Gets warm and quits running?
 

The Cape Man asked me to post to see if help can be found for his issue:

Background: 1947 Ford, 59AB flathead , good carb with phenolic spacer, new (good) coil, crab distributor recently set up on distributor machine.

Issue: Runs great until temp get about half way on guage (warmed up but not hot) suddenly quits running. Wait 10-20 minutes will start up and go for awhile.

Looking for assistance, thanks.

Re: Gets warm and quits running?
 

Coil and / or condenser.
What do you consider a "new (good) coil"?

Re: Gets warm and quits running?
 

Coil or condenser. I've had 2 coils go intermittent when warmed up in the past.

Re: Gets warm and quits running?
 

It has taken me a long time for my brain to remember that "new does not = good". This is especially true of condensers and to a lesser extent coils. NOS old Ford coils are never good but are nice to be rebuilt. There is very little if any QC going on in manufacturing these days. It is cheaper to just give the customer another unit.

Re: Gets warm and quits running?
 

As stated above, classic symptoms of a capacitor or coil breaking down as they warm up. (now watch, it will end up being a fuel issue! :confused:)

Re: Gets warm and quits running?
 

Jseery, had a man put a ventless cap on his 36, would run about ten miles and quit, I went to help and noticed the new cap, when I removed the cap it went woosh!! surprised it did not suck tank in

Re: Gets warm and quits running?
 

Mine was coil. Took 4 new coils to get one that was good...........

Re: Gets warm and quits running?
 

Thank to all for the input, "Cape Man" Ed is hard at work chasing his problem. He said any and all ideas are welcome. Lou B.

Re: Gets warm and quits running?
 

Do you really think you have a good one now?? If it
is a stock Ford coil new or old it will still fail on a hot
day in traffic when the engine gets hot. I have tested
hundreds of stock Ford coils and NEVER found one that
did not fail when hot. G.M.

Re: Gets warm and quits running?
 

GM.......you are exactly right. All I really know is that the one I have now is not breaking down-yet. I was told my NAPA "good" coil was made in Mexico and even then it is cheaper for them to replace them rather than build a quality one.

Re: Gets warm and quits running?
 

Had a similar problem on a ‘35 convertible sedan.
Got a coil adapter and two new NAPA coils. Did the same thing.
It would run poor after about 15 minutes. Wouldn’t restart until it sat maybe half an hour.
Sent the old Ford coil to Skip.
Car has run perfect ever since. That was 3 or 4 years ago.
Now if it has run for an hour and you shut it off it will start right up as soon as you hit the starter button.
Skip, the magic dragon. The only way to go.

Aaron Griffey
Hayward, taxafornia

Re: Gets warm and quits running?
 

Amen to that
Just gone through that -3 new condensers to find one that is good. In the end it was one of tubmans that solved the issue. The trouble is having replaced the condenser with something new (and assuming it is good ) when the problem continues you go down a rabbit hole looking for the fault some where else

Re: Gets warm and quits running?
 

Karl, so you finally fixed your problem. I do dwell on condensers a bit because they give so much trouble and very few people have the equipment to test them properly these days. Of the faulty condensers you fitted could you tell me the type/make and where they came from. Does new actually mean new or only new to you and have been sitting on some stores shelf for 15 years ? I have had so much trouble with new condensers over the years that I only fit one particular type these days. I would like to know what make of condenser and its capacity that is fitted inside tubmans brass can. He does not give any details. Good luck with your car. Regards, Kevin.

Re: Gets warm and quits running?
 

Vote for bad coil. Send it to Skip.

Re: Gets warm and quits running?
 

If using a stock type coil, send it to Skip anyway, even if the current problem is the condenser. I always liked Chuck Yeager's quote "Never wait for trouble" (even though it was uttered during a GM parts advertisement!)

Re: Gets warm and quits running?
 

Chuck Yeager was 97 in February this year. He’s still with us.

Re: Gets warm and quits running?
 

"Cape Man" called the other night, he was making some changes as suggested here and keep me updated. It's been crazy hot around here (tough on us old guys), I have not heard from him, but will try to keep you updated. I agree it is an electrical gremlin (coil or condenser breaking down when hot).

Re: Gets warm and quits running?
 

Condensers seldom fail when hot. In most cases where the condenser is at fault, it was leaking and causing the coil to over heat. Then the spark is weak.


When they fail because of heat they stay broken and do not perform correctly when they cool down.

Re: Gets warm and quits running?
 

Tom, I hate to tell you but condensers fail all the time
from heat. When Skip does a coil for some one he
asks them to send condensers so he can heat them
up to hot test them. They work cold but when they
get to about 200 they fail and will work again when
they get cool. G.M.

Re: Gets warm and quits running?
 

Two where new condensers from one of the parts houses that I had brought as spares and one was a Mallory one recommended on here somewhere -It was brought online and judging by the packaging was NOS -Karl