M-16 Haltrack that ran but doesnt run now

[P.VanTine]

My dads M-16 Halftrack ran a couple of years ago but now it doesnt.I dont know if it gets spark from the battery to the coil but I know it doest get spark from the coil to the distributer and weve changed the coil a bunch of times . We had a problem there was an original distributer in it that got rusted stuck in it and it took us 3 weeks to get it out.We put a new distributer in last year and it still wont start the engine turns but nothing. Before this when it did start it would start up all the time it even started when it was 0 degrees out but then we notice it kept taking longer and longer to start I have no idea what the problem is so if any of you know what to do please tell me

[P.VanTine]

I could really use the help

[hamo]

New fuel, air leak around carburetor, timing, condenser for points. fuel pump leaking or sucking air?

This will maybe help some. Some easy things to check anyway.

Also check ground connection on distributor.

There are plenty of guys who know more than me about the distributor set up.

Could you have gotten it in 180 degrees out?

hamo

[Guest]

I found that my White Scoutcar would take longer each time to fire up. The reason was the plugs oiling up! After taking them out and cleaning them she will fire up stright away.

Regards Andrew

[hamo]

Yep,

sounds like this could be a problem also to me. I thought only my stuff had those problems!

HAMO

[John]

Are your points opening and closing? Maybe they have corroded and need sanding/filing?

John

[P.VanTine]

We put new spark plugs in but she still wont run

[RadioJeepMan]

P.

First of all pull one or two plug wires out of the plugs and remove the plugs. Reconnect the plug wires to the plugs and let the plugs rest on the engine block (Metal base of the plugs must be on the engine block or some other metal engine component). Make sure plug wire connections have plenty of clearence. Crank it and make sure you have spark at the plugs.
Results:
A) Spark=you probably have distributor installed incorrectly resulting in incorrect timing. Which will either not allow it to start at all and/or pop and backfire. Spark should be a nice bright blue( Not orange).
B) No Spark=problem in distributor/ignition source.

Next pull coil to distributor high voltage wire out of distributor and see if you have spark at the wire. Spark at this point should jump 1/4-1/2" and should be a nice bright blue. If still no spark pull HV wire out of distributor and insert a phillips screwdriver with a long shaft and good plastic handle) in the coil HV tower and move the shaft near some metal engine component. Crank engine. If you have spark with the coil to distributor wire removed you have found a bad wire. If not:
Results:
A) Spark at wire end=probably a bad distributor cap and/or rotor. Distributor caps can condense moisture inside which will short out the spark. Also caps can get what is called "carbon tracking". This is a small breakdown in the cap's insulating properties resulting in the spark runnung down the inside of the cap to ground (metal dist housing). It ends up making a resistive track for the spark to follow. You have to look really close at the inside of the cap. It will look like a crack or just a pencil mark. Also take a real good look at the rotor. These can fail and allow the spark to short out to the distributor shaft right through the center of the rotor. Have seen a few of these too.
B) No Spark=Gotta dig deeper. Make sure there is 6 or 12 volts (depending on what your running in your veh) at the "+" terminal on the coil with the points open. Points closed will probably be a slightly lower voltage. This will show you have power to the ignition system. If proper voltage is there then remove wire from "-" coil terminal. Take al jumper wire (12" long) and connect one end of it to the "-" terminal on the coil. With voltage on and supplied to the coil "+" terminal take the added jumper wire and touch it to ground and remove. Do this repeatedly. You should have spark coming out of the coil. If you have spark, your coil is Ok. Note; you should have a small ammount of sparking where you touch the jumper wire to ground! If you have no spark coming out of the coil, you have a bad coil. Likewise if you have no sparking with your jumper wire the coil is probably bad on the primary side.

If everything checks out so far, It's coming down to points or a condensor. Make sure points are clean and have NO oil or grease on the contacts. Oil and grease will hake it hard to start. Also make sure points are installed correctly and have .017" gap when fully open (I dont know what the exact 1/2 track spec is but this is pretty common). Points must open and close and will probably spark when opening and closing. Also make sure the small wire inside that goes to the points is not shorted anywhere. It's kinda rare that a condensor can cause no spark, but I wouldnt discount it.


Thats about it. This is typically what I do when troubleshooting distributor ignition systems.

Also note!!! Just because you put in a "New" distributor (Either New Manufacture, New Old Stock, remanufactured or whatever) doesnt mean it will work. I work on $30 million dollar aircraft and I see new parts that are totally inoperative junk all the time. Even on "New" parts.
That's about it. You email me direct if you like and/or I can give you a call. Or even better, why don't you just sell me the Half Track, I REALLY want one anyway.

Thanks
Paul Vandervort
MVPA 437

pgv@imaxx.net

[HWooldridge]

You can also stick valves open and wind up with little or no compression. They get rusty and the springs won't return them enough to make compression. This might be a cause assuming you have spark to the plugs.