Whats happening here

[SteveB31]

Never give up!!! These cars can be frustrating, but overcoming these small problems , encountering a few more, overcoming them, and after a few more, you have a great , fun reliable car that , once you get these litlle things out of the way, will run well for years and years and you will enjoy most every minute of driving them, meeting new friends, and owning a piece of history!!!

[William Kelchner]

Reference my post #42.

Nice day out - started my roadster, backed out of the garage, took a spin up and down the cul-d-sac, all was well. I knew this thing was trying to lure me away from the house.

And for the 5th time I fell for it and barely made it home. Got 1 mile from the house, car running great and then that dreaded single cough from the carb as I was heading up a small hill. Anymore application of gas and I knew what would result. I made it home riding the clutch and sorry to say I shall not go through this scenario again..

No overheating
rebuilt dist
fresh gas
fairly new Zenith
behaves like a charm in the driveway but don't try getting too far from home..

Thanks for the use of your shoulder. To quote BB King the "Thrill is Gone" In my case it is the confidence in the car.....

Merry Christmas and HNY

[Purdy Swoft]

Merry Christmas, William.
Here is my thoughts. I figure that the rebuilt distributor from Bratton has the A&L condenser and that isn't likely the problem. I've had similar problems and it is MORE THAN LIKELY a bad coil or a bad ignition switch. I had to use the more expensive ignition switch from Bratton to get a switch that I could depend on. Part number 16330 on page 72, price $62.80. If the coil is the problem it will crank and run untill it gets warm or gets in a strain and will begin to break up and quit running. Usually when this happens the coil will be hot to the touch. Sometimes when this happens, if you feather the throttle just right yoiu can make it home. You are not the only one. I've had all of these problems at one time or another . You can probably pick up a coil locally. If you are still running six volt, you will want a 1.5 OHM coil. If you have upgraded to twelve volt you will need a 3.0 ohm coil. These coils are internally resisted and no ballast will be needed. Back in the day, coils were generally reffered to as either six or twelve volt, now it is rated in OHM . You will just have to bare with it untill the exact problem is found or hire it fixed. Sorry for the constant torment but a lot of us have been there, if we fooled with model A's long enough. Best wishes for the holidays

[William Kelchner]

Thanks again Purdy - I'll try another coil and drive up and down the street for an hour or two and see if I can get this to happen within walking distance. This time I made it a mile.

Enjoy the festivities

[Bob C]

If, or in your case when, it happens again try to trouble shoot it right away. Hold
the coil wire 1/4" from the head and see if you have a strong blue spark. Good luck.

Bob

[William Kelchner]

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I'm going to let this thing idle for about a half hour and see what transpires.

[Tom Wesenberg]

I felt the same way about my 1999 Olds when it started having electrical gremlins. The right front power window quit working 3 years ago, then this summer the engine quit on the way to the hospital. Then it ran and quit intermittently and I lost all confidence in it. Mitch suggested to check the ground connection under the carpet by the driver's door. Sure enough, just very light corrosion from water that got past the door seal. Cleaned it, and resealed the door gasket, and it's like a new car again.

It's probably something simple, but you may need someone with you to help find it. As Purdy suggested, the coil or ignition switch might be the problem. My A was having problems with backfiring and intermittent stops, until I noticed it started acting up as the key fob swung back and forth. That's when I knew it was poor switch contacts. I fixed the contacts, and now it's the most dependable car I own.

[William Kelchner]

Ok left the car idle and varied the speed/timing for 50 minutes. Temp never went above 140-150, I can put my hand on the radiator shroud and its warm, (I do not run a thermostat).

And then it happened after 40 minutes it started to drop rpm's and gradually shut off. Jumped back in and it started right up (as usual). 10 minutes later it did it again, a gradual loss of power, I gave it more gas and it did not like it at all. If the engine was under load this would have been the exact situation I have experienced before. Coil was only warm.

It did not cough through the carb either time but if I would have given it anymore gas it sounded like it wanted to.

I could not pull the coil lead as I'm alone but I sure will tomorrow after I convince the wife its safe . More to follow

[Mitch//pa]

An inline spark tester would be real handy in diagnosing this everyone should have one. it eliminates the need to hold the coil wire and watch it while the engine is running. Also hooking a testlight to the dist side of the coil and keeping watch on the light flashing as the points open and close is also helpful.

[Bob C]

I'm not a fan of hanging on to the coil wire. Get a little piece of wood and set it on
so you have about a ¼" gap then turn the key on and work the starter switch
with your hand from the engine compartment. Have you checked the vent in the gas
cap to make sure your tank is vented?

[William Kelchner]

I agree the coil can and will straighten the curls in your hair.. I pull the plugs to take a look at them:

Almost looks like the thing went lean

[colin1928]

William I once had a small bit of crap in the gas tank that would float around down near the bottom of the tank that would find its way to drain only when driving and block the fuel supply car would idle and run great in the barn drive great for a while then block up car would stop then start up fine until it happened again
I looked everything else for days until I found this problem

[William Kelchner]

Thanks gentlemen. This 40 minute thing tonight is about what the last 3-4 trips were in duration. By the time I warm the beast up, get out of the garage and take the usual little trip its about 40 minutes. Maybe I'm watching too many detective shows but the time frame is a clue. The plugs did not have the carbon free spots on them when this current scenario began. I'mgoing to try the coil trick tomorrow when I does its thing. If thats not it pull the switch, clip a multimeter on it and play with it, but the time element is a sure clue.

Hey maybe Santa will let me a Model A specific diagnostic tool or two but I doubt it.

One bright spot the horn works great everytime.

[captonzap]

It sure sounds like a coil going bad.
Since you said you had an ohm meter, measure the ohms in the primary, (low voltage) and secondary windings when the coil is cold, and making a spark.
Then run it for40 minutes, or whenever it starts acting strange, and measure the two coils again. If they are different by more than 10%, that may be a clue. This is not a definitive check, because the current is not flowing in the coils, and there could be a break in the internal wire insulation that allows a short circuit when the heat and voltage gets up.
The only way the condenser could be at fault is if it were shorted. You can disconnect the wire and run without it for a while, just to see if that is the problem. It will start to pit the points, so just run it long enough to get home, if that cures the problem.

If there is anybody near you that plays with OLD VW's, the early ones used 6 volt coils, and they might have a spare that you could try. The polarity is marked on Bosch coils.

CZ

[BudP]

William-I have a used coil that tested OK a few months ago. It's yours for the taking if you want to drive to Oakton to pick it up. If interested, PM me and I'll give you directions. Bud

[William Kelchner]

Thanks BudP I may take you up on that offer. I found the coil that was on the car back when I bought it. So I'm going to put that on this afternoon and see what happens.

[tbirdtbird]

what is missing is an on-the-spot diagnostic session when the car acts up. You need to take another person with you. When it coughs or dies you need to have them operate the starter while you pull the coil wire and check for a good 1/4" blue spark to ground. If you get that then check for same thing at each plug.
When it acts up try different choke and/or GAV settings to see if it is fuel-related.
If it will idle at all when it acts up, but runs rough, use a plastic handle screwdriver and short out one plug at a time to see if all cyls. are doing work. If you short a certain plug and the rpm doesn't drop then that cyl is not doing anything.

Etc.

Since it is intermittent you have to be ready to jump on the problem as soon as it occurs. Is the fuel line pushed too far inside the carb? If so it can shut off the fuel supply.

These cars are actually very reliable but everything must be properly set up, and there is a learning curve for the eccentricities of the car, like there is for any old car.

[William Kelchner]

Just tried to start the thing and repeat last nights little test and check the coil wire when it loses power again. Thing will not run and I got several resounding backfires which I have never had. I need to fall back and come up with a different plan of action. Thanks tbird.........

[tbirdtbird]

well when u are cranking do you get the blue spark I mentioned?

Resounding backfires are either wrong timing which is prolly not the case since it just ran on the road OK, or very lean, not getting fuel. loosen the fuel line nut on the carb and pull back on the line, be sure you have 1/4 inch between the end of the tubing and the inside back wall of the carb.

[William Kelchner]

Ok I'm going to give it another whirl.