Need advice

[Rosco]

So, I’m driving along, everything is fine when all of a sudden, “Winnie” (which is the nickname I’ve given my ‘50 Plymouth) stutters, coughs and stalls right in the middle of the street, and she won’t start - getting fuel to the carb, engine turns over but will not start.  Since the car had a tuneup (plugs, points, condenser, cap etc.) about 5000 miles ago, my immediate thought was that the 70 year old original coil had given out, so I replaced it with a new one,  it still won’t start.  I pulled the distributor cap and the points do look worn, so my next step is to replace the points and condenser.  Hopefully, that will be the cure.  If that doesn’t work, does anybody have any other suggestions?

[Adam H P15 D30]

I would disconnect the condenser and see if it will run.  While you're in there check the wire from your points where it runs through the distributor body

Edited September 29, 2020 by Adam H P15 D30

[nc plumber]

Do you own a volt meter ? Even an inexpensive one is very helpful.  Check continuity thru the points, voltage to the coil. A few minutes of trouble shooting will isolate the problem.

[Booger]

acts like condensor

[Loren]

The quick way to see if the ignition is working is to connect a test light on the ground side of the coil and the other end to the ground.

Turn the starter and the light will flash on and off. You can even use the test light to make an initial setting of the timing.

 

The absence of the ground wire between the two plates of the breaker plate usually makes itself known by a miss when the vacuum advance pulls on the movable plate. But any poor ground at the breaker plate can cause the ignition to fail.

 

Ignition in point type engines is the usual culprit. A change in the weather would bring lots of cars in on the hook to repair shops.

Ignition Coils are remarkably reliable. The bakelite ends can develop carbon tracks and of course cracks or chips will cause the spark to go to ground. One coil I replaced had exploded with a bang.

It must be remembered that we are dealing with old cars here. The formulation of gasoline has changed over the years and when a car has sat for years it dries out and becomes like varnish. That varnish can flake off and plug up the jets (usually just the main jet, thankfully). 

[Sniper]

Did you check for spark before you started replacing things?

 

 

[greg g]

Check all the wiring on the battery side of the starter solenoid, clean and tighten all the wires on that terminal, they feed all electrical circuits on the car.  Then do a static timing procedure and see if you have spark when you open thepoints manually with ignition on.  If you have spark there then check for spark at the plugs.  If that's ok the check fuel flow.

[Rosco]

Sorry to keep everyone in suspense ? for so long, but after a long month of waiting, I finally got the car into the shop where my old car guru Gary, was able to get “Winnie” up and running again.  Turns out it was my second guess - points were worn out and while he had the distributor on the bench, he replaced the condenser as well, put everything back together, set the timing, changed the oil, greased her up just in time to put her away for the winter.  (But not before I put some fuel stabilizer in the tank and go for a nice long drive).  Thanks for everyone’s input - hope it helps someone else in future.