I have a 66 electra with a 401. Always ran good. Untill yesterday morning, I start it up and it runs terrible, kicks ,sputters and coughs. It rained all night so I figure its water in the distributor cap. I leave work and same thing, runs awful. I shut it down and spray the inside of the cap and same thing, runs awful all the way home. Motor dies on my street and coasts up to my house. I replaced the cap, rotor, points and coil. Now it won't even start, just sort of coughs and spits alittle. Definately getting fuel. Did my timeing chain jump? How do I confirm my timing when it won't start????
remove no 1 spark plug. bump the starter while holding your thumb over the hole. when you feel compression coming up stop. then WITH THE IGN SW. OFF, rotate the engine up to exact top dead center by hand. Remove the dist cap and see where the pointer is. It should pointing to no 1 spark plug wire terminal in the cap, or very close to it. Sounds like bad points, or condenser or coil. The ign fire should be blue and jump an inch to ground. If it is yellow and wont jump very far, you have an electrical problem. Points will glaze and not fire very good or at all when they do. From what you describe I would lean toward a good secondary electrical tune up too.[ replace points, plugs, condenser, wires, rotor, dist. cap Yes , definitly look at the timing chain situation. Sound like you have already done most of what it takes for it to run again. Question, is the gas contaminated???? have you bought gas recently????is some one mad at you????? May be the fuel. Hook up a can of known good fuel and see if it runs. The sudden onset of problems following parking it when running good, makes a red flag wave to me.
I'm pretty sure the drivers side (front obviously) . Look at the motor from the side...the head that is closest to the radiator is where the #1 is. Rick
On most Buick and other engines #1 is in the front on the driver side. The nailhead is not. Number 1 is in front on the passenger side for the nailheads. Cheryl
Sounds like the exact problem I had with my Buick a while back. I still never figured it out. It had gas, it had spark but would not even almost start. And the night before it died for good it ran like CRAP. Please let me know if you figure it out. And I know for '59 the #1 is the front passenger cylinder like Cheryl said.
Nice to know I'm not alone. I checked the timing last night and it seems fine. I disconnected the fuel line and ran it to a funnel for gravity feed. Tried to start a couple of times now the motor turns over slowly and the solenoid chatters, just like a low battery. I used my jump box but it doesn't help.wtf.I have a good 12.5 volts at the battery. Battery cable looks to be in good condition. I'm going to put it up on jack stands this weekend and look at or replace the starter/solenoid.
I replaced the starter solenoid and it still turns over slow and chatters. Guess I'll replace the battery cables next.
Just visually inspect the cables and connections, if they are good, then you need to rebuild the starter. It sounds like to me that most likely the bushings in the starter are worn out and the armature is dragging on the pole shoes. If it is you can spend money and effort un till the cows come home and it aint going to get any better. This is why I have a firm rule ; if a starter is removed from an engine, I rebuild it. Period. Saves a lot of trouble.
I guess I did not make my last post clear. I replaced the solenoid and the starter both. But thank you for your input. Jerry
I messed with it again today. Jumpered out all sorts of stuff but had no luck. I jumpered out the battery cables, the solenoid wires and nothing seems to help. I know my fuse box has given me a few problems before due to corrosion and a couple broken wires, so I may change the fuse box since I bought another one from Topcat. But does the starting/ignition circuits pass through the the fuse box???? Damn thing will sometimes turn over fast and almost start then turns over slow and the solenoid chatters similar to a dead battery. Really pissed off, both my Buicks are down and I can't seem to figure them out. Maybe I need a new hobby(I hear that neddle point is fun).aaarrrggghhhhh.....
You mentioned 12.5v at the battery, is that while cranking or no load? I had a similar problem with my V6 Buick. I thought I had a good battery, only 6 months old, had good voltage with no load, and I presumed a worn out starter motor to be the problem, but while cranking the battery was dropping a cell. I fitted a replacement battery and the problem was solved. Good luck, a solution can not be too far away. Ross
check for corrosion on the batt. terminals. Pulled my starter, tested bad at Advance, replaced it. Turned out I had just enough corrosion to not turn over. Turns out Advance doesn't know how to test 'em !!!!!!! :af:
Ya, I get 12.5 volts with no load. I even tried my jump box to be sure it wasn't a battery problem and yes I did check and clean all connections. Anybody know if the starting circuit runs threw the fuse block? Jerry
Ya, I relise that but how about the distributor/ignition? I don't think it has a fuse, but does it get power from there or through the key switch?? Jerry
There is a wire that runs from the ignition switch to the coil...I believe. I'd have to look at my wiring diagram to be sure. I bypassed mine for the MSD. It is called a resistance wire (someone will correct me if I am wrong). It is a small gauge, solid wire encased in a white fabric insulation. I think that wire is essential to ignition. Maybe someone else can describe what the resistance wire actually does. Rick
