The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk Charged Battery w/ Ignition On

1955 1st series, dead battery. Stupid me, hooked up the charger with the ignition on. Now, truck won't start. Burned Points, Condensor, Rotor???? Any ideas?

Need your help Stovebolters, got to get it running to get it into Winter Storage.

Points and rotor are easy to check. Pull the cap and look.

Rotor should be fine. It's on the high voltage circuit and unless it was turning, the coil won't fire.
Points or condenser, or maybe coil. Check how hot the coil got, although it should be OK.

I’ve burnt the points, condenser and coil twice by just leaving the ignition switch on. Buy all three and replace the points a condenser first and if that doesn’t work, replace the coil. Worst case scenario you have a spare which is good to have.

I plan on installing Tom Langdon’s Mini HEI distributor or something similar. If you leave the ignition switch on, it will not harm anything.

If the points were closed they got fried.

Hi 55 first,

i second that recommendation, your points or the coil went bad
maybe... the actual ignition switch got tired and gave up, not much else in that path
coils can ohm out good but still not work, the insulation goes bad inside and the spark shorts out internally leaving nothing for the spark plugs


The OEM ignition system was designed to survive forgetting the key on, it is normal to anticipate folks will forget the key and that shouldn't break your vehicle.
However the realities of the world and the laws of physics means it can lead to permanent damage as some folks can testify first hand.

Clean points make sufficient contact that there is nearly 0 voltage drop at the points, little to no voltage drop means little to no heat dissipation.
The condenser should never fail from leaving the key on if it goes bad it was already bad and you just didn't know it yet.
The OEM coil and resistor (internal or external) limits the current to a survivable amount, about 3-4 amps and the battery just drains.
The coil is large enough it can dissipate on the order of 30-40 watts all night long as the battery drains, it would be hot to touch but not hot like it gets on a summer drive.

I have left the key on in my trucks and i also recall my mom leaving the key on in the 57 chevy car and we have yet to get burned points, so far they have survived.
but we know from experience it can all go south as in your case
best of luck and let us know what you find
-s

Charge the battery, turn the key on and check for voltage at the + side of the coil. If you have voltage there that eliminates
the the key switch being fried. Pop the cap and use a flat tip screwdriver to seperate the points,gently move the tip of the screwdriver to the base of the points and check for spark
if you have a spark the points are bad. Your are basically shorting the points out.

55 first...Have had good service from HEI ignition ...I never buy these always modify one from some GM six. If you have access to a lathe its fairly simpleit then wont be hurt if the key is left on.