peeeot, I posted earlier from a notebook so I did not expand on the question of the coil being wired backward. Do a Google search on this and the symptoms you describe are all there. I lifted one so you can see it

Pete, the coil is wired correctly. Because my old post about hot running problems sounded exactly the same and was solved by replacing the coil I returned my coil as defective and installed a brand new accel super stock, and now I'm 100% sure this is not a coil problem. Because that coil is a little smaller in diameter i insulated it from the clamp with a thin layer of rubber from an old bicycle tube, which may help a little with keeping it cool.

312t85bird, thanks for that suggestion. I tried manipulating the wire while looking for continuity and there was no break.

oldtguy, I put the vacuum gauge on there and it was over 20" but would dip down with each miss and fall off completely with the stall. Nothing unusual there.

I watched the spark on individual plug wires and thought I was onto something when #7 was missing noticeably more frequently than the others. I cleaned the outside of the wire and looked for problems from dist cap to plug and found none. Wire showed perfect continuity no matter how I contorted it. After reassembly I didn't see 7 miss more than once or twice but it would still stall out after a minute or two of running.

When it stalls, if I just turn the key it will act like a bad resistor: fire up immediately and stall as soon as I let the key snap to "run".
If I open up the throttle to fast idle speed, however, when I start it it will continue to run with lots of misses that reduce in number after maybe 15 seconds. I can then ease it down to hot idle speed, which it will maintain for about a minute. During that minute or so I get occasional random misses, then at the end of the time there is a missing "fit" that ends with a stall.

I don't suppose I could post videos up here, could I? Would that help?

1954 Crestline Victoria 312 4-bbl, 3-speed overdrive

If I'm wrong I'm sure someone will correct me,but doesn't the coil have to be grounded to the engine?If you've insulated the coil housing from the mounting bracket,you're losing that ground.Along that same line,make sure the clamp is making a good clean contact with the intake.It's a possibility that's been your problem all the time.

 

Paul,

Boonville,MO

PWH42, I'm pretty sure the coil can doesn't need to be grounded. Both coil and bracket are usually painted which wouldn't be good for grounding. The windings are electrically insulated from the can as well.

Just ran the engine in the dark to look for high tension leakage. None was evident. If I touched the coil to distributor lead, however, there was a soft glow at my fingertip. No tingling or shocking going on, and no effect on misfires or anything.

1954 Crestline Victoria 312 4-bbl, 3-speed overdrive

peeeot

At this point from all the testing you have done and from the results of those test then your car should be running just fine. The only problem is that your car does not agree to run fine. Something is not right with this picture.

Your car is bewitched? Probably not.

Your tests need to be redone? Yes.

Give me a little history lesson on your car. How long have you had it? What have you done to it recently and why did you do it? Especially the electrical system. Bat, gen, wires, ignition anything. Pete

peeeot

you certainly have my sympathy, the frustration must be intense.

re the white plugs on the 4 rear pots. have you got vacuum assist brakes with a leaky diahragm?

stuey

UK

Just as a thought, have you had the dwell meter on the car and watched it as the miss/stall developed. I once had a set of points the got "sticky", and failed to follow the cam in the dizzy when hot. Brand new. I finally went back to check them on a hot motor, but as I bumped it over, I saw them hang open. Didn't do it cold. Dwell meter would have shown it, though.

miker
55 bird, 32 cabrio F code
Kent, WA
Tucson, AZ

Excuse me for jumping in the middle of your post as I have not been following closely but I have to ask... Are you running a ballast resistor AND an internal resistor coil. I have seen in the past where there is too much resistance, resulting in low voltage to the coil causing the coil to overheat. Sorry if that has already been mentioned.

Excessive plug gap can also cause the coil to overheat.

Just a thought and my 1¢ worth.

"The Master Cylinder"

Enjoying life at the beach in SOCAL

Pete55, it sure does feel bewitched! But of course it can't be. There IS a solution. Some detail is being overlooked. I am testing to isolate ONE issue at a time, but what if I have 2 minor issues simultaneously? If so, I never see a problem in the testing, because BOTH factors must be considered. For example, if there is a problem in the primary wiring before AND after the resistor, then inserting a jumper wire in either half by itself might not eliminate the trouble. But to answer your question: I have had the car since last Septemberish. The engine was locked up and it had sat unused for years, not sure really how long. Everything on the car was original when I bought it. It came with an extra starter and 2 extra generators. Major work since I bought it was unsticking and re-ringing the engine, replacing all transmission seals, overhauling brakes. I believe that this problem I'm dealing with has been here since day 1 of my ownership and that before I posted about this I simply hadn't driven it enough for it to show up as a consistent problem. I had several instances of irregular behavior such as idle issues at night, stalling in gear, or the engine dying as I rolled into my parking place, but they did not happen every drive so I didn't try to lock them down. Electrical work I've done includes replacing the regulator, replacing all ignition components, replacing some fuses and bulbs, replacing battery, disassembling, cleaning, lubing, and adjusting the distributor (original). I replaced the regulator because of charging voltages well over 15V. The new regulator behaved the same, so I adjusted it lower. One day recently my charging light stayed on so I swapped the old regulator back in and it is currently installed. Now I'm seeing charging voltage around 14.5V. I replaced the coil because it was old and the resistor because it was original. I will also note that when the engine was apart I took the generator apart to inspect the brushes, bearings, and windings. It was pretty nasty with oily filth so I cleaned the housing with degreaser, being careful around the fields but removing as much junk as possible. I haven't examined or tried either of the spare generators.

Stuey, I appreciate your sympathy! This is the most obstinate problem I have faced to date with any old-technology car. But I don't have power brakes.

Miker, I think I've watched the dwell during problem time but I will definitely take a closer look tomorrow. Sticky points could produce the symptoms.

Master Cylinder, thanks but the coil is definitely for external resistor. I have tried using a 0.8-ohm resistor in place of the standard 1.3-ohm unit and even then the problem was the same. I have also observed trouble with a steady coil voltage between 10 and 11 volts which was why I was so suspicious of coil failure.

At night, engine running, the resistor element was hot enough to glow softly. Is that normal?

1954 Crestline Victoria 312 4-bbl, 3-speed overdrive

The plug wires on the car have no resistance, as in less than 1 ohm. Could that be a factor?

1954 Crestline Victoria 312 4-bbl, 3-speed overdrive