40S Electrical-John T or Clooney

Runs fine when it does start. A small shot of ether will often help starting.

Try that jumper wire test that Clooney describes first. Let us know if that did it. I am curious. My 420 did that lets stop for a while thing for a long time. About the time I blew out the fuel filter it started again. One day it quit for good down by the pond. I jumped the ignition and since I had other things on my mind for a while it served as the ignition switch until I was totally embarrassed. When I ran it down it turned out the be a faulty factory soldering joint on one of the wires that hook to the fuse - don't know if the 40 has the fuse in the dash like the 420 and doubt if the problem will be the same. I had replaced the ignition switch about a year ago to cure the first "lets take a break" blues. Good luck.

1. I would be interested in knowing that after it dies and fails to start, if you immediately remove the plugs are they bone dry or wet???? 2. Once they are removed and still wired up and against frame, as you crank the old girl over do you get a good blue spark at each plug?? 3. If the plugs removed were bone dry yet you still get a good blue spark, Im wondering if the choke butterfly plate is actually closing even if the outer rod looks like shes full choked???? Do clooneys flow tests and see if the choke plate is actually full closing, and do my plug test and we will know a bit more.

4. I would also do that initial jumper wire test direct to the coils high side to eliminate any bad swith or wirign problems and with the ignition on verify near battery voltage at the coils high side and near dead ground at the low distributor side when points are closed, yet near batetry voltage when they are open on high cam position.

Insure the simple thigns first like the points are open to at least 0.020 on high cam and both plugs give a good blue spark and check to see if the choke is full closing and what the plugs look like after cranking but a failed start (Try a fresh new set even) and post back and we will get you going or clooney will come there personally and repair it lol.

Good Luck n God Bless Ol John T

~Before we give you a long voltage testing sequence I will give you a quick test... First thing to try is to make a 14 gauge jumper wire that will run from the starter big battery cable stud to the coil [ign switch side] terminal. Then just before cranking, install that jumper & see if it starts better & stays running [if so, your problem is probably poor wiring, corroded wiring connections, or high resistance in the ignition switch [common problem on the 40]... If that doesn't help, do the same test & use your volt meter set on DC voltage & set to read in the 6 volt range, then place one lead on a bare metal contact area on the block & a bare metal contact area on the distributor housing & see if it shows a voltage reading over about .25 volts during cranking, if so remove the distributor hold down & clean the mounting area so it has a good ground contact, [another common problem on the 40]...

~If you want to work your way through most of the problem areas, start by making sure the points are not oxidized & set to .020", then make sure the ignition wires are solid metal core [not TVRS carbon core] , then install new H-10C or H-12 spark plugs gapped to .025", then look to make sure the coil has the same terminal [+ or -] going to the distributor as the battery has going to ground. That should cover the basic ignition system.

~Now move on the fuel system, open the carb bowl drain make sure you have a pencil sized stream of fuel flowing for AT LEAST 30 seconds, [if not find out why]. Then install new gasoline if yours is old or has been stored for a while. It wouldn't hurt to see if the choke is completely closing & the carb inlet elbow drain strainer [in bottom of carb inlet] is not plugged or painted shut.

~If it still acts up when starting, move on to some basic voltage monitoring...Start by turning the ignition on & checking the battery voltage at the battery posts [you need that for comparison], then with the ign still on measure the voltage at the ign coil [ign switch side] it should be within a .2 volts of battery [points closed] & the same as battery voltage points open [if not see above for S/W resistance & wire corrosion], then crank the engine & see what the coil voltage is during cranking [ign switch side ], it should be 4.5 or above. [if it's low see what the battery voltage is during cranking]. If ok so far move your voltmeter to the distributor side of the coil & measure the voltage there, it should the same as the ign switch side [points open] & under .4 volts [points closed] if not see above for distributor ground & point oxidation.

~If all ok so far take an old [good] spark plug & open the gap to 3/16" & install it in one plug wire at a time & crank the engine [leave the old spark plugs in the engine] & see if a blue spark jumps the 3/16" gap multiple times in a row, if not pull the coil wire from the cap & hold it within 3/16" of the block & crank the engine & see if you get a multiple blue spark there. If you don't measure up here install a new condenser & re-test. If you still don't measure up here post back on where the spark isn't doing it's job [including the spark color].

~If all the above doesn't show a problem or it tests out ok but still acts up, run a cold compression test & post back for more places to look.....