Ignition: 1956 President not starting

[Jruiz]

Hello everyone I am new to the forum, and a proud owner of a 1956 President.
About 2 weeks ago the engine just stopped working; engine cranked but the car did not start and had no spark. I figured that this was the perfect opportunity to replace some old ignition components and that would do the job, so this is the list of items I replaced with new components

1. Replaced spark plugs
2. sparkplug cables
3. distributor cover
4. rotor
5. condenser
6. points
7. balast resistor
8. starter coil
9. ignition coil

I falsely assumed that the engine should start. I now have all new components, no spark and the engine cranks but does not start. I sadly accept that I have reached the end of my knowledge which honestly; is limited to replacing old parts with new parts. in this case, such skill proved to be useless Any ideas?

[sals54]

[Warren Webb]

Since it suddenly stopped running would tell me to look for something either broken or inoperative. Since you replaced the points & condenser did you reset the timing? Does the distributor move when cranking the engine? If you troubleshoot the steps Sal outlined you just need 3 basic things, fuel, electrical & mechanical. When your cranking the engine does it sound the same as it did before when it ran? Battery condition? Are you trying to start it by using jumper wires from another running car?

[christophe]

[blkstu60]

I agree with Christoph. Run a hot wire to the positive side of the coil, then the positive on the battery. If it starts proceed with the other advice. If that doesn't work, distributor could be shorting out. I have had that happen. Hope this helps.

[Guest]

Warren mentioned this in his post and it was the first thing that occurred to me; check to see if the rotor in the distributor is turning when you crank it. If not, likely the timing gear has broken teeth. Studebaker used a fiber-type gear on the cam and after 50 years and lotsa miles, they break.

[55 56 PREZ 4D]

Please, keep the site informed on what you find.
As you narrow it down it will be easier to make suggestions.

[BobPalma]

Let's see: When I was 16 (really), I put a new set of points in the family's 1957 President 2-door. When tightening the primary wire to the distributor point terminal, I rotated the wire end when tightening the nut such that the wire terminal rotated down enough to ground out on the distributor plate.

Naturally, a no-start condition resulted....and at age 16, it took me a butt-load of "figgerin' out" to find what I had done wrong!

Obviously, you must consider all manner of things those of us here can't see by long distance. BP

[doug]

Did yu check the gas? Any gas coming through the carburetor? Remove air cleaner and pump the throttle.

[Jruiz]

Thank you all for your support, I will recheck the firing order, and connect a direct wire to the coil first thing in the morning. The rotor turns and I have fuel in the carburetor.
I will keep you all updated as I progress; with your help, towards success.

[tim333]

Problem I had with my 57 Commander 259 after installing new points and then no spark: lost the ground in the distributor. Take your voltmeter, black to ground and red to points contact arm. If you have 12v, push the arm so the points open and close. If the voltage doesn't change back and forth from 12v to zero, you have no ground. You may have to scuff up the underside of the points plate as well as the top surface of the dizzy plate to get a good ground. After I did that it fired right up. Before you do all that, make sure you have 12v TO the distributor!!

[blkstu60]

HooRay!! Glad it worked out.

[StudeRich]

HooRay!! Glad it worked out.

NOT so fast there blkstu60, tim333 is NOT the OP! No answer yet!

[Mrs K Corbin]

another thing to consider is if you use sand-paper on the points, you need to clean them with a piece of rag or file afterwards, apparently the SAND in the sand-paper sometimes sticks to the points and doesn't conduct electricity..... Found this out the hard way once....

[StudeNorm]

I once had a car that had a bad ballast resistor cct. The resistor was OK but a wire was corroded open inside the insulation. When I tried cranking it by turning the ignition key hard over it would not start. By fluke I did get it to start if I only turned the key enough to just get the starter engaged. It seems at one position both ccts were energized and the car started. It was really tricky to find this point but even now if one of my Studebakers doesn't start right away I will slowly back off the key to see if it starts at the "almost disengaged" point. I drove that car so long using this technique that it is now actually a habit and I don't even realize at first that I am still doing it. Probably not a good thing!

Hot wiring the coil's positive connector should tell you if the problem is in this cct. It sounds like you have replaced all the common culprits so, as stated earlier, now you will have to follow the power. Bad wiring can be a real bear!

Lastly, just because a part is new doesn't always mean it is functional. I once chased a bad, but brand new, coil for days...