Clark Forklift with Continental Flathead 4 Cylinder No Spark

[race21]

Hey everyone. New member here. We purchased some property about a year ago that had an old Clark forklift that came with it. I believe it was running when parked (probably 10+ years ago) as it was replaced for an electric forklift. Anyways, we dug it out in hopes of getting it running again. We were not able to to find any ID tags on the forklift or engine for that matter, but after some research it appears to be a Continental Flathead 4 cylinder. We replaced the battery and got a tank of propane and tried to start. It would turn over great, but nothing. No apparent spark. So, we replaced the points and condenser, spark plugs, coil and still no spark. We then replaced the the Delco Remy cap (clip style pre-1963) and rotor and tried again. No spark yet. The plug wires seem to be okay and I've check for continuity.

The engine is very rusty, so I thought maybe the spark plug wasn't grounding well enough. I tried several other areas and still no spark. I took a plug wire and attached it directly to the rotor and then tried to get spark from that and nothing. This is a generator 12v setup. I checked for 12 volts at the distributor stud that has a wire connected to the one side of the coil. With key turned and start button held it does have 12v at this stud while cranking. I also spread apart the points with a screw driver while cranking engine and I DID see sparking there and they do open and close.

So, at this point I'm not sure what to try or check next. The rotor does point towards cylinder 1 and wasn't apart or anything and was previously running when parked, which leads me to believe the timing should be fine. I just have no spark. The only thing I haven't changed are the spark plug wires, but they do look like they were replaced at sometime and I don't see any obvious reason to do so.

Any help would be great. I can provide pics or additional information if needed. Thanks, Jason

 

[Gene Davis(Ga.)]

If you saw a spark when you spread the points with a screwdriver, chances are the point need a good cleaning to remove any oxidation from the contact face surfaces. New points almost always need cleaning/polishing before installing them.

 

[race21]

If you saw a spark when you spread the points with a screwdriver, chances are the point need a good cleaning to remove any oxidation from the contact face surfaces. New points almost always need cleaning/polishing before installing them.

Ah, okay. I didn't know that. I will try that. I just figured since they're new, they should be good. My first time dealing with points.

 

[SkipperII]

Ah, okay. I didn't know that. I will try that. I just figured since they're new, they should be good. My first time dealing with points.

Your comment makes me chuckle. Most of this group are still trying to understand the workings of electronic ignitions

Welcome aboard.

 

[race21]

Quick question. Probably stupid. But we didn't have the propane bottle hooked up. Is it possible that it needs to see the flow of fuel (propane) first for there to be spark? Just thought I'd throw that out there. Thanks again.

 

[Fritz Maurer]

Look on or near the coil for a ballast resistor, many continentals had them. Poke around with a test light and see how far the power is getting from the ignition switch.

 

[redtom]

Should be a trusty F163 engine. Almost every point set I put in needs some type of cleaning , , ,sanding, degreasing. And good call checking with screwdriver for spark. Unfortunately the screwdriver provides good contact which is misleading when the new points have film of oil, etc on them and can't make contact on their own.

 

[stevieb49829]

Probably a Continental F124 or F140. I got an F124 out of a Clark forklift and put it in my Massey Harris tractor. I had the brass tag off the side of the forklift, and a really nice lady at Clark sent me the factory info on that particular machine.

One other thing to check is if the pass-through stud on the distributor is actually insulated against the body of the distributor. If there is a short there, then the points won't get any current. Set your meter to ohms and check for a short between the stud and the body of the distributor. Then, just to make sure everything is OK, there should be continuity between the distributor body and the engine block. I had a short between the hot side of my points and the base plate where they mount, that took some hard work tracking down. steve

 

[race21]

Probably a Continental F124 or F140. I got an F124 out of a Clark forklift and put it in my Massey Harris tractor. I had the brass tag off the side of the forklift, and a really nice lady at Clark sent me the factory info on that particular machine.

One other thing to check is if the pass-through stud on the distributor is actually insulated against the body of the distributor. If there is a short there, then the points won't get any current. Set your meter to ohms and check for a short between the stud and the body of the distributor. Then, just to make sure everything is OK, there should be continuity between the distributor body and the engine block. I had a short between the hot side of my points and the base plate where they mount, that took some hard work tracking down. steve

Thanks, I will check that as well.

 

[riverbend]

Might check the condenser while you are at it. They can be bad (shorted) right out of the box.

 

[used red MN]

Hello race21, welcome to YT! A test light is a good tool to help you diagnose a points ignition. For one with the key on is there power to the feed to the coil, connects to terminal of coil opposite of the one going to the distributor. Next with power to the coil when the points are open the test light should light on the terminal of the wire from the distributor. If not something is grounding on the points themselves or what Stevie mentioned in reply 8 is your trouble. When points are closed the light should be out on the distributor terminal. If not the points are not carrying enough continuity to ground, which usually means the contacts are dirty. When the points are working properly the test light on the distributor lead should flash on and off rapidly as the points open and close. When you get to that point you should have spark out of the coil. Then you see if it passes through the cap and rotor to the plugs. At this point you are about 90 percent of the way to being assured the ignition is doing what it needs to.

 

[race21]

Hello race21, welcome to YT! A test light is a good tool to help you diagnose a points ignition. For one with the key on is there power to the feed to the coil, connects to terminal of coil opposite of the one going to the distributor. Next with power to the coil when the points are open the test light should light on the terminal of the wire from the distributor. If not something is grounding on the points themselves or what Stevie mentioned in reply 8 is your trouble. When points are closed the light should be out on the distributor terminal. If not the points are not carrying enough continuity to ground, which usually means the contacts are dirty. When the points are working properly the test light on the distributor lead should flash on and off rapidly as the points open and close. When you get to that point you should have spark out of the coil. Then you see if it passes through the cap and rotor to the plugs. At this point you are about 90 percent of the way to being assured the ignition is doing what it needs to.

Sounds good. Thanks for the detailed response!