Rogillio Posted July 24, 2015 Share Posted July 24, 2015 I am having trouble getting fire to my plugs on my '26 DB. I have a new 6V coil.....I got no fire. I pulled the condenser and put one in there that I had in my shop but not sure where it came from. Still no fire. I have a new condenser on order and will be in today. I noticed last night the points were not opening! So much for the "it was running when it was parked line I got from the guy I bought it from". So I adjusted them....still no fire. My last hope is the new condenser will solve my problem. But if not...... ....I am considering an electronic ignition conversion. I know the purist will cringe but I am not a purist....I am more concerned with having a running, dependable car to drive than to have it "100% period correct". Anyway, any pros/cons of converting from points/condenser to an electronic ignition? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest newbymachineworks Posted July 24, 2015 Share Posted July 24, 2015 I have converted lots of tractors and a few cars to electronic ignition. Some make a big difference in performance, some not so much. Converted a 30 Oldsmobile, works okay, about same performance as points setup. Only real issue is maintaining full six volts to unit when cranking, had to use a relay on the Olds. 12 volt is also sensitive to low voltage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R.White Posted July 24, 2015 Share Posted July 24, 2015 I imagine as you are a qualified sparks the modern option is more attractive than it would be for others who perhaps prefer the originality of the old contact breaker points set up. I suspect the only advantage really with electronic ignition is that it is a more efficient system. Reliability is not really an issue if the traditional set up is regularly maintained so something you can just fit and forget might be an attractive option. I don't think there are any fitting issues but if it were my car, I would still want to know why the sparks were not being produced so perhaps fit substitute a working condenser. It's difficult not to teach how to suck eggs but if the cause is a broken wire for example a new electronic ignition system would not solve the problem. These old cars often fail at the ignition switch. I would try and track down the fault first. Ray. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil 32DL6 Posted July 24, 2015 Share Posted July 24, 2015 (edited) Before you give up, if you have a multimeter, you can test the continuity starting at the ignition switch and working your way along the path to the points. I've had similar situations where the problem was as simple as a loose connection at the coil. Another time the insulating collar around the bolt that carries the current through the body of my Delco distributor was shot and I got an intermittent short that prevented current to the points (stopping me dead in my tracks while driving). Edited July 24, 2015 by Phil 32DL6 (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rogillio Posted July 24, 2015 Author Share Posted July 24, 2015 I forgot to mention.....my first thought was to check the plug wires. I had bought new wires from Meyers but I had not built/installed the new wires. So checked all 5 wire with a meter and 2 of the 5 showed no continuity. I just knew I had found the problem! I quickly made the 5 wires and installed them. No joy. Now that I'm thinking about it, I did not check the continuity of the wire from the coil to the side of the distributer. Will check that tonight. I thought maybe the rotor button was bad....so took the one off my other Coupe that I know if good but that did not help. I will do some more troubleshooting tonight.....but if I can't get some fire soon, I'm gonna punt and go with the electronic. I'm not sure how those electronic ones work but am wonding if the manual spark advance/retard will work with the electronic ignition? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rogillio Posted July 24, 2015 Author Share Posted July 24, 2015 (edited) Before you give up, if you have a multimeter, you can test the continuity starting at the ignition switch and working your way along the path to the points. I've had similar situations where the problem was as simple as a loose connection at the coil. Another time the insulating collar around the bolt that carries the current through the body of my Delco distributor was shot and I got an intermittent short that prevented current to the points (stopping me dead in my tracks while driving). Good tip. I have 6 volts acorss the coil so I know the parth from the switch to the coil is good. I will check the connection to the points tonight. That sounds like that might be the culprit. Just thought of another thing to try.....I can take the distributer cap off my other car and try it. I worked thru an issue with that car with carbon tracking. Actually, my mechanic friend figure it out. My engine was only hitting on 1 cylinder. There was small crack in the distributer cap....it had filled up with carbon.....so the fire was going from the rotor, along the crack tp the nearest cylinder. To show me what was happending, he took the wire off of that cylinder and then the car hit off of 3 cylinders. I was amazed! I took a Dremmel tool and cleaned out the crack and it ran great.....used that until I got a new distributer cap. I will definatly check for a short thru the distributer! That sounds promising too. Edited July 24, 2015 by Rogillio (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cahartley Posted July 24, 2015 Share Posted July 24, 2015 (edited) Did you file the points?It doesn't take much to cause them to not make a good connection. Take the high tension wire from the coil off of the distributor cap and remove the cap.With the ignition on operate the points manually, or short across them with a wire, and see that you are getting spark from the coil lead.That will narrow down where the trouble is or isn't. Edited July 24, 2015 by cahartley (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rogillio Posted July 24, 2015 Author Share Posted July 24, 2015 Did you file the points?It doesn't take much to cause them to not make a good connection. Take the high tension wire from the coil off of the distributor cap and remove the cap.With the ignition on operate the points manually, or short across them with a wire, and see that you are getting spark from the coil lead.That will narrow down where the trouble is or isn't.Got nothing. So then I checked the coil. Nothing. Back to the switch. Nothing. Check battery. 6v. Check neg post to the switch. Nothing. Crap this is a cable I made! Took it off and the only thin holding it on the wire was the shrink wrap. I was getting 6v at the coil last night. Evidently the connector made enough to wire to register 6v on my DMM but not enough contact to allow enough current yo energize the coil. When I cut the shrink wrap off the cable I made the connector just fell off....it was not properly crimped. Victim of my own shoddy workmanship. Might still be other issues but at least I found one smoking gun. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R.White Posted July 24, 2015 Share Posted July 24, 2015 When it comes to battery cables I would not rely on crimping. A more satisfying job is made with soft solder. My Dad would have had you solder all electrical connections and only use brass screw terminals throughout but then he was a perfectionist and did everything "belt and braces". Ray. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rogillio Posted July 25, 2015 Author Share Posted July 25, 2015 When it comes to battery cables I would not rely on crimping. A more satisfying job is made with soft solder. My Dad would have had you solder all electrical connections and only use brass screw terminals throughout but then he was a perfectionist and did everything "belt and braces". Ray.I use the term cable for any heavy wire. But I did make the batter cables and crimped them with a vice, hammer and anvil. But you are absolutely right, solder in the brass terminal would be best.So I did the above suggestion and saw sparks when I open the points. I still can't get a visible arc at the plugs but did get shocked when holding the plug wire. So that's a good sign. I need to adjust the points and see if that helps. It is hard to find the timing mark on the flywheel when manually using the crank....and shinning a flashlight into that little hole. Maybe it would be easier if I put a stick into the number one cylinder and look for TDC? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rogillio Posted July 25, 2015 Author Share Posted July 25, 2015 I got fire! The new condenser I got today did not fit so I put he old one back in. I've been reading about weak spark and that points to the condenser. I found another condense in my shop and put it in....and finally got a good spark. Sort of. It was a white/red spark not a blue one....but it was hard to tell as I was by myself.....in the cab to push the starter button on the floor staring to look out at the plug I had out laying on the head. The condenser does not have a bracket so a made a little holder for it....not a tight fit so not a good ground for the capacitor. I may solder the bracket to the capacitor. Or might try to find a better capacitor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cahartley Posted July 25, 2015 Share Posted July 25, 2015 I love progress!....... ........perhaps not QUITE as much as you right now though........ 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R.White Posted July 25, 2015 Share Posted July 25, 2015 . Maybe it would be easier if I put a stick into the number one cylinder and look for TDC? That won't work on this engine because the spark plug hole is over the valves. Ray. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rogillio Posted July 25, 2015 Author Share Posted July 25, 2015 . Maybe it would be easier if I put a stick into the number one cylinder and look for TDC? That won't work on this engine because the spark plug hole is over the valves. Ray.Thanks. I didn't know that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R.White Posted July 25, 2015 Share Posted July 25, 2015 Guess how I found out.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stakeside Posted July 25, 2015 Share Posted July 25, 2015 I had a poor spark at my spark plug also on my DA-6 but I was able to get a better spark and my truck running. I found a lot of corrosion inside the distributor cap and coil where the wires are inserted. I used a demmel tool to clean the inside. I was able to check spark by grounding my spark plug and observing the spark in a darkened area. Spark should be white//blue for a strong spark. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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