Battery Cable and Carb/Choke Questions

[JerseyHarold]

My son and I have been working on my '52 Cambridge and have gotten it to run after sitting for several years.  I'm having a couple of issues that I'd appreciate some input on.

 

The car is cranking slowly which may be due to the 6 year-old battery I'm using (I keep my 10-amp charger hooked-up for a little extra oomph).   When I worked on the car in the 1990's, I replaced  the battery and starter cables with 1-gauge cable that the auto parts guy assured me were fine for 6 volt use.  In doing a lot of cranking over the past few days, I found the cables getting warm and the starter-side relay terminal nearly burnt me when I touched it.   I know that '0' gauge or '00' gauge are recommended, and I'm wondering if they'll be a big improvement over the '1' gauge in there now.

 

The other issue I have is that the engine fails to stay running once it starts.   The carburetor was rebuilt by a reputable local guy about 20 years ago (since retired). If I squirt some gas into the carb, the engine cranks very slowly (slower than the other flathead sixes I've owned) a few times, and then runs for about 15 seconds.  I disconnected the fuel line to the carb, and get gas when cranking.  The inside of the carb does not get wet with gas like I think it should.  While I had the fuel line off, I sprayed Gumout into the carb and cleaned the needle valve and seat.  The engine then started and ran marginally longer than if I put gas down the throat, but that may have been due to the Gumout in the bowl.   The other thing I noticed is that the choke doesn't do much of anything.  The butterfly is about 3/4 closed and I get no resistance when I move the choke linkage.  On the occasion when the engine ran longer, I manually held the choke more closed than it was, but the engine still died.

 

I'm working on a budget and want to take the most logical (and hopefully least expensive) route to getting the engine to stay running.  Any ideas appreciated.

[Young Ed]

1 gauge is OEM spec. 0 or 00 is an improvement over stock as mentioned but I'm running 1 gauge on both mine and don't have an issue. I suspect they got hot from the extended cranking and or dirty connections. Check each end for cleanliness. The cables could also be getting old and corroding internally. I think its time to pop the top off that carb and have a look. If you are careful you can usually do it without ruining the bowl gasket

[Dodgeb4ya]

  "In doing a lot of cranking over the past few days, I found the cables getting warm and the starter-side relay terminal nearly burnt me when I touched it."

 

You better check the cable end terminals for corrosion and tightness.

Heat at a battery cable is very bad! Can cause slow cranking because of voltage drop.

[JerseyHarold]

I'll check the connections for tightness and brightness.  The cables look new even though they're 20 years old.  The car has been in my garage and I've only started and run it briefly a few times.   Both our kids are moving away so it's time to get back under the hood and get the car drivable.

[soth122003]

As far as your carb goes, pull it and clean it. You can usually do this and not need to replace the gasket right away if your careful. If not the a rebuild kit is only about $25 bucks. Then I would check the fuel pump. If it aint pumping you aint runing that car. What you can do in the meantime is make an IV bottle and connect it to the carb. This way you can run the engine for testing and see if the fuel pump will pump. If the fuel pump is not working, Pull the fuel line to the pump and pull the line at the tank then blow a bit of compressed air to the tank side to clear out any gunk in the lines. You might also want to shoot a little air into the line at the tank to make sure it is clear. Make sure the fuel cap is off before you do this.

 

Joe

[JerseyHarold]

Joe,

 

Thanks for the ideas.  I replaced the entire length of fuel line back in the 1990's when I did a lot of mechanical work to this car, so it should still be OK.  The gas tank was done by Gas Tank Renu and it has a lifetime warranty.  We tried pulling the gas line and there was gas at the carb.  We also cranked the engine and  gas pumped out (I replaced the fuel pump back then as well).

 

Can the top of the carb be removed while still on the intake manifold or do I have to remove it and work on a bench?

[Young Ed]

 

Can the top of the carb be removed while still on the intake manifold or do I have to remove it and work on a bench?

Yes you can do it on the car.

[_shel_ny]

In addition to other possible problems, the leather is very likely dried on the accelerator pump. Even if you get fuel into the float bowl you will probably not get any to squirt out when you work the linkage. Remove.  Soak in oil for a few hours. work the leather out for a snug fit in the bore.

[soth122003]

Good catch Shel,

 

I should have thought of that.

 

Hey Jersey,

 

Look down the carb throat and pump the gas. Does it spray into the throat? If not it's like Shel said, the accelerator pump skirt is dried out. Also when you take the top of the carb off, Spray carb cleaner on all the passages and internal linkage.  A one barrel carb is a simple animal and very easy to work on. Just don't loose the check balls. There are two. A small one under the accelerator pump held in place with a clip and a larger one under a brass cap next to the acc pump.

 

Joe

[JerseyHarold]

Joe,

 

The gas doesn't squirt into the carb when I pump the accelerator.  I'll take off the top of the carb and see what's in there.  Company's coming today so it won't be for a day or two.  Thanks again.

 

Harold

[Don Coatney]

This might or might not help.

 

[soth122003]

Hey Harold,

 

When you pull the carb top, Spray everything in there with carb cleaner and let it set while your soaking the acc pump skirt. After about 1/2 to 1 hour, start working the linkage and using compressed air to blow out the ports and any holes you see. Keep it low pressure though about 40-60 pounds. And wear eye protection when doing this. Ask me how I know?

 

Also about the cranking slowly, Mine was doing the same thing. I felt the neg cables and while they were a little warm they were not hot. I thought it might be the starter relay, then i felt the pos groung cable. Yeouch!! it was hot. I took it off and wire brushed it and wire brush the contact point and now the starter turns like a scalded turtle. Not as fast as a 12 volt system but a hell of a lot faster than before. Like 10-15 times faster than before.

 

Joe

[JerseyHarold]

Don and Joe,

 

Thanks for the info.  I look forward to getting the engine to stay running.