Left my Ignition on Like a Dummy....

[ModelAMitch]

Hey guys, I've had a number of problems with my A since owning it and I was finally wrapping them all up and getting excited to drive it. Last thing was timing the car. I did what the videos and forums said to do, I was checking it with a test light, so it lights up when I advance my spark lever 1-2 notches. Right when I was wrapping this up, my wife and kids came home and my 1 year old had a poop explosion so I dropped what I was doing to help with that. Almost two days went by and I wanted to go run the car and see how I did timing it when I realized I had left the battery hooked up with the ignition switch on... stupid me. I had my charger hooked up for the better part of a day and it indicated the battery is over 80% charged, so I tried to start it and nothing happens. I hit the starter and nothing, it doesnt crank, it doesnt make any noise. I can hear the starter rod going in and out of the starter but nothing happening. I wont be able to look at the car for another day or two and was hoping you guys could steer me in the right direction when the time comes to start diagnosing this. Thanks again Fordbarn.

[Marshall V. Daut]

Double-check the ground at the strap to the frame. It must be bright shiny clean on the frame down to bare metal beneath the ground strap. Also check the battery posts and cable ends. Clean them to bright shiny, also.

Turn on your head lights. Do they come on? If so, press the starter rod with the lights on and watch the ammeter. If it dips below zero, you may have locked up the starter drive, which will give the appearance of a dead battery until a draw is made upon via the starter. To check if the Bendix drive is locked up, turn the ignition key OFF, put the car in third gear, take off the hand brake, put your back to the rear of the body and rock the car forward and back. If it moves easily, the starter drive is not locked up. If the car won't budge, the gear is locked up. Keep up this rocking motion until you hear a loud metallic "CLUNK!". That's the Bendix drive breaking free from the flywheel ring gear teeth. Then try the starter again. Very common problem in Model A's.

If the lights don't come on, however, it's either a grounding problem or the battery is toast.

The key point is to determine whether the problem is electrical or mechanical. Run these checks first before panicking.

Marshall

[Ray64]

I did that once and had to buy a new battery. It would not recharge

[Johnnya101]

Sounds to me like a dead battery... I have a vintage car (not an A) that went into storage for the winter on a trickle charger, charger said 100%, yet car wouldn't start in the spring. The cold cranking amps were gone, just a dead battery.

You can also get an multi meter and check the voltage on the battery itself, but that won't tell you the cranking power. I think you need an actual battery tester for that.

[eagle]

Use a voltmeter right on the battery, check if the voltage is up, then engage the starter, does the voltage stay up, drop some, or go to zero. Any of the three is a possibility and will tell you if there is a battery or connection issue. After a battery is drained completely, put a trickle charger on it for a couple days. It is very hard on a battery and you may not be able to resurrect it if its older or has been abused but a trickle charger is your best hope. Also some smart chargers won't even charge a completely dead battery. If you don't have a trickle charger find an old walwort power supply off of a old cordless telephone or something and hook that up for a few days. If you have a 6 volt battery look for a 6 to 9 volt DC one. Preferably around 500mA. Pay attention to the polarity.

[nkaminar]

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There are two ways to kill a battery. One is to overcharge it and the other is to let it sit uncharged. When sitting uncharged the lead sulfate crystalizes which makes it unavailable to the battery. You can buy chargers which are designed to convert the lead sulfate crystals back to the amorphous state but if the battery has gone too far it will not come back.

[ModelAMitch]

I've had my bendix stick before and know what that sounds like, I dont think thats my issue, but if all else fails Ill give it a look just to be sure.

I currently have a trickle charger on it, it says its over 80% charged, will wait until it gets back up to 100% and try it again. But even at 80% it should atleast try and crank the engine over. This does not. I will clean the grounds and terminals and see if the lighst work

Im not sure how old the battery is, but it is possible for it to be charged and not have any cranking amps?

I will try to find someone I know with a known working 6V battery so I can try that before buying a new one. Batteries aren't that cheap...

[mcgarrett]

Hate to be the bearer of bad news, but at 80% charge, it will still not start the car. If a 6 volt battery is fully charged, it will show around 7.2 volts or so. If it shows to be only 6 volts, believe it or not, it's the same as a dead battery.

[Bob Bidonde]

Hi Mitch. If the ignition points were closed while the key was left on, the coil is likely overheated and no longer serviceable.

[Phil Brown]

Pop the battery out and run it down to one of the auto parts stors that will load test it for free. Only a little bit of your time to know for sure

[Tom Endy]

It is prudent to make it a habit to pull the fuse on top the starter when you are through driving the car for the day. Take it out of the holder and stand it on its head at one end. This way you have removed all power from the car except for the starter switch, which is not a concern.

If you have left the key on you have nullified it. If something else is left on, same drill.

Another reason is to protect from a fire. The fuse is usually a 20 or 30 amp. However, a short circuit somewhere that is less than the rating of the fuse will sit there and draw current and possibly overheat a wire and start cooking the insulation and cause a fire.

Tom Endy

[ModelAMitch]

Originally Posted by mcgarrett

Hate to be the bearer of bad news, but at 80% charge, it will still not start the car. If a 6 volt battery is fully charged, it will show around 7.2 volts or so. If it shows to be only 6 volts, believe it or not, it's the same as a dead battery.

Understood, I'll leave my charger on and see if it will reach 100% if not, well I guess I need a new one..

Originally Posted by Bob Bidonde

Hi Mitch. If the ignition points were closed while the key was left on, the coil is likely overheated and no longer serviceable.

The points were closed, and the battery was fully charged when this happened. So Im thinking the coil is likely burnt out.. Ill have to research a way of checking it and I guess get a new one along with a battery if thats whats required.

Originally Posted by Phil Brown

Pop the battery out and run it down to one of the auto parts stors that will load test it for free. Only a little bit of your time to know for sure

Good idea, I forgot they do that for you!

Originally Posted by Tom Endy

It is prudent to make it a habit to pull the fuse on top the starter when you are through driving the car for the day. Take it out of the holder and stand it on its head at one end. This way you have removed all power from the car except for the starter switch, which is not a concern.

If you have left the key on you have nullified it. If something else is left on, same drill.

Another reason is to protect from a fire. The fuse is usually a 20 or 30 amp. However, a short circuit somewhere that is less than the rating of the fuse will sit there and draw current and possibly overheat a wire and start cooking the insulation and cause a fire.

Tom Endy

I dont have a fuse on my starter like I see many of you guys do. This is something I should seriously consider installing by the sounds of it?

[burner31]

Don't feel bad...we have all done it...whether we admit it or not

[Tom Endy]

A number of years ago the pop-out ignition switch on my Victoria had a habit of popping out when I got out of the car and closed the door. Another good reason to pull the fuse. I very soon had it repaired by the key guy, Cal Allen.

Tom Endy

[Patrick L.]

If you think the battery really is at 80% just hand crank it.

[ModelAMitch]

Originally Posted by Patrick L.

If you think the battery really is at 80% just hand crank it.

I should have included in my initial post, when I went out and my charger indicated it was charged to atleast 80% I did try to hand crank it. Nothing happened, it didnt even try to start. So maybe the coil is fried? And likely the battery if it isnt charged up to 100% by tomorrow.

[Bill G]

I did the same and left it for a few days. I tried and tried to get the battery to take a charge, even though my charger had a reading. Determined the battery had fried and bought a new one. Points and coil were miraculously OK. It did cost me a battery, though. Works great now.

[ModelAMitch]

Originally Posted by Bill G

I did the same and left it for a few days. I tried and tried to get the battery to take a charge, even though my charger had a reading. Determined the battery had fried and bought a new one. Points and coil were miraculously OK. It did cost me a battery, though. Works great now.

First thing I will get my battery tested, if it’s junk then I’ll replace and go from there. If that’s it then that’s awesome, if not I’ll move onto the coil and fingers crossed that’ll be it. Clean the points as well since I’m in there.
I’ll report back with my findings. Thanks Fordbarn

[shew01]

Originally Posted by ModelAMitch

I dont have a fuse on my starter like I see many of you guys do. This is something I should seriously consider installing by the sounds of it?

Yes, the fuse assembly is inexpensive insurance against a fire.


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[shew01]

Originally Posted by ModelAMitch

First thing I will get my battery tested, if it’s junk then I’ll replace and go from there. If that’s it then that’s awesome, if not I’ll move onto the coil and fingers crossed that’ll be it. Clean the points as well since I’m in there.
I’ll report back with my findings. Thanks Fordbarn

You might want to order a new coil to have as a spare when you order the fuse assembly. The first coil I ordered was oil filled (you can feel the oil slosh around in the coil casing). Oil filled coils sometimes don’t like running under a hot hood while turned upside down (the normal coil configuration for a Model A). A tar filled coil should last longer.

You’ll probably want spare fuses, a spare condenser, and a spare set of points too.

A multimeter is handy as well. It’s more precise than a test light.

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