1964 V8 Daytona. Ignition or electrical problem?

[Glenn Hansel]

I thought for sure this time the problem was solved. The car was running very poorly with absolutely no power. Among other things I had replaced the points and condesor and check the timing with a timing light (which was fine). It still ran rough and the distributor shaft bushings seemed bad.

I installed a rebuilt distributor last weekend, and on Sunday I had her take me for a 24 mile drive, going upgrade for the first 12 miles and climbing approximately 2000 feet in altitude (the idea was that if the car died, we could coast it most of the way back to her house). The car ran great with plenty of power, which it didn't have before. She drove it during the week (at least another 20-30 miles with no problems).

Then yesterday the car suddenly died on her. It started right up and she drove it home (it ran well) and parked it in her garage. When I first met her the car had that problem. It would just die and she would start it right up again and drive it some more until it died again.

I have recommended that she replace the ignition switch based on a recommendation from this list, but she didn't seem interested in doing so. I am willing to spend time on the car, but really don't want to pay for parts out of pocket.

Bottom line is that my gut feeling is telling me that when the car hits a bump or something there is an interuption in the electrical supply to the engine - maybe a bad ignition switch?

My guess is that this car had (or has) several concurrent issues.

I am stumped and would like some suggestions on how to logically proceed.

Thank you for any help.

[studegary]

This may sound silly, but what does she have hanging on that ignition key. Some people have a big wad of things, including a bunch of keys, on with the ignition key. This can give problems with a worn and weak switch. Just use the ignition key alone and see if the problem still exists.

Gary L.
Wappinger, NY

SDC member since 1968
Studebaker enthusiast much longer

[Glenn Hansel]

Thanks Gary, but she only has the ignition key and door look key on a small chainring. I read years ago that it is not good to have keys hanging from an ignition, so I also only have a single key when running my car.

[maxpower1954]

Hi Glenn, it's nice that you are still helping your friend out.

I know I brought this up before, but unless the gas tank has been removed and cleaned out after 45 years...the symptoms you descibe are EXACTLY what have experienced on Studebakers with trash in the tank. There is no "finger screen" on the fuel tank pickup which every other American car I'm aware has (including AMC and Kaiser.) The trash or big rust flake gets sucked up against the end of the tube, engine starves of fuel and quits. After a short time, with no suction holding the debris against the tube, it falls back off once again allowing fuel to the engine and another start, until it gets picked up again. A finger screen or "banana filter" has a much larger area exposed and makes it more difficult to completely clog. If you can remove, install and time a distributor then dropping the tank and cleaning it out is well within your skill set.

I've noticed on these boards that whenever a problem is presented everyone chimes in with the most exotic and unlikely explanations about what is happening. For some reason the simple solutions like crap in the tank gets short shrift. On the 12 Studebakers I have owned over a 20 year period, I never had a bad igniton switch that left me stranded and some of my cars had 140,000 plus on the clock. Or a bad coil. But I've been stranded by four cars by debris clogged fuel systems. Russ Farris

[sals54]

Glenn, I have to agree with Russ on this one. It sounds much like a fuel problem I've had in the past as well. Remember, though, do the cheapest and easiest fixes first. Then proceed to the more difficult. Again, good luck.

sals54

[Rerun]

I would disagree with the fuel tank clog scenario in this case. You mention that the car starts right back up again. If it were fuel starvation, it would take a bit of cranking to re-fill the bowl of the carburetor.

My vote for most likely cause would be the ignition switch. Another possibility would be the pink "resistor wire" from the ignition switch to the coil. This wire can be a bit brittle and crack inside the insulation after years of flexing between the firewall and engine.

Can you provide a little more information about the conditions when the engine stops running? At idle? While stopped or moving?

Jim Bradley
Lewistown PA
'78 Avanti II

[Mark57]

I had a similar problem on a GM product many years ago and it turned out to be a wire from the ignition switch that had the insulation rubbed off and once in awhile it wuld touch the engine block, cause a short which would kill the engine. It would always immediately restart - it took many hours to figure it out, but I believe you may be on the right track.

<h5>Mark
'57 Transtar Deluxe
Vancouver Island Chapter
http://visdc.shawwebspace.ca/ </h5>

[rusty65]

My guess would be a loose or frayed wire.If it was indeed the ignition switch that was going kaflooey, I would suspect that there would be times that the car wouldn't START when you turned the key.My Daytona would do this from time to time.I wized up only after it wouldn't start and left me stranded in the bay of a self-serve car wash on a sunny July day.[B)]The place was busy as heck and nobody would help me.I had to singlehandedly push it out of the bay,make a sharp left turn and navigate around a maze of Jeeps,BMWs and Nissans and push it another 50 feet (it seemed like two miles).After some time,the car DID start and I got home.Replaced the switch-now it kicks and fires every time.Let us know what it wound up being, please.Good luck- hope it's something simple!!

[Dwain G.]

Here's something you can try that won't cost anything. Disconnect the small 'I' wire at the starter solenoid. It just pulls off the peg, lay it aside, tuck it in somewhere out of the way, and see how the car acts for a few days.


HEY, you're not Wilbur!

[StudeRich]

quote:Originally posted by Dwain G.

Dwain, I think I missed your point, that will just eliminate the 12V kick while starting and always run and start through the resister wire at 8-10 Volts possibly making it hard starting, but what would that prove, since the wire you recommend removing is only activated during cranking, not during running?

StudeRich

[jallen]

Glenn, I think you are right, maybe you could try jiggling any 12 volt wiring you can safely reach with the engine running, if it dies,
you may have found your (her) problem. Good Luck.

[showbizkid]

Another wiring-related thing to check - make sure the ignition switch is tight in the dash and that the terminal studs on it are not contacting the dash frame.

Guys, could it not also be a heat-related issue with the coil? Intermittent open winding?


[img=left]http://members.cox.net/clarknovak/lark.gif[/img=left]

Clark in San Diego
'63 F2/Lark Standard

http://studeblogger.blogspot.com

https://www.studebakersandiego.com

[studegary]

quote:Originally posted by showbizkid

Another wiring-related thing to check - make sure the ignition switch is tight in the dash and that the terminal studs on it are not contacting the dash frame.

Guys, could it not also be a heat-related issue with the coil? Intermittent open winding?

[]Clark in San Diego

Not likely, since it starts right up again. A coil breakdown due to heat requires some cool down time before a restart.

For maxpower1954 - I have had both bad ignition switches and a bad coil that would quit on the road after the coil heated up enough, but I am probably working from a larger sample size than you are.

Gary L.
Wappinger, NY

SDC member since 1968
Studebaker enthusiast much longer

[Dwain G.]

quote:Originally posted by StudeRich

quote:Originally posted by Dwain G.

Dwain, I think I missed your point, that will just eliminate the 12V kick while starting and always run and start through the resister wire at 8-10 Volts possibly making it hard starting, but what would that prove, since the wire you recommend removing is only activated during cranking, not during running?

StudeRich

It's rare, but I have seen these solenoids short out internally causing just such a situation. Since the car is in Arizona I think they can get by without the 12V kick.


HEY, you're not Wilbur!

[Glenn Hansel]

OK, I'll go through the various suggestions above. I'll let you guys know how it turns out. It may take several weeks of eliminating one item at a time.

Thanks