Guest laddy Posted October 17, 2011 Share Posted October 17, 2011 1939 4 door luxury liner. Went to car show going up an incline to the entrance gate and car died. Drifted back and got it out of the way. Figured it was gas walked 2miles home got 5 gal. gas....no not gas. No fire. Figured it was coil....new coil put in today...Not coil. With ignition swich ON. no current to poles on coil with starter or without. I have to think it is the ignition switch,, Do you agree or is there someting else in the chain I am not thinking of. Thanks for your help Fred Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ply33 Posted October 17, 2011 Share Posted October 17, 2011 I'm thinking a test lamp or volt-ohm meter is a good idea. Beats throwing parts at a problem until you get lucky. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidAU Posted October 17, 2011 Share Posted October 17, 2011 Might be a blown fuse in there somewhere. Most ignition systems have them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old car fan Posted October 17, 2011 Share Posted October 17, 2011 it also happend at hershey,a early,v8 had was dead coil problems .we had coils that would work ,and i think things went well Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest laddy Posted October 18, 2011 Share Posted October 18, 2011 There are no fuses in the system. When ignition switch is turned on and a volt meter is placed on the coil connections there is no power to the positive pole (this is a positive ground system). If you touch the negative pole to the engine block you have 6 volts. Only thing in between is the ignition switch, correct? Any other ideas? Thanks Fred Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
28 Chrysler Posted October 18, 2011 Share Posted October 18, 2011 1) Put a jumper across the ing switch or put both wires together, you should see a spark, then try to start the car. (or)2) Disconnect the battery and with a ohm meter check the switch for continuity. 3) If the switch is OK then run a wire from the battery to the coil. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skyler Posted October 18, 2011 Share Posted October 18, 2011 do not let the markings on the coil fool you. they do not always correspond to battery polarity. if memory is still there i believe the + pole is to the ign. switch and the - pole is to the distributor on a positve ground system. someone ont this thread can hopefully clear this up. capt den Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F&J Posted October 18, 2011 Share Posted October 18, 2011 There are no fuses in the system. When ignition switch is turned on and a volt meter is placed on the coil connections there is no power to the positive pole (this is a positive ground system). If you touch the negative pole to the engine block you have 6 volts. Only thing in between is the ignition switch, correct? Any other ideas? Thanks FredOn a positive ground system, the power from switch goes to the Negative side. If you have power there, but no power at the Plus side, the following items need to be checked: - the points are closed..Then it will not show power.-the condenser is shorted out-Coil is bad-wire that goes to dist from coil is shorted out.Narrow it down first:-disconnect the plus wire at the coil. Now check for voltage at both plus and minus sides of coil. Both should have power now, but if the plus side still has no power, replace the coil.- If you do have power at both plus and minus after taking the plus wire off, now rotate the motor until the points are open. Reconnect the plus wire at coil, and you should have power to both plus and minus.- If you now lost the power to the plus side again, with points open, replace the condenser OR disconnect the condenser and again check for power at the plus side. If you now have power, the condenser is bad.-If you disconnected the condenser and still have no power at the plus side of coil, you have a short in the wire from plus side to the dist...or..the connector insulator inside the dist for the points is shorted to ground.Confused? On a working points system...The test light placed at the plus side, should blink on and off as the points open and close. That's why when the points are closed, there will not be power showing at the plus side of coil on a pos ground system. If it was a neg ground system, the ign switch sends power to the plus ide and the minus goes to the dist..but the light will still blink on and off as the points are operating. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest laddy Posted October 19, 2011 Share Posted October 19, 2011 28Chrysler Thanks for the help that is exactly the confirmation I was seaking. The coil was the obvious target when you are away from home and no tools. The ignition switch is now the obvious being at home with a meter and a new coil. Thanks for the help Fred Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shop Rat Posted October 19, 2011 Share Posted October 19, 2011 Hobbiests helping each other. The AACA way for sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest De Soto Frank Posted October 19, 2011 Share Posted October 19, 2011 Does your Dodge have its coil mounted through a hole in the firewall ?If so, it's pretty hard to get the coil polarity reversed: the "distributor" terminal is on the "engine side" of the firewall, and the "ignition" terminal is on the "dash-board" side, usually under a metal cover with an armored-cable running to the ignition switch.The factory shop manual should have info about getting access to the "ignition" terminal, and how to remove that cover & armored cable.For what it's worth, my '41 De Soto is still running on its original "Solar-Spark" firewall-mounted coil... 70 years and 105,000 miles...I would suggest checking the little insulated jumper wire inside the distributor that connects the distributor primary terminal to the points - these are known for either chafing and grounding against the insides of the distributor or for the wire strands fatiguing and breaking. Both scenarios can cause intermittent ignition failure.Good luck ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest laddy Posted October 21, 2011 Share Posted October 21, 2011 De Soto Frank hit the nail on the head. All looked just finetill I touched that jumper wire and the wire was broken right at the contact with the clip. You would never have spotted it by visual inspection. Thanks to all very much for you help and advice, hope I can return the favor Fred Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Dobbin Posted October 21, 2011 Share Posted October 21, 2011 First order of business when there is no fire should be to check the battery cable terminals to see if electricity can even get out of the battery.It's usually a simple thing when it happens all of a sudden.My 2 cents worth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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