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Newbie Confused-Help please


wdisher

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I have bought a 41 Zephyr which I heard run when i bought it but now I got Nothing.I have replaced the condensors the coil,battery and still doesn't turn over.It does have voltage to the coil.I bought points but not sure how to do that so if anyone has any suggestions of what I should try I would very much like to here.

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If it won't turn over, you have a problem with the battery, starter relay, starter, or the cables and grounds in between. If the engine was running recently, it's probably not frozen. You should be able to turn with the fan. Start with checking voltage at the starter. Bad cables can be a cause, especially with 6 volt system.

Once its turning, you can worry about the points. Sometimes they won't open, sometimes they won't close. Gap for 42-48 is 0.015, Yours should be similar. You will need a reproduction service manual which describes how to check timing with a ruler, or find someone with an old distributer machine. I've had problems with new points not conducting.

Abe

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From the rather skimpy info you have provided, we have to make some assumptions, first the engine turns smartly when you push the starter button, right? When you lift off a spark plug wire and hold it 1/4" from the plug, and turn the engine over with the ignition on, you get a fat yellow spark right?? When you push the throttle rod, and look down the carb bowl, you are seeing gas spurt out the little nozzles right?? If all this checks out, try some starting fluid down the carb bowl, if there is still no fire, pull the spark plugs, clean or replace them, and take a compression check. Do not attempt to adjust or replace your points, if the distributor is at fault, you should send it to Jake Fleming or Skip Haney to be properly set. V-12's are a very easy starting engine when everything is right, like any engine, they give problems when the above mentioned things are not in place, hope that helps, keep us informed

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You might first see if there is any voltage at the coil terminals at the rear of the coil. With the ignition switch on there should be between 3-1/2 and 6 volts. If there is no voltage at either terminal then the problem is in the wiring, resistors on the firewall ( inside the car), loose connections or the ignition switch itself. If voltage is present then the distributor/coil assembly is probably at fault and like Rolf says it would be best to send this to a knowledgeable guy to get fixed and calibrated.

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To add photos to the AACA/LZOC forum:

(from Phil Knapp)

Click on “File Manager” at “Post Options” at the bottom of the screen.

Click on “browse” in the window that pops up and select the picture you what to post.

After you have selected the picture, click on “Add File” and WAIT. Don’t be fooled if “DONE” pops up, it’s NOT done until the photo description appears.

When you’re finished, click on “Done adding files”.

Click on “preview post” or “submit” and you’re done - maybe.

If it doesn’t work the first time, start over at the beginning and try again.

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There are several things that can cause the "no spark" problem. If you replaced the coil and condensors with known good items I would check to make sure the coil brushes are making contact with the rotor. The rotor itself could be shorted. The points could be corroded or even not "breaking". Before installing new ones you might try cleaning them with a small emory stick and clean any oil/grease residue from them and check the gap (.014"-.016"). The spring band on the points are very close to the mounting screws for the points so make sure there is no contact between them. Internal shorts in the distributor/rotor would best be checked by someone like Jake Fleming who can also install and synchronize the new points if you choose to do that. It would be a good idea to check the connections of the spark plug wires at the terminal plates for corrosion although I doubt that all 12 would be so bad that you wouldn't get spark on at least a few cylinders. Good luck

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What was the voltage that you measured at the coil? It should be around 6V with the points open and about 3-4v with the points closed. If you get these readings, the points are probably OK.

Did you do anything between the time the car ran and when it would not start? Sometimes the replacement parts are worse than the old parts. Especially coils and condensers.

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Here is a update..First I learned that it was a positive ground system..Charged the new battery again and got a little turn over..Charged the battery again with fuel added to the carb and it started for 30 seconds.. Check fuel pump line to carb to see if there was gas pumping..Got fuel in the canister and tried to start again..Well it started for and ran and sounded great:)for 15 min...Now no start..I am so happy that it runs again and has a great spark now I just need to know how to keep running..(Is it the new battery or is it the fuel line has a vacumm problem??

Thanks,

Will, and know Jimmy And The Neighbor

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Drove it around the block and ran good but seems the carb needs help. Also the battery is now dead again after the block run? Sounds good to hear it run though. Our next step was that we found a vacum hose on the floor in the interior we are not sure if that is something yet or not.

Thanks for all your help

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  • 3 weeks later...
Guest rickomo1

run the quickie test! charge battery-- start car--remove battery cable. at this point if the car continues to run you have a short -- if the car dies its not charging. Are we having fun yet??

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  • 3 weeks later...
  • 3 weeks later...

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