Ford 800 - erratically dies, randomly starts

ltunrein · Jul 3, 2015

Ford 800 with 5-speed transmission running erratically - will start right up, run for several hours, then just up and die for no apparent reason. Refuses to start, then starts fine maybe a few hours or a day later - but no smoking gun to just letting it sit because other times it won't start from being cold. Cranks no problem, plenty of battery, just doesn't fire. Has plenty of clean new gas and fuel bulb is clear. Could this indicate a need for carb rebuild, or something else?

DGinVT · Jul 4, 2015

Have you checked the coil, condenser and points? The other thing is the rotor running snugly in its bushing or is it loose? Also have a close look at the spark plug wires(make sure that they are real copper wire and not the carbon core kind) , their connectors and the distributor cap brass connectors inside the nipples. I had a similar thing happen on my Farmall Cub and there was corrosion on the connectors inside the distributor nipples. A small copper wire brush took care of that problem.

Larry NCKS · Jul 4, 2015

Dead when hot or warm sounds like coil or condenser. Problems with either of these show up first when they're hot.

I don't believe fuel is your issue unless you're vapor locking or your vent in your fuel cap is plugged.

steak · Jul 4, 2015

I had a Jubilee that acted the same way . The culprit , the ground strap that is under the
rotor cap in the distributor was all but separated in the middle. Hard thing to catch without
removing the rotor button and moisture cover.
I hope I've helped.
Have a safe holiday weekend.

William Fissell · Jul 6, 2015

when it dies, do you have spark? When it dies, do you have brisk fuel from the bowl?

I have had this several times- messed up advance weights, accidental grounding of the insulated wire from points to coil, bad coil, etc.

Check spark and post back.

gtaylor737 · Jul 7, 2015

I was having this exact problem with a 1953 Golden Jubilee. After looking into most of the solutions already suggested in the replies, and replacing lots of small parts, it ended up being my distributor. The guy at the Ford house said its not uncommon for it to slowly go out over time. Take your distributor cap off and turn the engine over to verify the rotor is turning. Mine was turning about every 10 seconds and would sometimes fire.
A new distributor and I'm shredding again.... Hope this helps.

ltunrein · Jan 2, 2016

Appreciate all the helpful advice...ended up installing an ignition system kit with new distributor cap, points and condenser. But the real problem appeared to be from sticking floats, so did a rebuild on the carb. Starts and runs strong now, though haven't tested yet in the field.

Ford 800 - erratically dies, randomly starts

ltunrein

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DGinVT

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Larry NCKS

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steak

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