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Hi all, As some of you know my car stopped after missfiring, so new coil new points new condensor new plugs. Still dead not firing, timing set to 10 deg btdc as per the book points gapped and fuel flow checked, still nothing. Dwell meter connected to neg coil and pos battery terminals and with ign on car in gear rolling forward the needle rises and falls in line with the points operating. However when trying to start the car on the key the dwell meter moves over and stays in there, not in sync with the contacts, anyone an idea as to what I should do next?.

Cheers

Phil

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That ,as you describe it, is very odd Phil. Does the car have a start system where a coil ballast resistor is shorted out when you operate the ignition key? That is the only thing I can think of which would give a difference in reading between cranking and just rolling the car forwards. (If it does have this, are you sure the new coil is the right type for a ballasted system?)

Its worth doing some basic checks though.

What does an ohm-meter read if you disconnect the coil neg wire and measure it to earth - can you read the points making and breaking to earth if you operate them by hand ?

If that is OK can you watch the points operating properly as you crank the starter ?

How many volts are there on the positive coil connection during cranking ?

Edited by RobH
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Hi Rob, thanks for your input , The points and condensor were wrong when I ordered them but I never thought about the coil, I will put the old one back on tomorrow just in case. The points etc were for an 8 valve 7 not 16 valve, AC Delco not Lucas.

Cheers

Phil

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Hi Neil I have a spark at the plug so presumably the points are wkking ok and the dwell meter perfoms ok when car pushed in gear but not when starter engaged. Frustrating as hell!!

Cheers

Phil

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Faulty ignition switch which is not feeding the coil when cranking? Hot wiring as Neil suggests would help to prove that theory. Maybe try to bump start if you have the space and manpower.

Edited by peejay4A
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Phil - to hard wire you connect the coil positive terminal directly to 12v. Warning - If this is a ballasted system you could burn the coil out if you connect it direct to 12v for any length of time so keep the test very short.

 

(Really you need to measure the volts at the coil positive terminal first to find out what it is. If it reads 12 volts then its not ballasted and its OK to go ahead for as long as it takes. If its around 6 volts then be careful).

 

Bear in mind too that if you do that test and it runs, the engine will not stop when you turn the ignition off - you need to remove the hot-wire too.

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Connect the battery to the coil terminal that is NOT connected to the distributor. It will probably be marked + if it has been correctly wired but nothing's certain with a pre owned car. If the car starts and runs you stop it by disconnecting the hot wire from the battery end.

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Success at last. The dolomite sprint info ntc sent me helped us in timing the engine after I stupidly removed the distributor without marking its position and noting the rotor position. A hard lesson learnt, thanks to all who offered advice and especially ntc for the practical help, so onward and upward!!

Cheers

Phil

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