Don Coatney Posted August 30, 2016 Report Posted August 30, 2016 Are any of your plug wires rubbing on the throttle linkage? Quote
1952B3b23 Posted August 30, 2016 Author Report Posted August 30, 2016 28 minutes ago, Don Coatney said: Are any of your plug wires rubbing on the throttle linkage? I don't think they rub but i'll have to double check. Its possible that i caused them to rub when i reached over to grab the throttle linkage. Quote
1952B3b23 Posted August 30, 2016 Author Report Posted August 30, 2016 I want to swap out the plug wires cause i have no idea how old they are. I spoke with the folks at Pertronix last night about the Ignitor module that i may buy in the future. One of the things they did say was to switch to either carbon core or suppression core wires. I'm just wondering if i switch now will that give me troubles with my regular points/condenser distributor set up. Any thoughts? Thanks, -Chris Quote
1952B3b23 Posted September 6, 2016 Author Report Posted September 6, 2016 Well i think i finally solved my hot starting problem. I tried a new distributor cap and rotor and that didn't do it. At that point i was getting so frustrated that i decided to remove the distributor so i could look at the points a lot more closely. I'm glad i did. When i was slumped over the fender of the car trying to look closely at them they looked to be in good shape. Once i looked at them on the bench it was easy to see little pits in the surface. I swapped them out and got the engine started back up. Then i put my timing light on it and got it timed. Went for a few spins around the block to get the engine up to operating temp (180*) came back and shut off the car. Immediately tried starting it back up and she fired!! Less than a few revolutions of the starter and it was running. So then i took it out for a little bit longer of a drive, came back and let it sit for 5-10 minutes, tried again and she started right up. I was pretty excited since i've been fighting this for awhile now. On Sunday i installed a 5/8" phenolic spacer under the carb to help with heat soak. I got the spacer from Tom Langdon. I figured it cant hurt to isolate the carb from all that manifold heat. -Chris 1 Quote
1952B3b23 Posted September 9, 2016 Author Report Posted September 9, 2016 My rebuilt vacuum advance came in today. I sent my old one out to a company in NJ called My Classic Car Trader, LLC. They happened to have a rebuilt unit on the shelf so they sent me that one and kept mine as a core. I'd recommend using them as the service was good and fast. They also rebuild carbs, fuel pumps, starters, etc., check out the web site: http://www.classiccadillacwaterpumpsforsale.com/ Hopefully i'll have some time on Sunday to install it. I've also attached a couple pictures of the business card they sent me. Sorry about the pictures, i dont know why they are rotated. -Chris Quote
1952B3b23 Posted September 14, 2016 Author Report Posted September 14, 2016 (edited) So I'm having engine troubles again, before the car wouldn't start when hot. Changed out my points and the issue was resolved. Now it just wont start at all! I'm getting very weak spark. When i pull the coil wire out of the distributor cap and hold it over the head, the end needs to be practically touching the head to get a spark. With the ignition key on and manually pulling the points apart i see a very tinny spark. I almost couldn't see it until i had my face right up against it. The last time i did this test when the car was running alright it was quite easy to see the spark jump the points gap. I have tried a different ignition coil that i know is good. The points and condenser are brand new, they have about 2 hours of total run time on them. When i go through the trouble shooting steps in the manual everything checks out. Except of course the weak spark at the points and coil wire. I'm wondering if i don't have a bad ground between the distributor and engine block. That might explain why i have very weak spark. The screw that sticks out the side of the distributor and gets connected to the coil via a wire, is that supposed to be electrically isolated from the distributor body? I'm thinking it is. Last night i connected my ohm meter to the screw and put the other lead on the body and i was reading zero resistance. I also remember that the last time i was adjusting the timing with the engine at idle i got a slight shock when rotating the distributor body. Any help is much appreciated, -Chris Edited September 14, 2016 by 1952B3b23 Quote
Jerry Roberts Posted September 14, 2016 Report Posted September 14, 2016 " The screw that sticks out the side of the distributor and gets connected to the coil via a wire, is that supposed to be electrically isolated from the distributor body? " YES . Quote
1952B3b23 Posted September 14, 2016 Author Report Posted September 14, 2016 50 minutes ago, Jerry Roberts said: " The screw that sticks out the side of the distributor and gets connected to the coil via a wire, is that supposed to be electrically isolated from the distributor body? " YES . That's what i thought, thanks for confirming. That could very well be my problem. I'll be pulling the distributor out and looking at this very closely. I found a good thread on the truck side which talks about this: Quote
Silverdome Posted September 15, 2016 Report Posted September 15, 2016 There is also a wire inside the cap that runs from that terminal to the points and condenser if the insulation is bad or missing and grounding against the distributor body that will give the same results. I just went through that last weekend. Quote
1952B3b23 Posted September 15, 2016 Author Report Posted September 15, 2016 Thanks for the posts Don and Silverdome. I was able to confirm last night that the screw is grounding out to the body. I will hopefully have some time to pull the distributor out this weekend and fix the problem. I'll be sure to take pictures and report back with what i find. -Chris Quote
1952B3b23 Posted September 16, 2016 Author Report Posted September 16, 2016 Whelp i kind of feel like a knucklehead.... it wasn't the screw grounding to the body after all. Something much more simple, somehow my points gap had opened up to .035" when they should be .020"! I know for certain i had them set at the right gap when i installed the new ones. I have no idea how they would of opened up on there own, the hold down screw was nice and tight. After pulling the distributor i checked out all the wires and made sure none where rubbing, reset the points gap, put the distributor back in and static timed it to 2 degree before TDC. In a couple hours i was cruising around the block again. Tonight i'll put the timing light on her to get it dialed in. I did learn a lot about how the whole ignition system functions so that's a plus. Thanks for all the comments and suggestions, -Chris Quote
Dave72dt Posted September 17, 2016 Report Posted September 17, 2016 Tightening the screw can be enough to throw the adjustment off. That little bit of twist at the end is what does it. Final check of the setting is needed after the screw is tightened down to verify it stayed put. 1 Quote
1952B3b23 Posted September 29, 2016 Author Report Posted September 29, 2016 I've been cruising for the past couple weeks basically without any issues. My temp. gauge did stop working the other day though. The original gauge hasn't worked in who knows how long and someone cut the end off it. So the aftermarket replacement the previous owner installed finally quit two weeks ago. I went to Pepboys and picked up a Bosch gauge. It was only $20, who knows how long this one will last. I can see the engine temp. again which makes me much happier cruising around. I am running into a funny issue. Ever since i've installed my rebuilt vacuum advance i seem to get a popping sound out of the exhaust at idle. Its not a random pop, it seems to happen pretty consistently. The car cruises fine, plenty of power, and starts right up (cold or hot). This wasn't an issue before with my non-functioning vacuum advance. I did notice that when i used the timing light on the car, vacuum advance disconnected and the line plugged, there is no pop at all. I have it timed at 2 degree before TDC. Any thoughts on what could be causing this? Thanks, -Chris Quote
Jim Wilson Posted October 4, 2016 Report Posted October 4, 2016 That popping sound could be consistent with a vacuum leak, which would indicate the diaphragm on the rebuilt vacuum advance has ruptured. Quote
Don Coatney Posted October 4, 2016 Report Posted October 4, 2016 On 9/28/2016 at 8:00 PM, 1952B3b23 said: I am running into a funny issue. Ever since i've installed my rebuilt vacuum advance i seem to get a popping sound out of the exhaust at idle. Its not a random pop, it seems to happen pretty consistently. The car cruises fine, plenty of power, and starts right up (cold or hot). This wasn't an issue before with my non-functioning vacuum advance. I did notice that when i used the timing light on the car, vacuum advance disconnected and the line plugged, there is no pop at all. I have it timed at 2 degree before TDC. Any thoughts on what could be causing this? Thanks,Chris Have you done the dollar bill test on the exhaust pipe? Quote
1952B3b23 Posted October 5, 2016 Author Report Posted October 5, 2016 18 hours ago, Jim Wilson said: That popping sound could be consistent with a vacuum leak, which would indicate the diaphragm on the rebuilt vacuum advance has ruptured. That would be rather unfortunate since i just paid to have it rebuilt. I will also need to make sure that all my fittings are tight, im 95% sure they are. 16 hours ago, Don Coatney said: Have you done the dollar bill test on the exhaust pipe? Nope, i've never heard of that. Can you please explain? Also, does it hurt the engine to disconnect the vacuum advance and run it like that? I know it's not fixing the problem but at least i could still drive around without having to hear the annoying pops at idle. The bottom line is that i still need to figure out whats going on. Thanks for the comments. -Chris Quote
Don Coatney Posted October 5, 2016 Report Posted October 5, 2016 Couple of links to explain the dollar bill test. http://p15-d24.com/topic/22381-dollar-bill-test/ https://video.search.yahoo.com/yhs/search?fr=yhs-iry-fullyhosted_003&hsimp=yhs-fullyhosted_003&hspart=iry&p=exhaust+pipe+dollar+bill+test#id=5&vid=2dd08773389202609501c70857b18771&action=view https://video.search.yahoo.com/yhs/search?fr=yhs-iry-fullyhosted_003&hsimp=yhs-fullyhosted_003&hspart=iry&p=exhaust+pipe+dollar+bill+test#id=2&vid=8d56345ca300e5216387e265d6b93af6&action=view Quote
1952B3b23 Posted October 6, 2016 Author Report Posted October 6, 2016 19 hours ago, Don Coatney said: Couple of links to explain the dollar bill test. http://p15-d24.com/topic/22381-dollar-bill-test/ https://video.search.yahoo.com/yhs/search?fr=yhs-iry-fullyhosted_003&hsimp=yhs-fullyhosted_003&hspart=iry&p=exhaust+pipe+dollar+bill+test#id=5&vid=2dd08773389202609501c70857b18771&action=view https://video.search.yahoo.com/yhs/search?fr=yhs-iry-fullyhosted_003&hsimp=yhs-fullyhosted_003&hspart=iry&p=exhaust+pipe+dollar+bill+test#id=2&vid=8d56345ca300e5216387e265d6b93af6&action=view Thanks i'll have to try that. Quote
1952B3b23 Posted October 7, 2016 Author Report Posted October 7, 2016 I tried the dollar bill test and it passed, so that's good. After that I disconnected the vacuum advance and plugged the port in the carb. Started the car up and listened for the exhaust pop, it did pop slightly but much less than when the advance is connected. I really had to listen closely to pick up on it. Seems like i have a vacuum leak, and it gets worse with the advance connected. -Chris Quote
casper50 Posted October 7, 2016 Report Posted October 7, 2016 who rebuilds or sells rebuild kits for these vacuum advances? Quote
Don Coatney Posted October 7, 2016 Report Posted October 7, 2016 To search for a vacuum leak use an unlit propane torch. With the engine running and the propane valve open pass the torch all over the intake manifold, base of the carburetor, and the vacuum advance. If the engine tone changes you have found the leak. I believe Terrell Machine in Texas rebuilds vacuum advance diaphragm's. There contact information can be found in the links section of this webpage. Quote
Merle Coggins Posted October 7, 2016 Report Posted October 7, 2016 Kanter has vacuum advance units available with a core charge for your old one. I got 2 recently for my truck and spare distributor. Quote
casper50 Posted October 7, 2016 Report Posted October 7, 2016 Kanter is almost twice the price of Bernbaum's. Quote
1952B3b23 Posted October 7, 2016 Author Report Posted October 7, 2016 2 hours ago, casper50 said: who rebuilds or sells rebuild kits for these vacuum advances? Scroll up to post 205 in this thread and you will find photos of the business card for the people i used. It cost $79 including the shipping charge. -Chris Quote
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.