Starting Problems

[w-lewis]

My 351W won't start. Turns over fine, but won't fire. It's getting gas, as I've flooded it and can smell gas. Looks like it's not getting any spark. Tried a test lite between distributor and coil and between plug wire and plug. In both cases, it sparks momentarily when turning on ignition switch, but doesn't spark when turning engine over. Think it's my MSD Ignition box (6AL) or MSD Coil? Something else?
Walter

[Blas]

replace the magnetic pickup in the distributor...

[My Dream]

Have you tried spraying some quickstart directly into the carburettor. I had the same problem and it worked fine.

[My Dream]

You also might want to try bypassing the ignition switch as these frequently go bad.

[w-lewis]

Haven't tried quickstart (is that ether?) because it's getting gas, but doesn't seem to be getting any spark.

[RICK LAKE]

w-lewis Make sure you have power going to the MSD box and good grounds. Make sure the battery is over 10.5 volts. Even this is boarder line for an MSD box. Check the wiring for any rub marks that would cause a short to the box or ground. If all this seams OK, Go get another box and install it. If it is the box, and the box is new and in good shape, sent it back to MSD for repair. I had a new one that didn't work, they fixed it free. I carry a spare setup, MSD 6AL box(2) 1 distributor complete, 1 HVC coil and the tools to replace all on the side of the road. Who distributor are you using, MSD or Ford? If you goto the MSD web site, there are some simple tests for checking the system. Swap parts from another car that you know are good, There is a test for checking spark by tapping to ground one of the wires, You should see good spark. Make sure the battery is strong. With mini starters and gear reduction, these starter will crank at 9.0 volts. They little amp draw. Remove plugs and unhook coil and crank motor over to clean out the gas. MAKE SURE there is no spark there to light this up. I put towels over the holes when cranking. Stay away from Starting fluid.

[w-lewis]

Thanks for the ideas. Haven't check battery voltage output, but seems very strong by sound of starter as it turns over. Distibutor is MSD.

[Ron61]

All good ways to test. If you don't get a good spark then something is going away. Normally when the MSD boxes I have had went bad, I got no spark. You could back track by taking the wire from the coil that goes to the distributor and see if it gives a good spark to ground. You should get a very good one as that is the high voltage side and watch for severe shocks, don't ask how I know. If that spark is weak then I would suspect the box or coil one. After you have followed all the above advise and checked the grounds as they are critical in these and any other electronic applications. I have never had an ignition switch go bad, but as stated above, they can fail. But once again I would think they would stop all voltage if the contacts burned or broke in them. The carry a complete back up set up is a good idea, especially if you drive out where it is miles to the nearest town or phone.

Ron

[w-lewis]

Thanks for all the ideas. MSD says I should start by trying another coil, especially since mine is mounted horizontally. They say since they contain a liquid, they should be mounted vertically. I'll keep ya'll posted,
Walter

[MT nester]

I had a similar problem a while ago. I replaced the rotor and it was a fix!!
As it turns out the rotor was leaking spark directly to the distributor shaft instead of sending it out to the terminals in the cap. I pulled the rotor off and looked in the hole in the bottom if it where it presses down onto the dist. shaft. There were burns up in the hole.
Also make sure the button in the center of the dist cap is not gone.
Good luck.

[Blas]

If the center contact on the rotor is not bent high enough to make contact you can get arcing which will quickly destroy the center contact on the cap. Also, if you receintly replaced these pieces, you should check the relative heights of the contact on the end of the rotor and the 8 contacts on the distributor cap. There was a problem after they went to the new red caps with the heights of those two pieces...
Let us know what you find.........or PM me if you need additinal info on this...

[w-lewis]

I've been communicating with a gentleman at MSD and he's given me a few items to check. So far, it's NOT the coil. I'll talk with him again tommorrow and try next step. Will keep you all posted. Thanks for your interest and suggestions.

[w-lewis]

Problem turned out to be the Ignition Switch. Thanks to Alan Weaver at Unique Motorcars for the suggestion.
Walter