ignition problem?

[gngeorge]

this a for a 65 GS,60,000 mile car,pertronix under the distributor cap, 2 speed auto. The car shuts off while driving, sometimes restarts on its own.when driving and this happens I put the car in nuetral and start the engine.sometimes it shuts off in park.the problem started 2 years ago but not that often.now it happens every time I take the car out and shuts off about 10 times driving 2 miles.what do you guys think?thanks in advance

[WkillGS]

Could be one of many possibilities.
Does everything (lights, radio) cut out, or just ignition?
Does it usually start ok, or is that hit and miss too?

If only ignition cuts out when driving, the problem is likely in the 'run' circuit..... ignition switch, wiring, connector at the cowl, Petronix or coil.
I'd check the cowl connector contacts first and resistor wire going to the coil. Make sure connectors are firmly attached to the wires and are free of corrosion.
Check engine ground strap.
Swap out Petronix and coil and see if that helps.
I don't recall which models of Petronix need a full 12v, or if some work with lower voltage (9v) from the resistor wire.

If it's hard to start (no spark), or other accessories turn off when engine cuts out, it's in a different circuit.

[gngeorge]

when the car shuts off the head lights and turn signals still work.it starts ok.engine ground strap looks good.what exactly do you mean by cowl connector contacts?do you mean the wires going to the coil and condenser to coil? if so they look fine. the coil looks to me to be the original coil so I just ordered a new coil and condenser from cars inc. which is in NJ. I live in the bronx ny so it should get here pretty fast I hope. thanks for the help!

[WkillGS]

By 'cowl connector', I mean the wiring harness plug on the cowl or firewall. Sometimes the pin/socket connectors gets some corrosion on it.
The power for the coil and distributor (in 'run' mode) comes from the ignition switch, goes to the fuse box, through that connector, then through a resistive wire to the coil.
   In 'start' mode, the resistor wire is bypassed. The power comes from the starter solenoid and then goes directly to the coil.

suppose you could attach a voltmeter to the + terminal of the coil and keep an eye on it when driving. If it loses voltage when it cuts out, problem is on the power feed side of the circuit, If voltage stays on when it cuts out, problem is coil or distributor.

[gngeorge]

yes I did check the cowl connector,it has a black waterproofing type sealant around it that I did not want to disturb .I did not want to open a pandora's box of problems. I rent a garage here in the bronx and I cannot do much work out of it.

[gngeorge]

since my last post the car would not start at all...it would fire and when I released the key it would cut off.I ordered an ignition switch from opgi and 1 week later they sent me a switch that did not fit my connector...so I sent it back. I ordered a nos switch from ebay and 1 week later I recieved my switch...bingo...my car starts   If I didn t look on youtube to explain how to remove an ignition lock I would not know the paper clip in the tiny hole routine. I also looked at the electronic garage on this website for assistance. And thanks to Wkillgs for his help!

[elagache]

Dear George and mid-60s Buick fans,

I ordered an ignition switch from opgi and 1 week later they sent me a switch that did not fit my connector...so I sent it back.

Interesting.  I had to play the "part exchange tag" game with OPGI but eventually I found a switch that worked on my trusty wagon.  The odd thing about it is that you have to put the key in rotated 180? from what it used to be.  Originally, the longest part of the key was at the top - now it is at the bottom.  Otherwise, it works just fine.

I thought the problem was unique to Buick Specials.  So ordering a the switch for the Skylark doesn't work?  Sadly, we have to accept that OPGI knows an awful lot about "Chebbys" and their knowledge dims with each rarer GM line.  Still, I would have hoped they had a working ignition switch for the Buick Skylark.

Oh well, . . . . Edouard

[65GS]

Just had the same problem with my hardtop, finally replaced coil,points,cap,rotor and the complete right hand engine wiring harness. Some of the wires virtually fell off the connectors. 50 years old and very brittle. took it out tonight, about 50 miles. Smoother and no further problem.

Al

[gngeorge]

when I ordered the switch from opgi I did not have the original switch in front of me, so I did not know what was correct. when I went to replace it and took the old one out,I had the original one to compare on ebay. alot of the switches on ebay looked the same as the one opgi had,with the contacts facing the wrong way. the nos one was good to go..... $50 vs 25...who cares as long as it works

[elagache]

Dear George and mid-60s Buick fans,

the nos one was good to go..... $50 vs 25...who cares as long as it works

Point well taken.  I try to avoid buying NOS unless there isn't any alternative.  There are enough guys trying to restore really original cars that they deserve the NOS stuff.  Since my car is a resto-mod, I don't have a problem with a reproduction parts as long as it works.

when I ordered the switch from opgi I did not have the original switch in front of me, so I did not know what was correct. when I went to replace it and took the old one out,I had the original one to compare on ebay. alot of the switches on ebay looked the same as the one opgi had,with the contacts facing the wrong way.

Hmm, that's why I'm puzzling about it.  It sounds very much like the situation that happened to me.  According to my contact at OPGI, it appeared that Buick changed switch type between 1964 and 1965 and I assumed it was only for the Special.  I had not heard of anyone else having problems with switches for the 1965 Skylark.  Your experience shows otherwise!

I'll try to send an email to my contact over there if I can dig up which switch actually worked on my wagon.  OPGI might just have to change their product listing to have a working switch for the 1965 Buick A-bodies.

Cheers, Edouard

[gngeorge]

a few days ago I took the car out for a spin, after the car warmed up I went WOT and the car was breaking up like crazy,so I changed the spark plug wires and spark plugs, still the same thing. I called a friend of mine and he asked me if I changed anything else. yes,I changed the coil with a reproduction coil that looked like the original one, from cars inc. he said to put the original one back in. so I put back the 50 year old coil and now she runs fine. my point is these after market companies send you the wrong products that don't fit your car...or they send you a defective part that doen't work....or they send you a broken part(distributor cap) ....all this in one months time from 3 different vendors! what is up with these companies?

[65GS]

replaced coil, dist. cap, rotor with NAPA parts. also replaced the right engine wiring harness with a new one.
the old girl runs like a bear now.
Al

[elagache]

Dear gngeorge, Al, and mid-60s Buick fans,

. . . .
My point is these after market companies send you the wrong products that don't fit your car...or they send you a defective part that doen't work....or they send you a broken part(distributor cap) ....all this in one months time from 3 different vendors! what is up with these companies?

replaced coil, dist. cap, rotor with NAPA parts. also replaced the right engine wiring harness with a new one.
the old girl runs like a bear now.

Unfortunately, you can have both experiences.  There are good quality reproduction parts out there, but there is also a lot of junk.  Since the economy has been sputtering along for so many years, there is a lot of pressure on companies to keep product prices down.  That certainly is one reason for the amount of lousy parts out there.  Still, there is also a lot of competition, so some vendors are instead trying to encourage customer loyalty by making quality parts.

You've simply got to ask around to see if other guy have had good success with a particular part, and if you have some recommendations, look carefully at what you buy to see if looks well made or not.

Like so many things in our world . . . . Caveat Emptor

Cheers, Edouard