Hi, everybody! I'm a newbie with an ignition / electrical question.
I have a '48 8N (front distributor) which has been a good runner for years but now is balking at starting. It had run as recently as a month ago.
Attempting to diagnose the problem I first drained the gas tank and replaced with fresh gas. That did not solve the problem. Next I charged the battery, also without results. Then I removed / cleaned the terminals at the ignition switch. No success.
At this point I got out a meter and measured the voltage (to ground and to the + terminal of the battery) of the leads at the switch. I found about 1 Volt potential, which seemed too low to drive the coil. I checked the meter on a known DC voltage (12 V), checked the battery (6 V), then checked the terminal block that the leads were coming from, on the hypothesis that oxidation / corrosion was affecting current. I found 1 Volt there as well.
Here I am at the limits of my knowledge, so I got out the manual and found the wiring diagram. The motor turns over so I know the wiring from battery to solenoid is good. From solenoid the wiring goes to one side of the ammeter and from the ammeter to the terminal block. From terminal block to switch and back, and then to the coil.
When I used to start the engine I noticed that the ammeter used to indicate a (slightly) negative reading until ignition occurred. Lately the needle doesn't move. I suspect the problem is somehow related to the ammeter, so my questions are:
Will it hurt anything - like the regulator - to remove the ammeter from the circuit temporarily?
If the ammeter is not at fault, where else do I look?
Thanks for your replies.
-CH-
[/img]
I have a '48 8N (front distributor) which has been a good runner for years but now is balking at starting. It had run as recently as a month ago.
Attempting to diagnose the problem I first drained the gas tank and replaced with fresh gas. That did not solve the problem. Next I charged the battery, also without results. Then I removed / cleaned the terminals at the ignition switch. No success.
At this point I got out a meter and measured the voltage (to ground and to the + terminal of the battery) of the leads at the switch. I found about 1 Volt potential, which seemed too low to drive the coil. I checked the meter on a known DC voltage (12 V), checked the battery (6 V), then checked the terminal block that the leads were coming from, on the hypothesis that oxidation / corrosion was affecting current. I found 1 Volt there as well.
Here I am at the limits of my knowledge, so I got out the manual and found the wiring diagram. The motor turns over so I know the wiring from battery to solenoid is good. From solenoid the wiring goes to one side of the ammeter and from the ammeter to the terminal block. From terminal block to switch and back, and then to the coil.
When I used to start the engine I noticed that the ammeter used to indicate a (slightly) negative reading until ignition occurred. Lately the needle doesn't move. I suspect the problem is somehow related to the ammeter, so my questions are:
Will it hurt anything - like the regulator - to remove the ammeter from the circuit temporarily?
If the ammeter is not at fault, where else do I look?
Thanks for your replies.
-CH-
[/img]