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Old 03-01-2013, 04:21 PM   #241
Mitch//pa
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at this point maybe sgwilson will send someone a round trip plane ticket with first class accommodations on the beach and vouchers for food and coronas
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Old 03-01-2013, 04:23 PM   #242
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Rich is right. Like the horn, the coil body is totally insulated from the windings.
Yep, my wording wasn't very clear either. That's what I get for trying to participate on FB with a Blackberry while at work!

Either way, there is some capacitance coupling between the coil body and the windings. A good ground on the coil clamp did fix a problem on the Tudor a while back. Previously, the coil was suspended by a rubber coating over the clamp (heatshrink?). A new clamp and cleaning up the hardware and contact areas solved the intermittent smooth/miss running.
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Old 03-01-2013, 05:06 PM   #243
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Checked all plugs in the last couple of weeks. They looked good but we replaced them anyway, just in case. That didn't help, either.
Resolved the same problem with the Service truck!!! The filter in the carb, Zenith was a micro filter totally plugged but could not tell till you blew in it by mouth. Also the stand up filter in the tank if you have one may be a micro filter not good!!! Hard to tell if plugged. Use screen type only! Especially with the ethanol gas. Left original right Micro
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Old 03-01-2013, 07:02 PM   #244
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Resolved the same problem with the Service truck!!! The filter in the carb, Zenith was a micro filter totally plugged but could not tell till you blew in it by mouth. Also the stand up filter in the tank if you have one may be a micro filter not good!!! Hard to tell if plugged. Use screen type only! Especially with the ethanol gas. Left original right Micro
Yes, Gary, someone else alerted me to this issue on your other thread. I checked and found my Zenith did NOT have the micro filter and the screen filter SEEMED okay. I replaced it anyway, just because of warning it's hard to tell and it did seem to be a plausible cause of my symptoms. Sadly, and like all the other plausible things I've tried and failed, the new/clean screen filter did not resolve the issue.
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Old 03-01-2013, 07:05 PM   #245
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at this point maybe sgwilson will send someone a round trip plane ticket with first class accommodations on the beach and vouchers for food and coronas
Funny, but I've thought of that already. Problem is, how would I select who to bring down...and what if, in the end, he had no better luck resolving than all my buddies here who have tried and failed? I couldn't hand out too many free trips before going so broke I couldn't afford gas for the truck if ever it were to be running right again! <grin>
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Old 03-01-2013, 07:33 PM   #246
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sgwilson904, I had all the symptoms you had and went through many dead ends looking for a cause. Mine would die randomly but start right up on the side of the road. One time while coasting dead to a stop, I happened to move the advance lever, had a HUGE backfire and the engine started running by itself. Inspected the lower distributor plate & wire was fine... but the rivets that hold it in place were slightly loose. Just loose enough to randomly interrupt the ignition. Moving the advance stressed the loose rivets and gave me ignition. I replaced the bottom plate and have not had that sudden stall again.
Hope that helps.
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Old 03-01-2013, 08:08 PM   #247
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sgwilson904, ...Inspected the lower distributor plate & wire was fine... but the rivets that hold it in place were slightly loose. Just loose enough to randomly interrupt the ignition. Moving the advance stressed the loose rivets and gave me ignition. I replaced the bottom plate and have not had that sudden stall again.
Hope that helps.
Tudor, thanks. I have long suspected something in that distributor but even after completely rebuilding mine with all new parts (including a new lower plate) AND buying an entirely new one with all new parts, I still have the problem so unfortunately, it's not likely that bad rivets are the cause.

Will keep looking but certainly appreciate the suggestion. Glad you got yours to finally run...that will be a glorious day here, I tell you.
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Old 03-14-2013, 07:50 AM   #248
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I’m happy to report that it appears the mystery has finally been solved! And so what was it?

After weeks of trying virtually everything, we were just never able to identify the real problem and resolve it. In sheer desperation, I finally turned it over to the fellow many of us call “The Guru” here in our local club in Jacksonville, FL. H.L. Chavin would call him a “Model A Whisperer” with the patience and know-how to sleuth out the problem.

According to "The Whisperer": The grounding strap from the battery to the frame was not always providing sufficient ground to provide ample and consistent juice to the distributor. Sometimes it worked just fine—like on my long drive to coastal Georgia where the truck ran fine for 110 miles before it suddenly started acting up—and then other times you couldn’t even get the thing to start.

The local whispering guru says a continuity test with a meter confirmed this.

Since this thread was getting a little long in the tooth, I posted a much-more-detailed report in a separate, updated thread which you can read here if you like:

http://www.fordbarn.com/forum/showthread.php?t=100328

Again, thanks to all of you for your time, suggestions and most of all, your patience! I sincerely appreciate it.
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