Recommissioning Woes

[Trevan]

Hi Everyone

The red rotor arm arrived at last and completely cured the problem. For four miles! She then cut out and was as pig to restart and only lasted for a few hundred yards. The AA came and diagnosed a faulty ballast resister and I really thought I'd cracked it as the car did fifteen miles yesterday with a new resistor but then cut out again. I managed to limp her home and today I checked all my connections but she won't do a hundred yards without stopping now.

Is it possible the rotor arm is still the problem? It's red but didn't come from CW. Or is there anything else I could look at (the wire Polly mentioned seems fine)? My local garage are classic friendly but are shrugging their shoulders somewhat. It's all immensely frustrating!

[johnnydog]

I think I would be checking the replacement coil. I have had this on a couple of occasions over the years, where the car would start with no problem when cold, but once the coil gets hot, it starts to break down, causing a misfire, or at worse the engine cuts out, usually at lower speeds whilst coming to a junction / roundabout etc. The engine won't restart until the coil has cooled down again; sometimes this can be 20 - 30 mins or so.
Incidentally, on my Mk1, I had similar problems of it cutting out inexplicably. I replaced the rotor arm with a red one, which seemed to cure the problem, but not for long! I ended up fitting an old used battered looking black rotor arm, that had been lying in a box of 'bits' and I've never had any more problems with it. It was a very old rotor arm, which may suggest that 'new old old' stock are the best to fit (if you can find some!). I never throw old black rotor arms away now, unless they are visibly shot at or proved 100% without doubt to be faulty.

[Graham]

Agree with others on here. The rotor arm would be the prime suspect but it could also be the dizzy cap. Yes I know you have already fitted a new one but try again buying both from CW. I bought my car with the fault you describe and changing both completely cured it. That was 15 years ago.

Graham

[Charles H]

Is the coil the correct one? Are you running points and condenser? if so, condenser? Fit an Aldon Ignitor electronic ignition, with a 12 volts coil and bypass the ballast resistor.

[Trevan]

Thanks everyone!

Yup, still running points and condenser - both have been changed, the latter twice. The replacement coil was ordered by my local garage from Rimmers so who knows if it's the right one... Was thinking of a 12 volt Lucas Sports Coil to, as Charles says, bypass the ballast resistor or is there a better alternative?

What does everyone think of electronic ignition? I've always shied away from it because if it breaks you're in trouble but there is always a spare set of points and condenser in my boot. Not that I've ever needed to change them in an emergency...

[Alec]

Hello Trevan,

personally I see no gain in ditching the by pass system, it seems a good idea to me? Also I remain faithful to points , the car runs well enough on them and the maintenance is minimal seeing as I don't do a huge mileage. I did try electronic many years ago and it failed as did a warranty replacement. I didn't notice any benefit and reverted to points which I am quite happy with.

Alec

[Trevan]

Hi Alec

I don't have much in the way of mechanical aptitude but when the AA man diagnosed the ballast resister he took one of the connectors off the offending part and plugged it into the top of the coil. A moment before the car wouldn't start and then it would (magic!) and he said it would be fine for a few miles but not to run it like that for long or the coil might be damaged. The car ran home without missing a beat which raised the first car related grin in months. So my thinking was that if I fitted a coil that wouldn't be damaged by 12 volts I could, at the very least, rule out the ballast resistor circuit as a suspect. Plus, I think I read that the Lucas sports coil gave a better spark and a previous AA man said the spark was a bit weak and suggested I change the plugs and leads (the points, condenser, dizzy cap and coil having already been renewed).

If this plan has a drawback, please don't make the assumption that I would definitely know what it is!

[Alec]

Hello Trevan,

yes, it is another component to fail but It's not one that has a high failure rate that I'm aware of.

A sport coil is capable of a higher voltage when required but on a standard engine that's not really stressing the coil it won't make any difference. The reason i say that is that the voltage a coil sparks at is not the maximum voltage the coil can produce but the voltage the plug asks for. The higher the compression pressure the greater voltage is need for the plug to fire.

What I don't know is if the 'Sports coil' is higher powered or just higher voltage. If the former then the load on the points or electronic device will be higher, does anyone know the comparative power rating of different coils?

Alec

[Charles H]

I have had a few ballast resistors fail on me over the years. I have simply connected the two wires together and bypassed them and fitted a decent 12v coil. I also use to be a points and condenser man, BUT the quality of the components now on sale in the main meant that cars were conking out after about 1000 miles because usually the heel of the points had worn to such an extent that the points closed up! Aldon Ignitor means no more adjustment, a cleaner and smoother drive, better starting AND you can carry the points and condenser in the boot to refit IF the electronics pack up! However, I have not had one pack up yet!!!
I have used the cheaper BBC ones, but they in my opinion are cheaper for a reason. PM for more details if you wish.

[Trevan]

Hi Charles

Thanks for that - I'm all for smoother, cleaner running so I'll look into it. I am under domestic pressure not to spend any more money, though, especially as I haven't earned a penny since my health problems started six months ago so it'll have to go on the back burner for a little while...

Thanks everyone for their advice! Just had a chat with Chris Witor who also suggested the ignition switch as a suspect along with the supply to the (electronic) fuel pump - I can hear it working but Chris wondered if there could be a short somewhere.

Trevan