Cuts Out

[Guest marsbar]

Hi Steve, in my case, the coil became too hot to touch, but, anything warmer than say 35 deg C.

I never realy found out what caused it, as I fitted megajolt which changed too the Zetec coil.

As long as where you have your coil mounted is not getting too much heat from the engine, you should be able to take it out and check as soon as it starts to misfire.

When mine cut out, there was no spark, so as Nick suggested check to see if you have a spark, as sometimes a dodgy condenser can cause problems.

 

Hope you find your answer soon.

 

Steve.

[Thrashed]

Thanks for all the replied guys. Will get some testing done and see what's what and report back.

 

Thanks

[Guest peter2b2002]

like grim says do a double check on your tank, i had the same type of problem on my 2b pinto efii,drove to a mot 2, trips for it's sva (20 miles+ each way) only when i took swmbo for a ride did it die, it would restart some times and tick over and rev ok but on driving it she would cut out, after 2 months of trying loads of things that I found a thin disk of rubber in the tank (2"dia), it was only when i took the tank out that I could see it, driving caused it to slosh arround and sometimes block the out let from the tank.

just a thought,

turned out it was a shock top bush that had fallen into the tank at the start of my build and had been sitting in petrol for months

peter2b

[Thrashed]

Update...

 

Hi guys, had a test on the initial tips. Got the engine up to temp running fine and then cut out almost like clockwork! I checked the temperature of the coil and cold to the touch, checked the temp of the ignition module and again cold to the touch.

 

So, pulled the coil lead off the dizzy cap and cranked the engine with the end of the lead on the exhaust manifold. Got a spark, but a very yellowy colour. I would expect a good spark to be a nice bright blue??

 

So, I am going to swap the coil out and see what difference that make. Unless anyone has any better ideas?

 

Thanks

[sj-bradley]

Don't forget the ground lead from the engine to the chassis. Often overlooked.

 

It could be the heat from the engine has expanded the fixing bolt resulting in loose connection / high resistance.

 

Simon.

[nigelt]

Before you go off and purchase another coil. You might want to check the quality of the spark once the engine has cooled down. Just to be sure there is a difference between the spark. If its yellow when hot and cold it maybe a red herring. My bet is on an earthing issue as Simon has said.

 

Nige

[Guest Kennedy48]

Don't forget the ground lead from the engine to the chassis. Often overlooked.

 

It could be the heat from the engine has expanded the fixing bolt resulting in loose connection / high resistance.

 

Simon.

 

Iv been following this post as its exactly the same problem im having. My dad has put Vaseline on everything and he's been askin if it's any better. Iv only laughed him off but been out today with no problems. So is my dad being stupid and it's coincidence or has something worked here?

 

Luke

[Guest Deathbystan]

Relatively easy to check if it's an earth problem or not, when it's in the 'not starting' state..volt drop with a voltmeter from engine>chassis (or indeed any other circuit you wish to test). Generally, anymore than 0.5 of a volt is too much. Remember, a circuit has to be under load when testing for volt drop, so in this case, remember to crank it whilst checking the readings.

[Thrashed]

Ok, update for far. Checked all the wiring and nothing is loose or broken from a good visual inspection.

 

Popped the spark plugs out and they are quite black and a bit oily. I know my valve guides need doing as I get a bit of white smoke if the engine has been standing a few days without starting. So, could this be causing the issue? Would knackered plugs runs ok when cold and then stop working once they got to a certain temperature?

 

Also, how do I know what ohm reading the ht leads should be? They should have a set ohm reading from end to end? If so what should this be. I am going to test the primary and secondary winding resistance on the coil too.

 

I guess the question is could the spark plugs on there own cause this fault? I am using NGO apr6f plugs.

 

Thanks

 

Steve

[Guest Deathbystan]

Spark plugs won't cause the fault you have. Have you tried seeing what colour/kind of strength spark you get from cold, in comparison to when its hot?

[Guest mcramsay]

The way you say that it splutters before it cuts out makes me think it's a fuel issue. I would run the car and keep an eye on the fuel pump/ hand on the fuel pump, does the pump stop groaning before the engine cuts out? My mates 2b had a faucet pump fitted which had a fancy relay, so that the pump primed when the ignition went live, and then wouldn't constantly run until it saw a pulse from the coil, then it would run until the engine stopped.

[Thrashed]

Hi guys, update on what I have found with the engine cutting out.

 

Checked the plugs when cold and the spark is the same as when hot and a good big spark. Checked the resistance of the ht leads and all between 12-13 ohms so happy with that too? Then checked the coil. Primary winding was about 1.2 ohms, bit higher than the book suggests but better than the brand new coil I have that has never been used. Secondary winding was abut 6500 ohms so again a good reading. Next was to check the fuel pumped through and at cold was fine.

 

Then ran the engine and it cut out after 25 minutes. Checked the fuel was pumping through and very little to nothing!! Pump was still pumping just nothing coming out? Checked the pipes and when I got to the filter I took this apart and is had a decent amount of metal swarf! The filter had done its job and after cleaning this out the engine ran a bit better but was still cutting out.

 

Then all of a sudden after trying a restart got the biggest backfire through the exhaust I have ever heard. About 3 hours later and my ears are still ringing!! The engine ran for a short time and then the same again, a big backfire!

 

Looking at all of the parts I then noticed that the cam belt has a groove in it. This is not ment to be there as it is on the outside of the belt. Checked belt run over and nothing there now to catch the belt?

 

Now not sure if this is related but the alternator belt is making a very high pitched screeching noise. Could it be that when the car gets hot at a certain temperature that it runs out of electric??

 

I think the next steps is to check the timing and check the cam belt has not jumped a tooth? Going to replace the alternator belt too just for good measure, but has anyone got any further ideas.

 

Thanks

[Grim]

check out the sump bolt near the crankshaft - it's too long and has cut the groove in the cambelt. Been there myself!

Alternator is probably just a little loose.

 

Did you check out the inside of the tank?

Can you try a different fuel pump?

[Guest mcramsay]

check what fuel pressure you are now getting after you have cleaned out the restriction in the pipe. it may well now be miles out.

[Thrashed]

check what fuel pressure you are now getting after you have cleaned out the restriction in the pipe. it may well now be miles out.

 

To test the pressure I set the sytec regulator to 3 ( think this is psi) and disconnected from the carbs and on ignition when the pump actuated the fuel was flowing well into the jerry can! What's the easiest way of checking the fuel pressure?

 

Thanks