Visible Sparks On Coil

[Swan Jnr]

helo,

 

we finally managed to get the v8 to fire yesterday after about 4 months in a damp cold garage. (one new plug and a squirt of easy start)

its had a good run in the garage but we noticed a visible spark on the coil from the centre to one of the terminals.

 

does anyone know what is causing this, and how to resolve it?

 

cheers

paul

[Guest erichetherington]

Sounds like a crack in the cap to me, or the insulation breaking down on one of the leads.

[Guest Nigel Novice]

Yup sounds like the insulation has failed, try a spray of WD40 on it and see if it stops.

[Guest salty_monk]

Could be a crack in the coil itself or a split in the lead... it's finding the easiest route to earth. Even tape should cure it short term.

 

Dan

[Guest mower man]

Hi re visible sparks . You say your garage is damp ? ,then you know what the problem is.CLEAN AND DRY the coil ,leads ,distrib cap and check for cracks etc .IF any doubts replace those items with known good stuff KEEP IT DRY !!!!!!!!!

[Guest salty_monk]

Can also use some Vaseline or similar to help keep the wet out....

 

I had a coil on a motorbike doing something similar to this... it didn't take long to arc the whole contact away (it was hidden up under so I didn't know it was doing it until I pulled the plug lead out & it disappeared in a cloud of black dust!

[Swan Jnr]

squirt of wd40 sorted it.

thanks guys

 

paul

[Guest salty_monk]

Good news, maybe not a permanent fix though... be sure to make sure the insulation is not broken

[miikae]

Tracking is usualy started by damp and muck , if not checked it will burn a carbonised track ino the insulation , the only cure is to scrape it out and then fill with a varnish or such like .

 

Mike