Good point Larry, you need to fire it up and see if it is charging. At his point it looks like the ignition system was converted correctly. It would be a good assumption the charging circuit is also correctly converted.
Good point Larry, you need to fire it up and see if it is charging. At his point it looks like the ignition system was converted correctly. It would be a good assumption the charging circuit is also correctly converted.
Last edited by bmorgil; 07-16-2020 at 09:17 AM.
So far I think I’ve diagnosed it too being an ignition problem. Got some wrong parts, my mistake, and have the correct ones on the way. I’m going to take the carb off and clean as well just as a precaution. Fuel pump checked out good, compression is good, it ran briefly but didn’t sound like it was running on all four. Used the old cap and points, just cleaned and re gapped them. Will update once correct points and cap/rotor get here.
So I used a spark tester and saw very weak spark across all four cylinders. Took the cap off and cleaned the “contacts” and cleaned the points, cleaned the contact on the rotor, re gapped and put back together. When I was putting the cap back on it seemed like it took more pressure to snap the closures shut. It felt the same the last time but I ignored it. Opened back up and realized that the new condenser I had put in was not installed to allow clearance for the cap to sit right. ( should have checked first time!). Moved it a touch in the holding bracket, cap snapped on right. Flipped the key and boy did it sound nice!!! She’s now officially a runner!!!! Will still put in the new points cap and rotor when they arrive. Super excited!
Nice work man! Good catch on the condenser.
Great to hear that she is purring right along.
Check the new condenser and make sure the strap is welded to the case. Things don't run right if it isn't and it's really hard to figure out.
The replacement that I put in was not welded to the bracket. The one I removed was not either. I actually used the older bracket as it allowed for better clearance inside the distributor. If I may ask, what is the issue? Vibrations/movement?
Thanks!
The new stuff may not be welded to the case. The strap usually has "indents" to make good contact as it clamps down. If you look at the one picture Larry has posted you can see the cracks in the top of the condenser. Definitely something to look at if it is causing you trouble. A bad condenser can be really hard to spot. The best way to see if the condenser is bad is by the condition of the points. Badly pitted points and indications of arcing spark are the signs of a bad condenser.
Last edited by bmorgil; 07-23-2020 at 03:25 PM.
The case of the condenser is the other electrical contact. The clamp needs to be in very intimate contact with the case to make sure that the case of the condenser is connected to ground - the case of the distributor. Mine was just slipping around loosely and when it lost contact, the truck would almost run. It acted like a carburetor/fuel problem for a month, the it cleared up and ran - for a while.
Then we threw up our hands and went to find a really old guy. We told him the symptoms and he said "Bad condenser". We said "But, it is a brand new distributor with all new parts."
He replied; "Do you want to argue or so you want the da#$ed thing to run?"
We quit arguing, replaced the condenser (obviously the problem) and it has run ever since.
Score one for the really old guy!
Ahhh...grounding it, that makes sense. This one seemed to be nice and tight within the strap/bracket. Score one for the “old guy” with the experience! I’ve always enjoyed those discussions. I’ve been riding/restoring vintage BMW motorcycles for quite awhile now and have met many a person with those same kind of stories/advice! Always worth listening too!