2010 Flooded maybe. Or hot weak coil. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fedoragent Posted October 1, 2010 Author Report Share Posted October 1, 2010 Could be the doggie points....o Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fedoragent Posted October 1, 2010 Author Report Share Posted October 1, 2010 I let her sit for awhile. Still waiting for the Auto Club. I tried starting her up, she ran for awhile and then died....it didn't feel like lack of fuel. Now she wojt start again. I'm thinking now hot coil. She died just after 160 degrees. FG Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
busycoupe Posted October 1, 2010 Report Share Posted October 1, 2010 Are the points adjusted properly? Last summer my car did the same thing. It would start hard, run poorly then die. After going over all of the awful possibilities in my mind, I discovered that the points had closed up. A little adjustment and it has been good to go since. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JerseyHarold Posted October 1, 2010 Report Share Posted October 1, 2010 If you have a cool, damp rag handy try wrapping the coil with it to cool it down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Young Ed Posted October 1, 2010 Report Share Posted October 1, 2010 Isnt your car converted to 12v? If so perhaps your ballast resistor is on its way out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fedoragent Posted October 1, 2010 Author Report Share Posted October 1, 2010 Okay so we're home. 1. Never had the points adjusted. 2. Coil was hot. 3. She did start and then eventually died. 4. @Young Ed, I have no idea what a ballast resistor is. And yes, she is 12V. FG. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JIPJOBXX Posted October 1, 2010 Report Share Posted October 1, 2010 I would get a new coil and try it. Your problem sound just like the one I had last year. Coil cost only 19 dollars and its a cheap fix. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fedoragent Posted October 1, 2010 Author Report Share Posted October 1, 2010 Is the coil just a 12v that I can get at Napa or OReilly? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
55 Fargo Posted October 1, 2010 Report Share Posted October 1, 2010 Is the coil just a 12v that I can get at Napa or OReilly? Well,,,,yes if you have converted to 12 volt, and this will be easy to buy anywhere, and cheaper than a 6 volt coil too.......Fred Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ptwothree Posted October 1, 2010 Report Share Posted October 1, 2010 A ballast resistor acts like a voltage regulator for the points. Keeps 'em from burning up. If you don't have one, that might be what's causing all the grief.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobT-47P15 Posted October 2, 2010 Report Share Posted October 2, 2010 Out of gas is a valid question with these old cars. I've run out a few times over the years when I thought I had some. If the gauge is working, it may not be accurate. Of course, it wouldn't start again at the time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fedoragent Posted October 2, 2010 Author Report Share Posted October 2, 2010 Sorry to insult your intelligence. Others here have had the same problem and discovered they were out of gas. I should have known better than to ask YOU that question. Guess I have insulted your intilligence before when I told you about your speedometer color change and several other things. I was going to point you to some information about a ballast resistor and such but instead I will now add you to my ignore list. Good by. Don, I thoroughly apologize and take back my remarks. I had just come back from sitting on the side of the road, hot, sticky and frustrated and I took it out on you. I'm very sorry sir. I'm really a decent human being when I'm not frustrated. Please do accept my apology, it was wrong of me to say that. FG. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fedoragent Posted October 2, 2010 Author Report Share Posted October 2, 2010 Something occured to me after I had gotten past being an arsehole to Don. Again, many apologies. The car sat outside, and had been sitting since Monday when we had 113 degree heat. The car is stark flat black. Would the extreme heat have killed the coil? FG. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fedoragent Posted October 2, 2010 Author Report Share Posted October 2, 2010 Out of gas is a valid question with these old cars.I've run out a few times over the years when I thought I had some. If the gauge is working, it may not be accurate. Of course, it wouldn't start again at the time. True, and I apologize again profusely to all of you. I let my frustration get the better of me. FG. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JerseyHarold Posted October 2, 2010 Report Share Posted October 2, 2010 The car sat outside, and had been sitting since Monday when we had 113 degree heat. The car is stark flat black. Would the extreme heat have killed the coil?FG. I don't think the combination of outside temperature and flat-black paint was the culprit. Someone mentioned earlier that you have a 12-volt conversion without a ballast resistor. That is a more likely cause of overheating the coil. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Coatney Posted October 2, 2010 Report Share Posted October 2, 2010 Fedoragent; As I age, like you, I get blunt with responses to questions that may seem foolish but in reality they are not. Did you check to make sure you are not out of gas:D There are two kinds of 12 voil coils. But both of them are actually 6 volt coils. One is internally resisted and that means there is a built in resistor to reduce the voltage to somewhere around 6 volts. The other requires an external resistor to reduce the voltage to 6 volts such as is pictured below. What coil do you have on your engine? If you run a full (non resisted) 12 volts to your coil (and points) for an extended period of time two things will happen. First your ignition points will have a very short life and fail prematurely. Secondly your ignition coil will overheat and fail. On my 12 volt conversion I am using the coil pictured below. Along with this I am using a 4 pole starter solenoid from a furd. I am using the 4th pole on this solenoid (this 4th pole is hot with a full 12 volts everytime I push the starter button) to power up my coil and points during the time my starter button is pushed. This gives me a hotter spark to start the engine. This may or may not be the problem you had with your engine today. I think you know what to check to resolve this problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fedoragent Posted October 2, 2010 Author Report Share Posted October 2, 2010 Folks, After working outside under the stars with a lamp, the new coil is in. Originally it started up just fine, and then...it didn't. Accidentally, I touched my ratchet to this piece I have no idea what it does and it sparked. Now the car cranks but doesn't start. The lights go on so I know that something is alright. I will check on whether this was a resistor coil or not. Frankly I don't know. And, I've gone and checked if there was fuel in the tank. I do believe that there is, as I can smell gas down the tube. However, for good measure, in the morning I will go ahead and put more gas in the car just in case. But what kills me is that it started with the new coil...but didn't die. I shut it off and then had that little faux pas. I'm going to go and take pictures, and put gas in the car. It's getting late so I think I'll continue troubleshooting in the morning. Oh...and for a good laugh...as I'm a short guy...I kinda almost fell into the engine compartment after I lost my footing on my step stool. I thought that might entertain. Cheers, Jon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fedoragent Posted October 2, 2010 Author Report Share Posted October 2, 2010 Below is a picture of my old coil. In looking at it now that it is out of it's spot in this picture it says "No External Resistor Required". Also in the picture below is a silver box with all of the wires going to it. Is that my Voltage Regulator? If so, that is the piece that sparked when I accidentally nudged it with my ratchet. The new coil does not say anything like the old one did... Any thoughts gents? Jon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobT-47P15 Posted October 2, 2010 Report Share Posted October 2, 2010 (edited) That silver top item is the starter solenoid. In the diagram you can see where it fits in the scheme of things. They call it a "switch assembly" Cable comes from starter to one post. Voltage regulator is the black box next to it. Edited October 2, 2010 by BobT-47P15 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.