It's a MIRACLE!

 

Number dummy,

I'm using the numbers from the shop manual. The braided line that grounds the breaker plate (about 3") is 12264 (good), the fabric coated line that runs to the points is 12216 about 6"). That was frayed under the breaker plate where it was not visible. The post that goes from inside the distributor to the outside connection to the wire from the DIST side of the coil is 350032 - S. There is a second cloth covered wire that runs from the outside of the distributor that connects the post to the coil. The original setup (and I just removed and replaced the 60 year old wires) from the coil to the points has...2 individual wires, four connectors, eight washers, one post, and four nuts. The pictured replacement looks faster, simpler, and probably more reliable.

Long story short, I now have no shorts or fluctuating resistance in the distributor, everything on the primary side is good (points, 6V source, no condenser short, etc). With the ignition on and points open 0.0 volts across the terminals on the coil. With the points closed, only .2 volts.

I still have no spark coming from the coil - I'm back probably back to what I originally thought, a bad coil. It was original and lasted 60 years. The funny thing is that resistance on both the low and high sides was only about 10-20% off according to the specs in the shop manual.

Must be the new coil that I put in was bad as well. The resistance in the replacement is much higher than the original on both circuits. I swapped out the ignition wire from the coil to the distributor, cleaned and reinstalled the old points, tried a third condenser. There is nothing left but the coil as far as I can tell.

 

For all you 'concours' nuts, no Ford Dealer/obsolete parts vendor has 7RA12216 .. Distributor Primary Lead, not surprising since it was replaced in 1956 (before Julie was born ) by...

B6A12216A .. Distributor Primary Lead = ANTIQUE AUTO SUPPLY in Arlington TX has 21 = 817-275-2381.

But, does B6A12216A look exactly the same as 7RA12216?

btw Julie, I still have your F1 flower pot (it's blue, about 1/20" scale, has a Ford script tailgate)...so anytime you wanna waltz on by...

 

Yes, long long long before (keep saying it) since I'm only "29!" LOL!

 

You should be measuring from the (-) post on the coil to ground, with the ignition on, and should be seeing 6v +/-. Measuring between the two posts really isn't useful. If you also measure from the (+) post on the coil, with the ignition on, to ground, you should see near zero volts if the points are closed, and nearly the same as the other post (6v) if they are open.

A really good test is to pull the secondary (hi-tension) wire from the coil out of the dizzy cap, and lay it near a ground. With the igniition on, and the points closed, take your fingernail and flick the points open -- you should see a good hot spark out of the hi-tension wire. If you don't, disconnect the condenser and try it again. A bad 6v condenser is common as dirt. Thee are various electronic capacitors that are heavy duty and can be substituted, but have to be mounted outside the dizzy (due to size).

 

6.2 volts in both cases at the terminals to ground. Points closed, no spark from the high tension lead when flicking the points. Disconnecting the condenser had no effect, still no spark from the coil wire to ground. I'm still thinking coil. According to an article that I found earlier today, the check across the terminals is good for finding out if there is a short anywhere in the distributor. With the ignition on and points open if there is voltage across the terminals, there is a short somewhere in the distributor. If the article is right, at least I know that there is no short now.

 

If you are getting 6v at both terminals with ignition on, and your points closed, your points aren't working. Either not really all the way closed, or sometimes corrosion between the steel of the arm and the tungsten point will totally block current. Have you tried grounding the dizzy terminal of the coil with a different wire? (make and break) If you have a dwell meter, throw it on, it will tell you if the points are totally closed.

 

Started from scratch this morning. Double checked everything and still no luck. I hooked up an amp meter and jumped directly from the negative terminal of the battery to the battery side of the coil and the truck started right up. Checked and rather than about 4 amps, I'm only getting 0.2 amps from the circuit through the ignition switch to the coil. Good voltage but poor amperage - not easy to find with the volt meter and not enough for a spark. I am going to assume for the sake of my sanity that there was also a short in the distributor and getting that fixed made this problem more obvious.

Now is should be a fairly simple task of tracking back to see where the problem is. The problem has to be there somewhere.

Thanks to all at FTE for the help and guidance.

 

FINAL POST: It was a bad connection at the ignition switch. Cleaned it up and went out for a nice drive. Old trucks can really be a pain sometimes.

 

How cool you were able to find it. Great job troubleshooting, which is almost a lost art. So many people just shotgun approach and just start replacing parts hoping to get the right one.
Larry

 

Wiring is just connecting Pt. A to Pt. B,etc If something stops working, you start at point A and check stuff all the way to Pt Z.

Most people shotgun that because they don't understand electricity and are intimidated by it- denying themselves any kind of logical or analytical troubleshooting flow.

Of course there are people who are simply morons too. Not the case here.

Glad you got that fixed.

 

Yeah, you and Jack Benny! Oh, now wait, he said he was 39 right?