Electrical problems for Tom & others

[Carb Guy]

I have been having electrical problems. My new battery drained down and I noted a small discharge on the ammeter and the car would not start. No carb or gas problems. Tom I have one of your EVR in my generator it has been working fine for 2 or 3 years. I thought the problem was the cut out so I bought a new Diode cut out from Brattons it is designed for the Model A . Removed your EVR and cut the blue wire as per instructions put it all back together, still no luck on starting. I know there could be many other problems so I checked the points and the rubbing block was worn down so replaced the points and the condenser and timed the the engine. Still no luck on starting. My popout switch was not popping out like it should so went through all of the work to remove and replace it . On further examination I noticed the one terminal on then ammeter was loose and just spinning around so replaced it with a new one. During all of this work I tested all the wires and popout for continuity all OK. Now starting to hook up all the wires and noticed my car that has been running for over 30 years had the Yellow and black wire and the dash lamp wire hooked up to the ammeter discharge post and the yellow wire hooked up to the charge post which is just opposite of all the wiring diagrams. So I went by the the diagrams put it all back that way. The red wire from the popout was hooked to driver side of my original slant pole coil and the black wire to the other post. The coil was tested per your article on using a condenser connected to both terminals and using a 6 volt charger to test the spark, seemed to test OK with a blue spark. Tried starting it yesterday no luck and I blew a fuse. Looking at Brattons catalog this morning on page 70 at the ammeter at the bottom of the page it says to wire it just the opposite of the diagrams and the way I had my car wired for over 30 years. I am confused now more than ever. One thing I am going to retest today is the timing after that I am at a lost. Any and all comments on what I have done will be greatly appreciated. Thanks to all

[Mike V. Florida]

OK,

Let's start from the beginning. With everything off does the meter show discharge?

No, good
Yes,
Start with looking at lights such as the brake light to see if you have a bad brake switch.
Still shows a discharge, then remove the wire from the Generator to see it it is the cutout.
Still shows a discharge, disconnect the barrery to see if it is a bad indication on the meter.

One the discharge problem is fixed, Please do not move on until that first problem is fixed.

Here is a no start troubleshooting link,

http://www.fordbarn.com/forum/showpo...08&postcount=6

[Carb Guy]

Thanks Mike. I know I made the mistake of doing to many things at once. will take your advice and go through it a step at a time.

[Tom Wesenberg]

Start by lifting a battery cable off and on the battery post. Does the ammeter needle move?

Even better, put an accurate meter between the battery post and cable to see if you have a drain. The meter needle shouldn't move with everything turned off.

Fix any shorts first, then lets move on to why the engine doesn't start. Also keep the battery fully charged, even if you need to use a small battery charger for several hours to bring it up to full charge.

[Mike V. Florida]

Originally Posted by 1930 coupe

The polarity on ammeters is different depending on who made it. Even on a box full of old original Ford ammeters the polarity will not be the same on all of them. I make original ammeters the same polarity by turning the magnet over when they are reversed. Wire your ammeter so it shows discharge when you turn your lights on with the engine off.
The same thing applies to the coil, the polarity is different on every brand, you need a coil polarity tester from model A vendors to know if it is wired correctly.
With that said, your car will start and run with the coil and ammeter wired back wards, but your power and top speed might not be as good until you get them wright.

T and A ammeters look the same but T meters are different polarity.

[Purdy Swoft]

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I agree that a lot if not most of the repro and old stock ammeters are 1926-27 model T and are for negative ground. I just swap the wires, its simple and they work. Not saying that turning the magnet isn't good, its just more complicated and some probably can't do it.

[Mike V. Florida]

Originally Posted by 1930 coupe

You are correct, I make T ammeters work in an A by turning the magnet over and installing a new chrome bezel.
I was trying to keep my post simple so I would not confuse people with too many facts.
A lot of A ammeters have the magnet in them back wards from people working on them down through the years.

Yea I know the feeling, "how detailed do I want to get in my reply".

[Carb Guy]

Thanks to all of you. I have the battery charging up right now. it was only down a little and should be OK in the morning. Checked the timing again and should be right on now. Will start some of the checks tomorrow and let you know what is going on. Thanks again.

[30Ford]

An easy way to eliminate lights and horn is to disconnect the the wiring harness off the steering column and see if this eliminates the draw

[Tom Wesenberg]

Originally Posted by 30Ford

An easy way to eliminate lights and horn is to disconnect the the wiring harness off the steering column and see if this eliminates the draw

That only disconnects the horn rod.
An easy way is to unhook the lights/horn wire at the cutout.