Ok, this is probably a simple one that i've just forgotten since it's been so long since I worked on one of these old trucks. So i'll tell you what I know and we'll see if you can figure out the problem.

First off, my 6v battery is dead so for testing it's hooked to a modern car for power.
When I hook it up, I touch the starter solenoid wire to the coil wire (Red w/blue tracer to Red w/grey tracer) and it cranks right over. The only problem is that there is no power to the spark plugs. While I don't see any power coming from the generator, the coil has power and the little wire that runs from the coil to the distributor has power.

Is the distributor bad? Maybe the cap? Something else altogether?

The wiring on this truck has been butchered, so my colors might not be correct, we might be better off to refer to what wires come from where vs. what color they are, also, if I didn't mention any wire it probably isn't hooked up to anything, so if one should be, let me know.

 

Julie's cool F1's gallery and photo albums have several pics and diagrams for wiring. Maybe look through those and compare to yours.

 

I just tried Julie's advice from a similar thread, I tried cranking it with the cap off and I could see spark down in there, she said that meant it was the cap and/or rotor in that thread, i'm assuming that applies to me as well? The contacts in the cap look pretty worn to me.

 

Cap and rotor are common problems for lack of spark--points too. Don't know much about those 6v setups, I'd be a little worried about running 12v through a 6v coil, but I guess once you get it running it'd be back to 6v off the genie right? Something to consider anyway.

 

Yeah makes sense that if you have spark at the points then you should have it at the plugs unless you have no contact between the rotor and distributor cap - either in the center at the rotor tongue or at the rotary points. Caps and rotors are cheap! Put in a new condenser too spark may be weak.

Stupid question. I'm assuming that since your starter is turning, you have a good ground to your engine right?

Timing ok or close?

Check the Plug (type) wire going from the center of the coil to the center of the distributor as well

 

That was my thought, I assumed you couldn't jump it with a 12v car, but I read about several people doing it here on this forum so I thought if I pull it once it's started it'd probably be ok. Besides, none of the gauges or anything are hooked up so i'm not risking those. I just wonder about the 6v generator fighting the 12v current for the split second before I yank the jumper cables, I would assume the 12v current would win that war...

Ok, I was hoping you would say that because you're right, they are cheap, i'll snag a condenser at the same time and probably a new set of points (couldn't hurt to have around eh?)

Yes, the ground was the first thing I did under the hood, I took it off and wire brushed/emery clothed both ends and all bolts/nuts/washers involved. I hate working on wiring for hours only to find out that the problem was the ground (as the ground is the problem 90% of the time in my experience).

No idea about the timing, but I did just replace the wire that goes from the coil to the distributor (that doesn't mean anything though, I guess)

Thanks so much!

 

There's two wires that go from the coil to the distributor - the smaller (14awg) one that connects to the positive post of the coil (6V positive ground) and the one that is made of spark plug wire coming out of the center of the coil to the top center of the distributor. If you take that wire off the distributor and hold it about 1/4 inch from the engine block, then open and close the points it should spark from the wire to the engine. If it does, either your rotor or cap are shot. If it doesn't you have wiring problems somewhere. Don't do this with bare hands, but rather hold them with insulated tools or you will say many bad words - many!

Your 12 volt battery won't hurt your coil unless you run it a long time, it tends to burn the points though. If you jump it with a 12 volt battery it should be ok but it will only run after you disconnect it if the generator is putting out.

 

ever think you might have a fuel problem?

 

Original post


Silly Boy!

 

Dont forget that new points sometimes do not make contact. Clean those old ones up before getting new. Just file between them.

 

HaHa

Ok, good to know, I really know nothing about points, I need to do a little research.

 

Hmmn, I did some research and learned a little about points. So is adjusting the points the only way you adjust the timing on these trucks?

Learning about the 50's technology in this truck has been a lot of fun, 6v, positive ground, points ignition, wooden bed etc. But by far my favorite piece of technology is the "vent" setting that you get when you open the vent above the hood and air rushes in the cab when you go down the road, how can you argue with that? It's just awesome R&D!

 

What's really awesome is when you've got that vent (called the cowl vent) closed as tight as you can pull it and you're stuck in a rain storm with a waterfall running into your shoe. Somehow they managed to put the cowl vent handle right above the gas pedal. Just awesome R&D!

Don't get me wrong though, I love the fresh air on a hot day (got no A/C)...it cools your feet off real well...so I'm still a fan overall, just wish the dang thing would seal up or at least not drip into my shoe!

So far as points go, points trigger the spark, so to speak, they do not affect timing per se. Your points are activated by the distributor cam. They cause the coil to ground/unground to trigger the spark to your plugs. The rotor transfers the spark to the plug wire (assuming the distributor is installed properly). Timing basically (perhaps too basically) is when you rotate the distributor to change when the rotor comes into contact with the spark plug wire leads on the cap. You want that rotor to hit that lead in the cap at or just before your piston hits TOP DEAD CENTER (TDC). The degree to which this is adjusted is your timing (timing when the rotor meets the spark plug wire lead in the cap). Your points simply provide the signal to the coil (this is another issue of timing, but it's non-adjustable as you can't adjust the cam on the distributor--at least without having the requisite knowledge of a distributor shop). Burnt points don't make good signal to the coil. Points that aren't gapped properly cause the same problem. Weak condensers essentially help the points with their signal, so if the condenser's bad you'll have poor quality signal to the coil, and therefore poor spark.

That's perhaps overly simplified, but hopefully it clears some of the air on the points/gap/timing issue.

My advice...go Pertronix. It replaces your points with an electrical/micro processor controlled spark system that requires no adjusting, no condenser, and no points/point gapping, etc. Takes a lot of headache and maintenance out of the equation. (someone will argue to the contrary...but that's part of getting opinions from all sides).


James

 

James, thanks for the advice, i'll seriously look into Pertronix, i'm hoping to make this truck as reliable as possible and that could be a big step in the right direction.

I see you're a pastor over in Brookings. I live in Gillette, WY, but I pastor a small wesleyan church in ranching country up in a little town called Biddle, MT.

 

Ok, new parts tomorrow, cap, rotor, condenser and coil. I just want to make sure i've got my ducks in a row for tomorrow. As I mentioned the wiring is a complete mess. What wiring is involved in just the starting and running of the truck? I assume the starter solenoid, coil, starter, generator all need to be hooked up correctly.

I installed the new voltage regulator that was bought by the PO, but it said it needed to be polarized by touching one of the wires to the battery terminal. However, it didn't say which post to touch it to and since my 6v batt is shot i'm not sure it would work to try it. Does the voltage regulator have to be involved in the starting/running process? Is it just for the gauges? Sorry to sound like a noob, but with the wires going all over the place (and half of them are in a box outside the truck) it's a mess.