Broke down at the Stoneleigh show today :-( advice please ?

[Don H.]

There are various kinds of emery paper and ScotchBrite, and they're not all equal in either category. I've used ScotchBrite for decades on all kinds of things (although not alloy rice pans) and unless one is using the more aggressive coarse aluminum oxide-containing grades it makes a marginal contact cleaner -- often hard to get to bright metal. I'm in the camp of using a quality "emery" paper, a small file, or the edge of a dull knife to clean contacts, especially on an external LuCar tab like a coil.

 

We're talking about technology fifty to seventy years old -- one could probably use a rock with good effect.

 

What you'd do to another forumite's hands sounds kinda odd to me, SpitFire6. Maybe that's just differences in our common language. Or personal preferences.

Edited March 7, 2015 by Don H.

[Alec Pringle]

We're talking of cleaning external spade terminals here, not the innards of an assembly containing bearings and/or electrical contacts.

 

Emery paper can and does do the job well enough, and common sense suggests that after cleaning any electrical contact a quick squirt of the compressed air blower is in order to blow out any cr*p. In the absence of a compressed air supply, a simple blower brush as used for cameras and lenses will do a decent job - just don't use it on your photo equipment later, save it for garage use !

 

Cheers

 

Alec

[RogerH]

From a simple thing like a loose connector we have TRavelled through the whole of the cleaning/abrasive products (perhaps not all of them).

 

Sand paper is no longer made (if ever) it is glass paper. Obviously the particles are insulators so you would not want them stuck between you connector faces.

Emery/wet&dry is very functional especially on contacts that slide together with a good grip - this will push any residue aside.

ScotchBrite is usually very handy but don;t use it on Titanium RR Fan blades.

Chemicals can work but more difficult to control.

Don's 'rock' has been around for millenia - pumice. But keep this for your feet or Menno's hands

 

Coil connectors which slide on often need nothing to be kept clean as the female will cut into the male and give new contact metal - do not let them become loose

 

I like the 'rock'

 

Roger

[peejay4A]

As Roger suggests, nip down the female connector with pliers and slide it on.

[Mark Bolleter]

Well would not start at all today, so I changed the battery put a big 110amp Porsche one on it , but nothing :-( had a spark, when I took off fuel line the petrol was pouring out without the pump on ? Is that some sort of Capillary action ??

Anway put both back on but had noticed the spade connections to coil were quite loose so put new ones on and YAY fired up, I then drove for 20 miles without any problems ! so hopefully that has cured it , fingers crossed :-)

 

Carl

 

 

Your battery is fine, likely as is the charging circuitry.

 

I had the same problem with my Tr6 back here in Texas. I actually had a combination of issues that were causing me frustration.

 

1. The body ground near the battery tray needs to be in perfect order

2. Your engine ground on the negative side of the battery strap has two connection points. Check them both for proper grounding. Recommend disconnecting all three grounds, clean the body ground the battery with sand paper or emery cloth. Clean the two bigger grounds with a bonding brush or similar device to get to bare metal on the tub.

3. How recent was the electronic ignition conversion? I sense problems here. I was having issues with my petronix. I removed it, put in a newly refurbished distributor and a Bosh (made in Brazil) 3.0 OHM coil.

 

While I was doing all of that, I also did the following as a precaution

 

1. changed out fuel filter and fuel pump

2. checked output of fuel pump for correct pressure

3. replaced and gapped all plugs, and replaced ignition wires with a spare set I had

4. Found a slightly broken connector at body ground. Replaced it with new

5. Added an additional engine ground to the left front engine mount

6. Added additional steering rack ground (horn was acting up)

7. Checked carb oil dash pots

 

I carry a spare Dizzy, spare points/condenser, spare plugs, spare coil and ignition wires, and a spare coil. Bottom Line: We need three things for combustion: Fuel, Air, and spark.

Fuel and air are easy to check.

 

But, the quality, duration, and timeliness of the spark is harder to troubleshoot and is usually the culprit. The grounding requirements are tough indeed, and with older wiring and wiring harnesses it is first on my list to examine. These cars weren't really designed for electronic ignition and their various conversions. Everything needs to be perfect in the ignition sequence for it all to work right. My Dizzy and Coil were very, very hot. It all got over-heated and the car didn't start well when warm. Also, all the over-load caused the coil, and even my spare coil to fail. Two types of failure noted: Poor starting initially when cold, and poor running/rough running when warm. Very hard to trouble-shoot. You need three or four coils to really trouble shoot this. I did have a third coil, never used, and that finally allowed me to figure it out.

[Mark Bolleter]

My car loves the standard dizzy/points and condenser. It hated the Petronics! If my car disliked it, then so did I.

[AlfredHitchcock]

I use one of these to clean my terminals

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Fibre-Carbon-Fibreglass-Pen-Pencil-Abrasive-Cleaning-Electronics-5-Refill-/400405750877?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item5d3a0ae45d

You can get the refills in brass if you need more abrasion