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EFV-8 Club Forum / General Ford Discussion / obviously I'm an idiot 38 ford

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Posted By Discussion Topic: obviously I'm an idiot 38 ford -- page: 1 2     jccorbin 08-09-2010 @ 4:47 PM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 23 Joined: Jun 2010 I filed a little off the coil (as Skip suggested) got it seated properly and it started immediatly.......I'm putting the test drive off until tomorrow........Thanks.....Jerry jccorbin 08-09-2010 @ 4:10 PM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 23 Joined: Jun 2010 Thanks Super.....I obviously have let my frustration get the better of my common sense......The sweat in my eyes and having to turn my bifocals upside down to work under the dash haven't helped either........I don't know what I would do without the folks on this site.....many thanks to everyone......Jerry supereal 08-09-2010 @ 2:57 PM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 6819 Joined: Oct 2009 Jerry: You should have about 3 volts with the points closed, battery voltage when they are open. jccorbin 08-09-2010 @ 12:43 PM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 23 Joined: Jun 2010 Update: I could not get Skip's coil to seat on the distrubutor due to the contact spring being about 5/32" longer than the other two coils and I could not get enough torque on the philips screws to get a good seat. I believe AI found what looks to be a balast resistor high on the inside of the firewall under the dash. This 63 year old body simply will not contort enough to get a meter on it. But, In my quest to reach it I moved a rat's nest of wires and now I'm getting 3 vdc going to the coil without the engine running. I sent Skip an Email about the spring.......Jerry supereal 08-09-2010 @ 11:50 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 6819 Joined: Oct 2009 We just fixed a car that cranked fine, had acceptable (it seemed) spark at the plugs, but wouldn't fire, even with a shot of ether. We suspected it was out of time, perhaps a timing gear problem. It turned out to be that the "make" (left hand side) points were open, and only the "break" points were energizing the coil. Someone, some time, installed the points without adjusting them so the faces could make complete contact. It is possible that switching coils is affecting the point adjustment, as we must have the coil to be used in place when we set up a distributor on the machine. The variance in pressure from the coil contact on the rotor can make a big difference in the dwell setting, particularly if the distributor bushings are worn, due to movement of the point cam. This may explain why one coil works, while another doesn't. tbloss 08-09-2010 @ 10:42 AM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 38 Joined: Oct 2009 Hi jccorbin: Its simple. The only mistake you made was not giving Skip a call. He has done thousands of coils and he will fix the problem. Anyway, old fords just don't look right with new style coils. Tom... jccorbin 08-09-2010 @ 7:22 AM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 23 Joined: Jun 2010 Alan.....Thanks for the info....Where did you get the conversion and the coil?......Thanks......Jerry alanwoodieman 08-09-2010 @ 6:49 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 868 Joined: Oct 2009 look under the dash, there is a circuit braker and a ignition resistor mounted on a non metallic board, this is your ignition resistor, a lot of times they are by-passed by putting both wires under one terminal, which would reveal it self in the 6 volts on the coil with the engine running, if you are getting six volts with the engine running then the coil overheats causing the loss of engine power . I also have a Skip converted and set up distributor/coil that will not work, put the original one back on and runs fine. I also have eliminated the coil problem with a modern coil conversion that is internally resisted and I run 6 volts straight to it. jccorbin 08-09-2010 @ 5:52 AM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 23 Joined: Jun 2010 I use the same condenser. I have 6 vdc at the coil and it does not seem to have a ballast resistor nor can I find one in the wiring diagram. Maybe I need to put one in the coil circuit. I would be very supprised if Skip's coil was bad, it's probably the only good one I have. ford38v8 08-08-2010 @ 9:08 PM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 2762 Joined: Oct 2009 Jerry, when you trade off the Skip coil with the old coil, do you also trade off the condenser? This could be the problem, or, as someone else mentioned, the Skip coil itself, in which case he would make good on it. Alan

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