Ignition: 52 Champion Carter intermittent flooding / voltage drop, weak spark when starting

[poweroptions]

OK the carb has been rebuilt 3 times now. A thank you goes out to member Tex on the forum here. My Studebaker has been down since 10/11. The automotive dept. at my local community college has it since 10/11. The dept. head is very knowledgeable and has 50+ years of working on old cars. Problem #1 the carb will be fine for a couple of drives then out of the blue it floods and floods alot till gas pours out the top. The carb was torn down again and no one sees any problems. Homer has asked me to ask ya'll if there is a seat and needle available with a spring on it. SI doesn't seem to have one. Problem #2 when cranking to start, the voltage drops and the spark is very weak. Once started the spark is great. Homer has taken the starter all apart and said it was so clean it needed nothing. I have a brand new voltage regulator and battery in the car. Homer wants me to present this question to you, should I find a 8volt battery and install it in place of my 6V. He said in his youth he had to do this in his early 50s Fords. He is baffled as to why there is this voltage drop when the starter is in tip top shape as well as every other component on the car. I just want to drive my Studebaker again................It's been way to long. thanks a million

[karterfred88]

can't help with the voltage drop problem, but has anyone checked the float "drop". If the fuel in the bowl evaporates while parked for a period of time-common with the newer gasolines, the floats drop. There is a spec for max drop allowed, If they drop too far and the needle falls too far, it will jam off the seat as the fuel bowl fills and will just let the fuel pump keep pushing gas in till it fllows out the vents. Just a thought, sometimes we check the float level only and forget to check the float drop stops.

[41 Frank]

Check for voltage drop. Take voltage reading at battery and again at starter while cranking, voltage drop should be less than a volt. Do you have the proper size battery cables? Installing an 8 volt battery is a bandaid approach at best. As has been mentioned many times before here these cars had no starting problems when new and if all is as it should be they should still start fine. You could do an advanced search here and find all sorts of threads on 6 volt cranking problems.

[poweroptions]

Let me add to the starting/spark problem. When cold the car starts easy and there is spark. It is when it's been driven and warmed up I lose the spark. Cables are big heavy cables for the 6V system. The coil has been replaced along with another new 6volt battery and new voltage regulator, new plugs new wires, ALL from SI. The starter has been pulled and opened and was in super shape. My Champion use to start easy, I did not want to alter it (8V battery)as I keep all of my cars like they left the factory. I do not like to modify.

[poweroptions]

I will check out the float drop, that is new to me. I can only buy ethanol in this part of Texas. I have many issues with this poor excuse of gas in my 460s as all my Lincolns suffer vapor lock these days. I was wondering if a pressure regulator should be added to my car to keep the pressure at 3lbs on the needle. Like I said the flooding happens once every 5-6 drives. It pushes alot of gas out when it does this. Course we were having vapor lock problems this summer in the 100 degree heat. I did break down and modify the fuel system with a elec. fuel pump. That ended up flooding the car nearly everytime I tried to start it. Gas everywhere. I removed the elec. fuel pump. The car had the tank boiled and sealed. I bent all new stainless fuel lines for it. It has a new mech. fuel pump.

[41 Frank]

If the problem happens mostly when the engine is hot, the starter may be drawing too many amps. This could be due to it dragging possibly caused by worn end or center bushings. In my tool box I have a starter draw amp gauge, you may want to check with your mechanic and see if he has such a gauge. Look up the acceptable starter draw in a shop manual and compare it with what you come up with. The two most common causes of high starter amperage draw are a dragging starter or low battery voltage. Not all 6 volt batteries have the same cranking amp rating either. Hope this helps.

Let me add to the starting/spark problem. When cold the car starts easy and there is spark. It is when it's been driven and warmed up I lose the spark. Cables are big heavy cables for the 6V system. The coil has been replaced along with another new 6volt battery and new voltage regulator, new plugs new wires, ALL from SI. The starter has been pulled and opened and was in super shape. My Champion use to start easy, I did not want to alter it (8V battery)as I keep all of my cars like they left the factory. I do not like to modify.

[poweroptions]

Frank, done that, starter torn down,checks excellent, battery test 6.9V. thanks