I'm sure we have all experienced these despite being invisible!

Scenario:

Car running fine for the past few months, then when returning home after a run a week or so ago the following symptoms were experienced:

Misfiring

Not maintaining revs

Cutting out

 

The engine is the trusty 2.0l Pinto

 

So I replaced the following:

Coil - tests on old showed it to be under par

Leads - like for like

Plugs - tho' this was a few weeks earlier & had been running fine on them!

Dizzy Cap - Bosch

Rotor arm - Bosch

 

Thinking that this would cure all I eagerly turned the key, did not fire up, but turns!!!

 

Checked the following:

Battery - fine 12.6v

Fuel - pumping to carb & fresh in tank

Leads - intact on plugs / cap

Coil wiring - as it came off

Rotar arm - intact, can only fit one way

TDC - Aligned on Mark & cam

Plugs - 1342 on cap

 

I have trawled the forum topics endlessly but now doubt my sanity, given up today as the garage is cold & the f@ck up fairies will be in for the night shortly !!

Any obvious instant fixes out there.......................................................................

Spose I will have to check sparking/HT/LT leads next, job for later, it's beer time

Feel better for sharing

 

Ps. Why do we buy RH's

 

 

 

 

 

Looks to me like every electric component in the ignition has been checked so what about fuel. OK its pumping to the carb but that doesn't mean the carb is letting it into the cylinders. Check for blockages in the jets. Can't be sure it will answer your problems but it can't do any harm to pull the carb off and clean it out. AND you can do it inside the house where its nice and warm!

 

Don't say I'm not good to you!!

Would this mean that I could end up deeper in the brown stuff, thought carbs were best left alone, can I clean without upsetting any settings??

Pour half an eggcup (or the metric equivalent!) full of petrol into the carb mouth, then try starting it.

If its a fuelling problem, it should fire & splutter then run for a short while.

If no response then almost certainly its electrical.

Have you actually checked for a spark at the plugs? Could be the distributor. If it had been one with points I would have suggested the points closing up.

Edited October 26, 20187 yr by cb750

Check spark plugs after tried to start, if wet then likely to be electrics and test whether power getting to plugs (spark plug testers are cheap and useful unless you want to try the wet finger test, cheaper but not advisable, been there done that!) , if dry no fuel getting through so work on carbs.

 

Sorry to be smart but just gone through whole scenario with mine to find intermittent fault to fuel pump so would work when on my own and fail when showing off to others, removed joint and soldered up .

Thanks all,great stuff which I will work through over the weekend (temperature permitting!)

As yet, have not checked for spark!

 

If I locate TDC on dizzy & place plug 1 lead next to dizzy notch position,do I have to repeat/reposition TDC on 1 every time it doesn't start, or is it once only after initial setting (hope this makes sense?)

Finally for now is it possible to clean carb jets without upsetting the applecart (causing more grief than wanted )

Regards

Kevin

Check spark plugs after tried to start, if wet then likely to be electrics and test whether power getting to plugs (spark plug testers are cheap and useful unless you want to try the wet finger test, cheaper but not advisable, been there done that!) , if dry no fuel getting through so work on carbs.

 

Sorry to be smart but just gone through whole scenario with mine to find intermittent fault to fuel pump so would work when on my own and fail when showing off to others, removed joint and soldered up .

Don't apologize for being smart..... it's a gift

what carb have you got on there? the standard twin choke downdraught webber is easy to remove the jets. just take the air filter off and you can look down a gap in between the chokes and see 4 brass screws. 2 are jets and 2 are emulsion tubes. just unscrew (don't mix them up) and clean each one. The ends pull off each. Hold it up to light and you should see a tiny clear hole.

 

hth

I Hawaii we have little elves called Menahune who live in the mountains. Their sole purpose in life is to sneak down in the middle of the night and make mischief like flat tires, dead batteries and issues like you have with your car. I'll bet your equivalent of the Menahune had something to do with it!!!

 

Not sure of your electrical set up but I had a very similar issue on one of my older cars and it turned out to be a bad ballast resistor that was in line between the ignition switch and the coil.

 

Steve

Looks like the car was developing an ignition problem. You replaced most of the ignition system. If you didn't move the distributor when you replaced cap and leads there are only a few things you could have mixed up. Prime suspect is you had the engine on TDC for cylinder 4 and set up the plug leads as if it was on TDC for cylinder 1. You can check you have the engine on TDC for 1 by taking out the No.1 spark plug and while turning the engine sticking your thumb over the plug seat. You feel the pressure as the piston rises toward TDC. Bet that's what you done.

LT wires on wrong coil terminals is possible. Moved the dizzy so far off its correct position it wont fire is remotely possible. Duff new parts also a possible.

what carb have you got on there? the standard twin choke downdraught webber is easy to remove the jets. just take the air filter off and you can look down a gap in between the chokes and see 4 brass screws. 2 are jets and 2 are emulsion tubes. just unscrew (don't mix them up) and clean each one. The ends pull off each. Hold it up to light and you should see a tiny clear hole.

 

hth

What does one clean them with if they are blocked, Sunday looking busy

Looks like the car was developing an ignition problem. You replaced most of the ignition system. If you didn't move the distributor when you replaced cap and leads there are only a few things you could have mixed up. Prime suspect is you had the engine on TDC for cylinder 4 and set up the plug leads as if it was on TDC for cylinder 1. You can check you have the engine on TDC for 1 by taking out the No.1 spark plug and while turning the engine sticking your thumb over the plug seat. You feel the pressure as the piston rises toward TDC. Bet that's what you done.

LT wires on wrong coil terminals is possible. Moved the dizzy so far off its correct position it wont fire is remotely possible. Duff new parts also a possible.

Going to be really dumb now, the Haynes manual (Sierra) for the Bosch dizzy states when the notch lines up & the crank markers are aligned then I am on the TDC of cylinder 1,then 342 thereafter clockwise

Is it possible to move the dizzy position, is this how the timing is advanced/retarded?

If the engine does not start how would/could you use a strobe??

Maybe I will watch a film Infront of the woodburner instead.....but I am desparate to hit the highway!

Thanks

Going to be really dumb now, the Haynes manual (Sierra) for the Bosch dizzy states when the notch lines up & the crank markers are aligned then I am on the TDC of cylinder 1,then 342 thereafter clockwise

Is it possible to move the dizzy position, is this how the timing is advanced/retarded?

If the engine does not start how would/could you use a strobe??

Maybe I will watch a film Infront of the woodburner instead.....but I am desparate to hit the highway!

Thanks

Ps.I also used a screwdriver in cylinder 1 to confirm I was on compression stroke,which also corresponded to the dizzy marker alignment with rotary arm & crank

Are we saying that despite this the Dizzy could be out if it had been moved?

I Hawaii we have little elves called Menahune who live in the mountains. Their sole purpose in life is to sneak down in the middle of the night and make mischief like flat tires, dead batteries and issues like you have with your car. I'll bet your equivalent of the Menahune had something to do with it!!!

 

Not sure of your electrical set up but I had a very similar issue on one of my older cars and it turned out to be a bad ballast resistor that was in line between the ignition switch and the coil.

 

Steve

Definitely related for sure !