The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area The Electrical Bay truck wont start

I have a 59 3800 ton, I rewired it and it worked fine I am still running points and I have a ballast resistor I was rigging up a temp exhaust system so I could drive it to the exhaust shop and get one made, I put some gas in the tank and tried to start it it would turn over it has gas at the carb but it wont start. I pulled a plug to check spark, no spark, I changed the coil to a another one that I know is good no spark, I pulled the cap, checked the points filed them alittle put it all back together still wont start I checked the wiring under the dash all looks good I don't understand will a bad ballast resistor cause the truck to not start its the only thing between the coil and the switch I don't have a spare and the one on there is new can I bypass it or would that be a bad thing my wire harness is set up for a HEI dist I run the harness HEI wire to the ballast resistor and then to the coil it worked fine 2 dozen times always started right up now I have a 6000lb rolling paperweight

might have a bad coil, might check the coil wire and see if
it might be corroded..

you can put a jumper from + battery terminal to the coil wire coming from the ballast resistor at the coil. If it starts either the resistor is bad ,or the wire from the ignition switch
may have come loose, or switch may be bad.

I have the HEI plug wire connected to the ballast resistor, then to the + on the coil. Can I just connect the + wire from the coil to the HEI plug and bypass the ballast resistor altogether. Or will this be bad for the points

For a short time no harm. To test the connections, no problem. If it starts, then the wire to the resistor is bad or the resistor is open.

Ok I connected a jump wire from the pos on the battery to the pos on the coil. Got some sparks off the battery terminal. Tried it it hit once but never started, I disconnected that setup I connected the HEI plug wire to the pos wire on the coil. And bypassed the ballast resistor. Still didn't start. I pulled a plug wire put another plug in it grounded it on the frame. No spark. I'm thinking maybe the condenser is bad. It's 90 degrees in the garage and I'm giving up for today. Everything is new all wires and plug/coil wires. The switch is orginal but it works in all positions

panmanhd,

Did you put the rotor back in after you did your troubleshooting! If the condenser goes sour, you can pull it out of the circuit and the rig should start. For a short run it's no big deal but be aware that a bum condenser (shorted to ground) is very rare. I would look for something else. A Ohmmeter is a great tool for finding these gremlins.

If you have power to the key side(+) of the coil the only thing that will hold up production is bad points. Make sure you are diagnosing the problem correctly. Pulling a plug and grounding it to check spark is good, but it must be a 'real' ground and you must be sure there is NO spark present. A foolproof test is to scrap the plug and grab the wire.

Stuart

Check the fourth post down, by raycow. Good information when you have no spark.
http://www.chevytalk.org/fusionbb/showtopic.php?tid/302175/

Thanks 55 shaker. That post that you sent me to was very good, I tried all the info but it still won't start. It did get real close to the distributor and checked it. The points are fine the wire from the neg post on the coil to the points is good and not loose. The condenser wire looks good to. The only thing that might be a possible problem. Is that the ground wire at least that's what it looks like. That goes from the points plate, where it looks like its soldered down to a screwed down spot on the vacuum advance plate. This very little and old wire was exposed, the wire covering was broken. The wire was not. I wrapped it up,for now. I tired it again. It wanted to start one time. And then nothing. I checked the coil and I had power at the pos side of the coil. And power at the wire terminal at the ballast resistor going to the pos at the coil, I pulled the coil plug wire to the dist cap and kept it 1/4 inch from a manifold bolt. Turned her over and no spark So do I have a bad coil or resistor or starter switch or wire ? I know this has to be an easy fix I just can't figure it out. And it's starting to bug me

panmanhd,

There seem to be some things that don't make a lot of sense going on. You state in your last post that "it wanted to start". This isn't typical of an electrical problem..more like a fuel problem.

If the point gap is set correctly and you have verified power to
the key side of the coil then something should pop or snort.

To refine the troubleshooting, I would pull the cap, turn the key ON and using a screwdriver, sneak the points open and closed. You should at the very least see a little bit of spark...maybe do this at night or in a garage with lights off.

My only other suggestion would be to make sure the engine is grounded to the frame or body or whatever the battery is grounded to.

Things aren't adding up...something is rotten in Harrodsburg!

Stuart

OK so you are changing too many things at once. By the way it will not run without a condensor.

No Spark: Run a wire from the battery positive to the coil. Rotate the engine until the points are closed. Now force the points open with a piece of plastic. That should generate a spark at the points and at the coil tower wire.

Yes...of course it will not run without a condenser, I was wrong.

Stuart

do you have voltage coming from the ignition switch? Check the wire from the switch to the ballast resistor. Also, yo can put a jumper from the same wire to the positive on the coil. then try it.