67 wildcat electrical

Re: 67 430 week spark

ozamecnik, Larry is being more than gentlemanly here. If you stick with him on this he will help you get your car running. I'm willing to bet you would be hard pressed to find someone better qualified and willing to help.



This may be too simple and you may have already checked it but have you confirmed the correct polarity of the hot and ground wire to the coil?

 

Seems things got a little testy here...

Owen emailed me, and I looked into it.. I think what we have here is more than likely a combination of a frustrating electrical problem for a young guy, in addition to the use of a smartphone for the board.. I know, I have used mine, and it's much more difficult to get the flow of the conversation sometimes.

I gave him some pointers on a no start condition to check with his ignition system, and I am sure one way or the other he will be along shortly to tell us what's going on.

Personally, I will tip my cap to any guy/gal in their late teens or early 20's, that is willing to dive into the nightmare than can be an abused, 40+ year old electrical system.

We need these kids, they are the future.

JW

 

My Brother is have the SAME issue on a stroked 409 in his 65 chevy. one would think that it you have fuel(via mason jar) spark, and compression. The old yet rebuilt engine would run. Well it did run right after rebuild even drove it to a local show to do a dyno pull. that was last fall drove it again this spring for another show. Got home set for a week now wont run just spitts and sputters now. For six weeks now

 

First of all I would just like to apologize to Larry, this was definitely a misunderstanding and I do realize how much he puts into this board.
As for the wildcat, I'm going to check it again with a test light as Jim had advised me. I wonder if in the past chaos this engine has given me it burnt out one of the condensors. Could it be either one or just the one on the points? When I have someone turn it over I can see an arc between the points though. And also, I'm not sure if it means anything, but when I put the key in the accessory position my generator light starts to glow. Dim, but it's there.

 

Dim accessory light is normal in the ACC position for the key.

If you can see an arc on the points then replace the condenser in the distributor. Don't assume new parts work, not in this world..



JW

 

Shouldn't there be a spark between the points when it cranks? How can I tell if I'm seeing an arc or spark? Also is there any way to test condensers with a volt meter?

 

No, there should be no spark when the points open.

JW

 

A couple of decent write-ups I came across for testing a points condenser (capacitor):

http://www.classictruckshop.com/clubs/earlyburbs/projects/trouble/ignition.htm

http://mgaguru.com/mgtech/ignition/ig129.htm

Devon

 

Whenever I ran into trouble back in the day's before I ran an electronic ignition if I couldn't get the car to start and there was at least some kind of spark at the plugs, even if weak, I'd throw in a new set of spark plugs. I don't think I read about a new set of plugs going in anywhere in here. The points systems really need a clean plug in there to fire it off under adverse conditions.

Definitely get a voltmeter on there. Harbor Freight sells them for $10-20 and you really need one when working with these old cars.

If the engine cranks, has gas, and spark it should fire off unless the timing is way off.

If there is no regulator attached to an older external regulator alternator not only will it probably not regulate but if the regulator is bypassed it would blow out all your electrical systems. With only a light load it can put out something approaching 100 VDC. Back in the day they used to make a device that would bypass the regulator, disconnect the alternator from the system, and run its' output to a Edison connector. You'd rev the car up a bit and it would be able to power AC/DC electric tools or anything that didn't specifically need 120V AC such as a light bulb.

It sounds like you have an internally regulated alternator there. You have to rev it up a bit to get it going. The voltmeter will confirm.

 

I threw a different condenser in there that I had from a previous tunenup and it fired right up! I guess I've been having bad luck with faulty condensers. Although I'm a bit skeptical because this has happened other times in the past. Maybe something is burning them out? And also it does have fresh plugs. Fresh cap and rotor, wires, coil, distributor, and points. And when I put the original style alternator back in I got a wiring diagram and did re-install a new regulator.

 

that gen light will glow when in on position, should go out ounce the alternator is putting out more than 12 volts. even with the new IR alt, if it glows while running then its not charging more than 12 volts.

 

That's great news! Now it's time to have some fun and show off your ride.

 

Uh Huh!

 

so now that its running, i decided to take it for a round trip to school and back. Was about 60 miles, give or take. but it ran great the whole time. no skipping, or misfire. It seems to be getting better gas milage as well now that its tuned up nicely. im not sure exactly how much was in the tank before it died last, but i put 6 gallons in it the other day for the trip to school, then a few yesterday, and i went to fill it up again today but it only took 4 gallons before filling the 25 gallon tank! im kind of amazed i had so much gas even after driving 25 miles this morning. Now this leads to my other issues, as far as electrical. my fuel guage doesnt work. it used to move around all over the place. seemed like it was working occasionally but now its just up past full all the time. I remember reading somewhere that it usually means either a bad guage or sending unit. also my dash lights still dont work, nor does the speed alert. and if anyone has a good working wiper motor for this car i may be interested.