Ignition System

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Tips by Tom Endy |
Identify by Year
Locate/Purchase Special thanks to Tom Endy for his Tech Tips and Tom Wesenberg for his tips on checking
Search techniques for Coil Polarity and Installing the Condenser properly.
locating a Model A

Insure List of insurance After reading this page:

companies
Visit the fordgarage.com for historical and detailed information.

Basics
Start/Drive How to
start and drive a Model A.

Includes dbl clutching.

Inspection:
When moving the Spark Advance
Roadside
Lever inside the cab, all the way up
Trouble Systematic
trouble shooting why the and/or all the way down, the spark
"A" will not start.
retard arm on the distributor
Ignition Inspect, time, should not make contact with the
and learn how it works.
Upper Distributor Body on either
Carburetion Learn side.
how it works. Plus rebuild

tips by Tom Endy .

The fix: For the 29-31 two tooth
Brakes Utube Video steering, loosen both steering
Tire How to remove the column clamps. One is inside the
tire skin from the rim..
cab and the other is under the
(modelAbasics video)
hood. Rotate the steering column
Accessories
Advertised accessories,
until the arm functions properly.
parts, & tools from 1928 Tighten the clamps.
thru 1931

Extras
Links Anything and Inspect the Distributor Shaft.
Everything Model A.
(Maintained by Steve

Plucker on the Fordbarn)

The Distributor Shaft should not
rock back and forth. If it does rock,
Videos
Sooner Model A Club it is time to replace the bushings.

Slight rotational play is ok.

Setting Rotor/Distributor Contact Gap
Put on parking brake, place gear
shift lever in neutral position, and
use the Hand Crank to rotate the
rotor.

Check the rotor at all four

distributor contact points. The gap
should be .025

The fix: Bend the Rotor and/or file

the contacts on the Distributor
Housing.

Setting Point Gap

To adjust points proceed as
follows:
1. Lift off distributor cap, rotor, and
body. Turn engine over slowly with
hand crank until breaker arm rests
on one of the lobes of the cam
with the breaker points fully
opened.
2. Loosen lock screw and turn the
contact screw until the gap is
between .018 and .022”. A
standard thickness gage is used to
obtain this measurement. When
correct adjustment is obtained,
tighten the lock screw. After
tightening the lock screw, again
check the gap to make sure the
adjustment was not altered when
the lock screw was tightened.
3. Replace distributor body, rotor
and cap or proceed to ignition
timing.

Ignition Timing:
1. Inspect the Distributor as stated
above.
2. Put on parking brake
3. Place gear shift lever in neutral
position
4. Fully retard spark lever.
5. If not previously done, remove
the distributor cover and lift off
rotor and distributor body.
6. Check Point Gap. If necessary
adjust them as previously
described above.
7. Screw out timing pin located in
timing gear cover and insert
opposite end of pin into opening.

8. Find Top Dead Center. With the

hand crank, turn the engine over
slowly, at the same time pressing
in firmly on the timing pin. When
piston # 1 reaches the end of the

stroke (top), the timing pin will slip

into a small recess in the cam
gear.

Tip: If the engine had been running

recently, the timing pin should drop
into the recess when the rotor is
about to line up with contact #1 on
the distributor cap.
Note: While hand cranking to find the timing mark mark, occasionally pause to relieve the
compression pressure.

Note: If the timing mark is missed it is two revolutions, with the hand crank to return to the
previous point.

Note: By removing Plug # 1 and shining a small flash light into the hole, it is possible to see
the top of the piston when you are at Top Dead Center.

Note: By removing all the plugs, the compression is eliminated and the engine is easier to
hand crank.
9.Remove the cap and rotor.
Loosen cam locking screw until
the cam can be turned. Note: A
cam wrench can be purchased
from one of the Model A venders,
makes the job easier.

10. Replace rotor and/or use the

cam wrench to turn and line up the
notch in the cam with the No1
contact point on distributor head.

11. Remove rotor and/or wrench

from cam and using your fingers
slightly turn the cam in a counter
clockwise direction, until the
breaker points are fully opened.

12.Slowly turn the cam back in a

clockwise direction until the points
just close.

13. Lock the cam by securely tightening the cam locking screw. This method removes the
backlash in the distributor shaft from affecting the timing.

14.Turn on the ignition and with your fingers twist the cam counter clockwise. With the
slightest movement the points should spark. If it does not spark retime.

Final check with the ignition on pull the spark advance lever down one or two notches and
listen and/or have someone watch for a spark from the points. If the lever moves more then
three notches retime.

Replace timing pin and put away crank

Oil the distributor and Apply Vaseline to the cam.

15. Reassemble distributor housing, rotor, and cap

Model A's are positive ground. The Model A frame acts as the positive ground wire
from the battery
The Primary Circuit.
The primary circuit is the low
voltage circuit that controls the
ignition system.

Battery - provides the power

to run the system.
Ammeter - Used to measure
the current flow.
Ignition Switch - allows the
driver to turn the system on
and off.
Points - a mechanical switch
that acts as the triggering
mechanism to break the
circuit to collapse the
magnetic field in the coil.
Condenser - provides a false
ground and protects the
points from burning out.
Primary Coil - produces the
magnetic field which
collapses and creates the
high voltage in the secondary
coil.
Wires - join all the
components together.
Model A Frame - acts as the
positive wire used for
ground.

The Secondary Circuit

The Secondary Circuit is the high voltage side of the ignition system. The voltage is generated
when the magnetic field collapses in the primary windings.

Secondary Coil -Creates a high voltage when enacted upon by the collapsing of a
magnetic field in the primary coil.
.Coil Wire - a highly insulated wire, that takes the high voltage from the coil, to the
distributor cap.
Distributor Cap - a plastic cap with an electrode to distribute the electricity to the rotor.
Rotor - spins around on the top of the distributor shaft, and distributes the spark to the
right spark plug.
Plug Connectors- metal strip that takes the high voltage from the cap to the plugs.
Spark Plugs - Highly insulated electrode that forces electricity to arc across a gap in
order to ignite a fuel air mixture in a combustion chamber of an engine.

Primary and Secondary

System

The ignition switch allows the

driver to turn the system on and
off. Turning the key to the on
position closes the circuit and
allows current to flow. As current
flows around the primary coil, a
magnetic field is created. The
strength of the magnetic field is
determined by how long the points
are closed.

The points act as a mechanical

switch that is controlled by the
distributor's cam. When the points
open, the circuit is broken; this
instantly collapses the magnetic
field and induces a high voltage
into the secondary windings. The
voltage is so intense that in its
path to ground, it is able to ionize
the air gap of the spark plug, thus
igniting the fuel air mixture in the
combustion chamber.

How The Condenser Works

The function of a condenser is to

provide a false ground. When the
points open and the magnetic
field collapses in the coil. A high
voltage is created in both the
primary and secondary windings.
The voltage in the secondary
windings heads towards the
spark plugs to ignite the fuel;
while the new induced voltage in
the Primary windings searches
for ground. The voltage created
by the collapsing of the magnetic
field in the primary coil is strong
enough to jump the gap between
the points in the distributor as
they open, but instead, the current
is attracted to the condenser,
where it is collected and stored to
assist in the next cycle of creating
a magnetic field in the Primary
Coil.
Note: At one time the condenser was considered the weak link in the system and failed often.
Today's reproduction condensers do not fail like their predecessors and are quite reliable.

Tom Wesenberg Tip:

"Condensers are very easy and quick to change if you follow these steps exactly.
1. Have the new condenser lying next to the distributor.
2. From the passenger side, remove the ground screw FIRST.
3. From the driver’s side remove the condenser terminal screw and be sure to keep light
pressure on the screw while you slip out the old condenser and slip in the new one.
4. Tighten the terminal screw, then go to the passenger side and tighten the ground screw.
Always set the points to .020” first, then set the timing. Remember that the points setting can
affect the timing, but the timing can’t affect the points setting. Be sure to have lube on the
points rubbing block. I always carry a small piece of sandpaper in my billfold just in case I
need to clean points, or check an engine number at a swap meet, etc. A points file is good to
keep in your car’s tool kit and only costs about a dollar."

How The Coil Works

The coil itself does not care

which way it is hooked up, it will
be just as efficient either way. On
the other hand the spark plugs do
care. They prefer the center
electrode to be negative and the
end electrode to be positive. The
reason is electrons like to jump
from a cold surface to a hot
surface and the center electrode
of a spark plug is hotter than the
end electrode. By correctly
establishing the coil’s polarity the
voltage required to jump the
spark plug gap is 15 to 30 percent
stronger which may or may not be
evident on the performance of
your ‘A’ depending on the
condition of the ignition
components. Oddly enough the
large amount of voltage created
by the coil is not affected,
positively or negatively, by the
mere 6 volts (or 12) of the battery.
Therefore; positive ground or
negative ground of the battery is
not relevant.
Tom Wesenberg Tip:
"To check coil polarity hold a
pencil lead in the spark path with
the plug wire about a third of an
inch away from the distributor
terminal. You’ll see a FLARE on
one side of the pencil lead and
this flare should be on the spark
plug side of the lead." Tom
suggests to hold the pencil in the
middle or even slide the pencil
into a plastic tube to avoid an
electrical shock.

If the flare is on the plug wire

side. Switch the two wires on the
coil.

Restoration Tips by Tom Endy

Distributor Techniques
Numerous articles have been
written concerning the
rebuilding of the Model A Ford
distributor. Just about any one
of them will get you through the
rebuilding process. The intent of
this article is to provide some
tips to help you do the job better.
Distributor Roadside Seminar
On any long club tour sooner or
later one of the Model A's will
pull over to the side of the road
and up will come the hood. The
first component to be attacked
is the distributor, and it is
probably the most likely source
of the problem..
Model A Ford Ignition
Diagnostic
Ammeter "Jiggle"... A wealth of
knowledge:
The Ammeter
The ammeter in a Model A Ford
can be a very useful tool in a
variety of situations that will
signal to the driver the car’s
electrical status.

For a complete listing of Tom Endy's Tech Articles, Please visit:

http://www.ocmafc.org/

Inspection | Rotor/Dist Gap | Point Gap | Timing | Primary Circuit | Secondary Circuit | Tech
Tips by Tom Endy |