1941 Buick Super hot start problem

[Vintagecarguy]

Hello all,

My grandfather has a 1941 Buick Super all stock and original with the "Compound Carburetion." When cold the engine starts fine, but after it's been driven a while it tends to not want to start hot. It turns over very slowly and will not start.

Someone told him that it could be the coil causing the engine not to start, but he wanted me to ask and see what the issue could be.

This was only one trip with the car on a cool day, and my father, the driver at the time, said that the car was running good and cool.

Any help would be appreciated.

 

Vintagecarguy.

[Guest]

If as you say it turns over slowly it is probably poor electrical connections (battery to ground or battery to starter)  Possibly though brushes, bearings or the armature needs the commutator cleaned or undercut in the starter.  I would undo all the connections as above, clean them and do them up tight.

[Guest]

Greetings

       I agree totally with the post above. My car did the same when my big old 6 volt battery was aging. The generator output is only 30 amps and thats only when running at driving type rpms. If the battery is older and lead acid the generator may not keep up on short runs

 The manual states, I beleive, that it takes a 20 mile drive to replenish the batteries charge after the heavy amp draw from a startup. One can assume they meant with everything at new specs. My friend went to a welding supply and had, I believe, oht/0 size welding cable cut to use as battery cables. Problem gone 4 him! Also make sure whatever size cable you think you need for positive, you also have for the ground, as they must have the  same amp/load capacity,(think complete circuit/circle. Chime in with corrections, if needed. Im old, but I am slow! Good luck. My issue reduced dramatically, as specially with overwintering my battery without charging when I went with the optima gel batteries. No acid leakage to ruin metal surrounding battery. No spilage if tipped over, about 1/2 the weight etc,etc,etc doesnt look original, but keeps me runnin with lot less $/trouble. Oh yeah, sale on line 100.00 each free ship!

Edited June 4, 2017 by Guest (see edit history)

[MCHinson]

A good battery, clean tight connections and good cables of sufficient size are necessary. If any battery cables have been replaced with off the shelf cables from an auto parts store, they are probably designed for 12 volt systems ane are too small for a 6 volt system. While a coil could be a problem, it is much more likely that inadequate current for hot starting caused by a wiring problem is causing this issue. 

[Vintagecarguy]

15 hours ago, Tinindian said:

If as you say it turns over slowly it is probably poor electrical connections (battery to ground or battery to starter)  Possibly though brushes, bearings or the armature needs the commutator cleaned or undercut in the starter.  I would undo all the connections as above, clean them and do them up tight.

 

13 hours ago, 2carb40 said:

Greetings

       I agree totally with the post above. My car did the same when my big old 6 volt battery was aging. The generator output is only 30 amps and thats only when running at driving type rpms. If the battery is older and lead acid the generator may not keep up on short runs

 The manual states, I beleive, that it takes a 20 mile drive to replenish the batteries charge after the heavy amp draw from a startup. One can assume they meant with everything at new specs. My friend went to a welding supply and had, I believe, oht/0 size welding cable cut to use as battery cables. Problem gone 4 him! Also make sure whatever size cable you think you need for positive, you also have for the ground, as they must have the  same amp/load capacity,(think complete circuit/circle. Chime in with corrections, if needed. Im old, but I am slow! Good luck. My issue reduced dramatically, as specially with overwintering my battery without charging when I went with the optima gel batteries. No acid leakage to ruin metal surrounding battery. No spilage if tipped over, about 1/2 the weight etc,etc,etc doesnt look original, but keeps me runnin with lot less $/trouble. Oh yeah, sale on line 100.00 each free ship!

 

13 hours ago, MCHinson said:

A good battery, clean tight connections and good cables of sufficient size are necessary. If any battery cables have been replaced with off the shelf cables from an auto parts store, they are probably designed for 12 volt systems ane are too small for a 6 volt system. While a coil could be a problem, it is much more likely that inadequate current for hot starting caused by a wiring problem is causing this issue. 

Tinindian, 2carb40, and MCHinson, Thank you for your advice. We will have to give these tips a try.

Thanks again. Vintagecarguy.

[Daves1940Buick56S]

Yeah I had this problem briefly last summer. I knew all my connections were good as I clean them up every year. It turned out that a store bought positive cable (2 gauge) had been improperly clamped on the battery end and so was OK when cold but when warmed up the cable loosened due to the different coefficient of expansion of the copper. So I remade my cables this year myself from size 00, pos and neg, and did the soldering myself (requires a torch). Works good now!

 

Cheers, Dave