Earlier I remarked about the '56 Fairlane with electronic distributor and modern Summit carb and how it got
hot and would't start.
Well, I was advised to replace coil wire. Did so, went for 10 mile run, no problems, returned home, let car idle
in place for 10 minutes, no fan, turned off, restated in 10 minutes. NO PROBLEMS...FIRED UP LIKE IT ALWAYS!!!
Happy Farilane owner.
Thanks to all for the advice,
Tim
 Wrinkle Beach, Florida
33706

My buddy's 64 Galaxie had the same problem.  It would run fine then out of nowhere it wouldn't start.  I chased it for a week and it finally quit long enough for me to find the problem.  His ignition wires had carbon centers. One end of the coil wire was burnt causing the spark to jump the gap.  It's been about a year with no more problems.   Lesson learned. 

My coil wire was the same, burnt at the end going into the coil.
Thanks for you help.
Tim
Waiting room for Heaven, FL
33606

Good Morning,
So the coil wire was replaced. Sunday, went for a 15 mile run to visit a friend. Car ran great. After an hour visit, car wouldn't start.
Replaced coil wire (again) and drove 10 miles and car died at red light. Had an extra coil wire, installed and drove 5 miles home.
Got in garage, waited 10 minutes, it would not start.
Monday, called Mfg of new coil "MASTERPRO IGNITIONS", nice people, recommended a ballast resistor or a coil with an internal resistor. On line they are used on Ford tractors.
I have a ballast resistor, should it be installed ?
Any other problem solving ideas out there ?
Thanks in advance,
Tim 
Hot 'n Humid, 
FL 33706

Mfg of new coil "MASTERPRO IGNITIONS", nice people:

Recommended a ballast resistor or a coil with an internal resistor.

"FREE SAMPLE"

There is no such thing as "FREE"

Consult the instructions and / or contact the manufacturer of the electronic distributor to ensure that the coil matches and for guidance about the ballast resistor.


Lawrenceville, GA

I tried contacting them on Monday by phone and then an email. They could be on vacation or out of business.
Their web site is still up and running. CRTPERFOMANCE.COM 
I agree with you that the coil has to be comparable with the HEI distributor. When I bought the HEI, I had a Pertronic unit with a
40,000 watt coil . Roger at CRT Performance said it would work fine with the distributor. I'm not sure what the watts are on
this new MasterPro coil that we bought at O'Reilly's. Will be checking that out. And I'm going to check out an coil with an
internal resistor.
Thanks for you support and help.
Tim
Florida 
33706

Are you trying to keep the cylindrical coil - or is a modern "E-type" with high temp wire allowable? The key issue is how many OHMs the coil or combined coil and ballast resistor are placing in the circuit. The Motorola "chip" (or a copy) that the common HEI type ignitions are using runs as many amps as it takes to "saturate" the coil. It varies the "dwell" to do this. They often need a pretty big power wire when using a low OHM coil.

The "high voltage" that coil manufacturers advertise like crazy - "50,000 volts" is a common ad - only refers to the insulation properties of the winding wire. In practice the coils are firing at about 10,000 to 12,000 volts so plenty of safety factor.

One of the "CD" type ignitions is a different animal  - they deliver high voltage / low amps.

 
 Steve Metzger       Tucson, Arizona

Thanks for your informative information.
The new coil is a ACCELL #8140 that is advertised to have 42,000 volts.
Also, and this is a test, I used two strands of # 10 copper wire wrapped together as a coil wire.
This works, but have not driven the car any distance (15 miles or more)
All I know is that after the car cools down for 30 to 45 minutes, it fires right up.
Thanks again,
Tim
Hot 'n Humid
Florida 33706