Ran great, then motor stopped dead!

WESTCOMVIC · Post by **WESTCOMVIC** » Wed Jun 06, 2012 12:23 pm

Had my 1953 M38A1 out for a run after a sucessful go in a local parade,
took the wife out for her run and with no warning or splutter the motor stopped dead. Like the ignition switch was shut off. Checked the switch and have 24.7 volts from the battery side to the positive side of coil. no shorts at condensor. Checked the circuit breaker,bypassed but still no joy.Can a coil breakdown that fast?I have no high tension spark to plugs. Any suggestions,(other than too much estrogen riding along!) Come on Wes, bail me out! Thanks,Dave

RICKG · Post by **RICKG** » Wed Jun 06, 2012 12:50 pm

Happens all the time, Dave- 1 sweetheart gets jealous of
the other sweetheart and quits ya just like that!!

jimm · Post by **jimm** » Wed Jun 06, 2012 3:09 pm

Yes, I've had two coils (non-M38) fail suddenly, leaving me stranded out in the boonies. Check the coil with an ohmmeter per instructions that can be found in this forum, and let us know what you find out. Also check the points.

DJ · Post by DJ » Wed Jun 06, 2012 3:37 pm

WESTCOMVIC wrote:took the wife out for her run!!! bail me out! Thanks,Dave

What happened next??

TomM · Post by **TomM** » Wed Jun 06, 2012 5:34 pm

You confirm 24v on the + side of the coil.
Also, have you checked that the points are opening/closing and have not slipped closed?

WESTCOMVIC · Post by **WESTCOMVIC** » Wed Jun 06, 2012 7:57 pm

Yes Tom, confirm 24 volts at + side of coil and points are working correctly. Took the coil in to auto electric place,and although they could not actually test it, suggested the secondary was shot and also confirmed an immediate failure like that was indicated.

Post by **wesk** » Wed Jun 06, 2012 11:13 pm

The offshore coils have had a much higher failure rate. They may not tolerate the heat well. Is your vent system connected through the distributor properly?

WESTCOMVIC · Post by **WESTCOMVIC** » Thu Jun 07, 2012 7:57 am

Thanks for the comeback,Wes. Yes, the vent lines in and out are unimpeded.
From what has been said I think I'm in line for a new coil. Any suggestions on a reliable source?

TomM · Post by **TomM** » Thu Jun 07, 2012 8:07 am

Mullens, AJP and MWM had USA Made, NOS, USGI coils a short time back.

WESTCOMVIC · Post by **WESTCOMVIC** » Thu Jun 07, 2012 2:46 pm

Thanks for the tip Tom, I did score one from Erik's Military and Industrial Surplus in Ca.

Cacti_Ken · Post by **Cacti_Ken** » Fri Jun 08, 2012 8:57 pm

Let us know how that new coil works out.

artificer · Post by **artificer** » Sun Jun 10, 2012 7:21 am

I assume most everything with this system is similar to any other conventional system or magneto.

You said no spark to the spark plug. Working backward, did you check from the coil centre to ground? If you get a good saprk here this could indicate trouble with the rotor or shorting/tracking inside the cap.

jbjeeps · Post by **jbjeeps** » Sun Jun 10, 2012 7:51 am

I want to add my thanks to all who replied to this question. My '53 did the same thing yesterday. As a life-long less than amateur wrench turner, I'm always grateful to the knowledgeable folks who help to bail me out when I get into trouble. Thanks!

Post by **wesk** » Sun Jun 10, 2012 9:05 am

I assume most everything with this system is similar to any other conventional system or magneto.

Up to a point. The connections are the tough obstacles for a novice to overcome since the coil is buried inside the distributor and does not use the common center high tension (secondary) cable folks are used to in conventional external coil systems. And the primary wiring uses cannon type connector.

Ran great, then motor stopped dead!

Ran great, then motor stopped dead!

Re: Ran great, then motor stopped dead!

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