T16 running problems

[jeff davis]

Are you using a internally resisted coil?
If not pick one up it sounds like coil overheating and quits working .
Jeff

[andrew honychurch]

Hi Jeff, thanks for the reply. Do you mean a Ballasted coil? In fairness I cannot recall and have not even opened the engine decks for 12 months out of disgust! If it's a non Ballast coil it would be running at 13 plus volts I suppose . What do you reckon it should be running Then? Also, I guess a 12 v coil may have found it was easier to short a tired old rotor arm out than the original 6v coil?

[jeff davis]

Take a look see what kind of coil your running.
Not sure on voltage output. My Carrier also had problem with blocked fuel line that allowed me to drive it long enough to have it stall in awkward position during parades .
I have a Mgb that I dropped a fridge on and smashed the hood that has not seen road for years because I am so pissed off .
Regards
Jeff

[andrew honychurch]

Originally Posted by jeff davis

Take a look see what kind of coil your running.
Not sure on voltage output. My Carrier also had problem with blocked fuel line that allowed me to drive it long enough to have it stall in awkward position during parades .
I have a Mgb that I dropped a fridge on and smashed the hood that has not seen road for years because I am so pissed off .
Regards
Jeff

Ah, yes these things can be very frustrating. I will check the coil tomorrow and report back.

Richard, I will check the coil wiring and think about the condenser, but must remember that this is a T16 problem so on any normal ignition issue I would of course think these are real possibilities. Perhaps it's throwing me off the scent and it is one of these after all . I wonder if there is an electronic ignition kit that fits in the divers helmet dizzy?

I was speaking with our mutual friend Bill who recalls going on a road run with 7 or so T16s and every one stopped dead and were towed off to ashford never to be seen again!

[horsa]

Might be good to verify the cable from the coil to the dizzy is good. Breaks, bad connection or corrosion would prevent the coil from being able to hand off power and it would overheat and produce intermittent performance. When restoring the dingo recently, I had very similar issues which symptoms would have indicated a fuel issue. Vehicle would start from cold and run smooth a bit before seeming to have a fuel starvation issue with rough running and then stopping. Couldn't restart immediately which would have seemed like the engine was flooded or we had a vapor lock issue. Coil was extremely hot though after a race car mechanic suggested it was an electrical issue. In out case is was coil issues and this resolved everything. If it ends up being the same situation for you, a heat shield for the coil, or modification of the mounting bracket to get t further away from the head might help. Alternately getting a coil that is rated for high heat and for shock since some will fail if bounced around too much.

[rob love]

One thing I have learned with the early ignition systems is to stick to metallic wiring for the ignition wires. The 7mm and 8mm modern carbon core wires that are commonly installed on these engines in the past 60 years or so are not ideal.

When it comes to ignition parts for the Ford Flathead, there is really nothing that is not available from places like Mac's. Even the original distributor mounted coils are now available. I have used them and am quite happy with their performance.

[andrew honychurch]

Originally Posted by rob love

One thing I have learned with the early ignition systems is to stick to metallic wiring for the ignition wires. The 7mm modern carbon core wires that are commonly installed on these engines in the past 40 years or so are not ideal.

When it comes to ignition parts for the Ford Flathead, there is really nothing that is not available from places like Mac's. Even the original distributor mounted coils are now available. I have used them and am quite happy with their performance.

I will check my HT leads but feels confident that they are the style wire multi core type. I maybe wrong . Problem with fitting the 6v coil is that I dont have the voltage reduction item (can't recall what it's called now)

I do wonder why they were specified with 12 volt electrics and a 6 volt coil. Surely not cost cutting?

[andrew honychurch]

Hi David. Long time. Thanks for the advice, I am going to look at the coil and leads tomorrow and see what I have fitted. I did manage quite a bit of work with the T16 when first restored but the problem was always there but just getting worse all the time. Another owner here in the UK with exactly the same issue solved it with a new built electronic distributor. Apparently his Carrier now runs non stop all day and is as sweet as can be. He did fit a new high powered coil to go with the dizzy. Since I don't do much with the T16 I was rather hoping to avoid the cost of a distributor but I am convinced the divers helmet is at fault, at least in this application. I copied the bracket for the coil from a British Army mod on yet another T16 here in the UK but you are probably right it's getting just too hot. I think we may have discussed this before but again quoting an old wives tale, I was told by someone that a large batch of rotor arms were made with the wrong bacolite mix which resulted in tracking. That maybe rubbish of course but sounds credible. Did you once tell me that your T16 suffered from this as well?

[Richard Farrant]

Hi Andrew,
Usually when a rotor arm fails, it is tracking through a crack to the distributor shaft. When this happens it is normally terminal, ie no go, no more. Intermittent as you describe, gets hot and stops, cools down and goes again, sounds like a condenser failing.
Another thing, make sure the coil is wired the correct way around.

cheers Richard