51 stude wiring question

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cantwell.colton

Rat Rod Philosopher
Joined
Nov 30, 2009
Messages
1,344
Location
s. texas
Can't figure out what I'm doing wrong - 1951 studabaker with original flathead - just need it wired enough to run - I have no key so hot wire style lol- its cranking great but not kicking over - I'm obviously missing something - if anyone can tell me or even doodle a little sketch of what wires I need where (just enough to run) I would greatly appreciate it :( - also - good to be back around.
 
Do you have a hot wire to the + side of the coil? That's all you need if you have the starter turning the engine over......if you do, have you checked the points to be sure they are firing? If not firing, could be a bad condenser or points stuck or not gapped properly. You need to start with the coil + wire, then trouble shoot your way through the distributor and firing order, it is wired right isn't it?
 
Ill pull the dizzy tomorrow make sure there is no bugs living in it -- the engines turning just fine and thought I had the wire to the coil correct - but having a hard time remembering what goes where on this positive ground battery thing - it's been a while ... Gotta figure out a way to wired the coil jump the stater and check for spark all at once (alone) I guess... Lol
 
no, im not getting spark - and i actually just put the engine on hold bc i was getting frustrated and went to work on other parts of the build...
i appreciate it ...
 
Hot wire goes to coil, negative or ground side would be the single wire coming from the distributor. That is assuming it's all stock. Use a test light between the positive on the coil and any ground except for the negative side of the coil. Set the engine to tdc #1 and see if the test light goes out. If not, rotate the distributor until it does. That's static timing. Now, if you don't have a light at all, that means no power coming off the coil so check a few things. You can ohm out the coil, should be about 2k ohms between + and - side and 3-5k between the + and the center. If it goes to O.L. That means you have a bad coil. If it checks out good, check to make sure you have power to the coil. You can always run a hot wire directly from the battery to the coil only downfall is you won't be able to **** her off without pulling that wire. If you have power, your coil is okay, and your timing is right, replace the points and condenser. They used to be only a few bucks but I think now they're like 15-20 bucks. If it still doesn't start, sounds like you have something internal. Remember, a gasoline engine needs 3 things to start; air, fuel, and spark. If just one thing is missing(or if you have too much) you ain't gonna start. Good luck.
 
Yeah, my post above was before he told us it was + ground. So, it looks like the coil wire should be a ground wire instead of a + one. + ground stuff gets goofy trying to figure out when you're used to - ground. [S
 
Did you get your spark yet?? Yall got me trying to remember the + ground stuff. I had to go look it up. It's all backa$$wards from the - ground. Even the coil is wired backward. Coil + to the points and - to hot. I swapped an old Case tractor over to 12v+ from 6v - ground a while back and had to look it up then. Here's a link from an MGA guy but, it's the same for everything else too. Good luck.

http://mgaguru.com/mgtech/ignition/ig104.htm
 
I put it on the backburner - probably have another go at it during my time off for Christmas when I have daylight - and hopefully some help -gets difficult troubleshooting electric myself -- too much crap and only 2 fat fingered hands lol
 

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