starting problems!!

[chrismk1]

just bought my car, n it fired up revved for a sec then died, the fella said it was fueling so i changed the carb, still nothing. so i decided to take a plug out and see if the plugs were sparking, nothing. so i checked the coil with a ht lead and plug, nothing. i think it may be the coil, but what else could it be, what are the other possiblities?

thanks

[lizzard]

Is your key chipped and talking to the ignition system properly?

[robreidmotors]

Last thing you need to check is whether there is voltage going to the coil.

If there is good voltage, i think its 6 or 12 im not sure, then its the coil. If no voltage then something else.

[chrismk1]

i changed the coil, still nothing. i dont think that there is no signal coming from the distributer body,i have checked in a book and there are no points, so i took it of sprayed wd40 down it hoping it would free something but no. would you recomend changing the distributer body, the cap is in fine condition and so is the rotor

[robreidmotors]

If you can stay on here for a bit we can go through a few things and see if we can sort it out!

Is it turning over easilly on the starter motor? (if it is suggests battery is good)

i need to know a few things about the mk1;

is it electric or mechanical fuel pump?

what colour and condition were the plugs?

[chrismk1]

yup its turning over fab just normal
the pumps run off the cam so i think its mechanical
the plugs are blackish, sooty

i have changed the carb & coil thou still nothing.

[robreidmotors]

blackish sooty suggests one of two things;

1. not enough spark and so unburnt fuel in the chamber.

2. too much fuel enterring the chamber.


Id assume as they have black soot on them that they need cleaning up for them to spark properly. As you have renewed the coil i think we can rule that out.

I think you should check the air filter, if that is dirty or clogged then your engine will not be able to suck in air and will suck in extra fuel instead, hence black plugs and eventually no sparking plugs.

[robreidmotors]

Also clean the plugs

[chrismk1]

the air filter seams fine, i will buy a new set of plugs. i have tryed starting it without the air filter housing anyway. thanks i will try.

[robreidmotors]

Reason i asked about the air filter is that if it was dirty then more fuel can be sucked into the engine, hence overfuelling.

If you havent already id clean the plugs as best you can and put them back in, it would be worth seeing if there is an improvement, even if it doesnt solve it.

[robreidmotors]

Ok, sooty plugs suggests to me that the right amount of fuel is going in but the plugs arent sparking enough for some reason.

If the coil is new, then my guess is the distributor cap.

Inside there should be four metal contacts, these should be clean, my guess is you will have dirt or a limescale type deposit on them.

Also, inside the cap, on the roof there is a small black carbon rod, make sure this isnt broken.

either of above will cause your problem, i dont think the distributor itself will be an issue

[chrismk1]

i might buy a new filter anyway, as i dont no when it was changed.

[robreidmotors]

Check the distributor cap as above and get back to me

[chrismk1]

i have checked the cap and all seems fine, looks fairly new

[chrismk1]

then again the points on it did seem to have a bit of build up looked like limescale, but i cleaned them with a brush and wd40 would this help??

[robreidmotors]

The points need to be clean so then can carry the current through to the plugs, if not then not enough current goes through, hence you get unburnt fuel and soot etc on the plugs.

Is the carbon rod in good condition? as you look inside the cap its the black thing thats a similar shape to a rubber on the end of a pencil, it should be smooth and unbroken, and stick down a little, if thats broken it will give you major starting/running issues.

If the carbon rod is broken, id replace the cap.

Either way i would also clean up each of the plugs to make sure they are nice and clean.

[chrismk1]

ok fab thanks loads for the advice i owe you i will do that tomorrow and let you know.

[chrismk1]

i dont think the car has points. as the auto data book didnt have no details on the popint gaps

[robreidmotors]

Hi mate

It doesnt have points and a condenser but a bit of wire crossing here, i call the four contacts in the dizzy cap 'points' anyhow.

Is the carbon rod ok?

[chrismk1]

it looks ok, its solid in there and not chipped or bashed. yup theres a wire going from the distributer body to sumthing buy the coil.

[robreidmotors]

Ok, its good that you have cleaned the contacts in the dizzy and checked it, the limescale type deposits on there could have caused the plugs to foul up, id clean them if you havent already.

Hopefully that will work, if not then we can move on to something else, seems a pain but its really important to check and make sure the basics are working first.

[chrismk1]

ok ill keep you posted, but im currently moving house so ill prob get to do it next mon, tue... hopefully thanks!