Model b spark plug wires mistake

Probly still have wires crossed. Firing order is 1-2-4-3

I was thinking that but when I look at the cylinders it looks like both cylinders 2 and 3  are in the same position

Usually the front post closest to the engine is # 1, then go clockwise around the cap. 1243. This being said, someone could have set it up differently. Remove the plug closest to the radiator, #1 and hand crank the engine with your thumb in the plug hole, until you feel air being pushed out of the cylinder. Look through the inspection hole on the left side of the torque tube, and watch for "fire" on the fltwheel. Then remove your distributor cap and look where the rotor is pointing. That would be #1, then start there and install the wires as stated. Bob

kffischer wrote: do NOT touch your timing!!! if it was running fine before, it is NOT a timing issue!

Bob-  read this part again, and stamp on your foot really hard.  When people do this kind of thing, all it does, is takes a simple problem, and complicates the heck out of it.


On inline fours, two pistons are up, when the other two are down.  One fires while the other is on the exhaust/intake stroke.  Cylinders are counted from front (radiator end) to back, and the Allis firing order is somewhat unique- most run 1-4-3-2, but Allis went 1-2-4-3.  By doing this, they avoided having adjacent cylinders 'steal' intake and exhaust charge pulses.  In large part, the Allis motor owes it's running disposition the the engineers' choice of firing order to camshaft profile and intake/exhaust tuning.

One of the interesting things about swapping plug wires, is that as long as you have 1-4 correct, or 2-3 correct, it'll run on two of the four cylinders.  The other two will bark and pop as air-fuel is barf'd out of the two non-firing cylinders into the exhaust path.  Might blow apart the muffler, so don't do this too much.

you probably have a fouled plug or three, and there's a good chance you've got a bad plug wire that's shorting somewhere.  Wait 'till dark, and then fire it up... pay close attention to the oil-filter area- if you have a bad wire on 3 or 4, it might be arcing to it.

Also, your ignition system isn't a magneto, but for future reference, running with a plug disconnected is pretty hard on a magneto's coil insulation, and it's best to use solid-core plug wires and non-resistor plugs.  You CAN get carbon-tracking inside the distributor cap, which oftentimes shunts a plug tower to ground, and sometimes, to an adjacent plug.

Try this:
Disconnect the wire coming out of the coil, run it to a spark plug, set the plug against the block, and look for a spark while cranking.  If you don't have good, solid, regular spark, you probably have a condenser or coil that's failed.  Not highly likely, but possible that in the process of 'fiddling', that you wound up with an open plug connection, and the spark energy found shorter return path through coil insulation, points, or condenser, and now it ain't carrying current right.



Edited by DaveKamp - 06 Aug 2011 at 2:14pm

I should have mentioned that the plugs, plug wires and the rotor and condenser were replaced last spring (which required a visit from my friend to fix what I messed up). When I looked at the wires on the distributor cap #1 wire wasn't the closest to the radiator. Another thing where is this inspection hole on the left side of the torque tube? Is it where my starter is sitting? 

Here's how I time them when it's screwed up or didn't have wires when I started the process.

Edited by JimD - 07 Aug 2011 at 4:22pm