conked out and wont start

[grooge]

right guys this si confusing me a bit. car is an 85 1.3 sr.
nova cut out last night while driving and wouldnt start again. just before this the revcounter went a bit strange, it wouldnt rise as fast as the revs actully were and then it would drop and read zero revs whilst cruising along.

after being towed home, i checked a few things.

its getting fuel.
all 4 plugs are sparking (no. 3 is a wee bit weak)
all 4 cylinders have compression (will check with tester tomoro to get figures)

plugs 1 and 2 come out dry and 3 and 4 wet.
next step I think is to crank the engine to death and check if 3 and four still come out dry then look at camshaft/lifters??

oh and when trying to start it turns nice n freely, no noises but doesnt even attempt to fire.
all advice welcome. cheers:thumb:

[Nova_Tek]

Coil? Like you said if 3 is a bit weak the coil maybe on its last legs.

[Nobby]

belt jumped? snapped?

[lewisvalver]

this happened to me a while ago on my xe and it was a connection that had came lose from the fuel pump,it was as simple as that,plugged it back in and away i went....hopefully its a simple thing like that,worth a try:thumb:

[grooge]

if the coil was gubbed then surely it wouldnt spark at all. evn with one weak spark it should still start or try to.

nobby, belt is fine. not checked if its jumped but would it not try and start still? my dad seems to think it would run even if it was 2 teeth out. will keep this in mind though.

lewis, its a mechanical pump off the cam and i've checked it its fine.

keep the ideas coming people. cheers

[Nova_Tek]

First thing that came to mind was that mate, especially how you said the rev counter went crazy and died but engine was still going.

[grooge]

is the tacho wired to the coil? i think it is but havnt checked yet

[Nova_Tek]

yep, wired to the neg side of the coil. That's how my 1.2 carb was wired in.

[grooge]

hmm, i'll have a look. but surely it should start if its sparking?

[MattBrown]

Is the 1300 on contact breaker points?

If so, remove cap, turn on ignition, can put the king lead off the coil, to the top of the engine, about 2mm from touching.

Maunally open and close the points, when they open, it should "fire" the coil


Next check dizzy, coil, rotor arm, timing, plugs, leads.

Are the points gapped correctly?

[Royston]

Is the 1300 on contact breaker points?


Nope;)

[Royston]

Ive had mine cut out twice over the years, - no spark/revcounter dead, cause on both occasions was the 6 prong module in the distributor cap.
But if you have spark? it could be this that is intermittent

[mowgli]

even a crap coil will give a spark when the plug is out in daylight...

[Nova_Tek]

Have you done a compression test?

[Sloth]

coil, then 6 pin part of dizzy.

[grooge]

cheers. I'll check both the coil and 6 pin module. I've had the distributor cap off already and while it was ok i thought it could be better so i'm goin to put a new one on, and think i'll do leads and plugs at the same time. cheers

[Nova_Tek]

If you haven't already done one, I'd do a compression test just to rule out the headgasket.

When you get the all clear from it then check out the coil and dizzy.

[grooge]

nova tek i'm trying to get hold of a compressioin tester just now. my mate was supposed to get me one from his work last night but forgot and cant get it today as hes away on holiday til monday.

[grooge]

checked plugs again and plugs 1 and 2 are gettin no fuel. trying to get a new distributor cap and rotor arm tomoro or the weekend. away out on the motorbike now cos its a nice night.

[Royston]

checked plugs again and plugs 1 and 2 are gettin no fuel. trying to get a new distributor cap and rotor arm tomoro or the weekend. away out on the motorbike now cos its a nice night.

Are you sure 1 and 2 are getting no fuel, or are they getting fuel and burning it and 3 and 4 aren't burning off the fuel

[mowgli]

its worth having a good look at the dizzy innards too, they were pretty dodgy when new, so after 20 years, it could be breaking down

[grooge]

Are you sure 1 and 2 are getting no fuel, or are they getting fuel and burning it and 3 and 4 aren't burning off the fuel

royston, i realised this after posting and to be honest i dont actually know it could be either. I've got lots of other stuff to keep me busy just now (sierra engine from other thread, and I just blew a hole through the crankcase on my crosser) so I'll wait till i've put new cap and rotor arm on and have a nice strong spark before I move on to anything else I think.

[Royston]

I had what I thought was the same on a 1940's petrol tractor(suspected the carb) some wet/some dry plugs, and it was sparks (it was weak sparks from the magneto it is 70 yrs old, coupled to 2 plugs having excessive gaps, i.e. no spark and wet plugs, ....2 were dry, thought it was no fuel, but it was being burnt... obviously after I'd thought about it, I felt a bit stupid )

Hope it helps

[grooge]

I think it is the spark to be honest. I've got the plugs out just now and am going to try and check the gaps today. Unfortunately I'm really busy with all sorts of stuff just now and having to use public transport instead of the car means i have even less free time.

[grooge]

gone from bad to worse lol changed the distributor cap and rotor arm as they looked like they could do with being replaced anyway. but i got distracted between taking them off and putting the new ones on (2 hours maybe) and accidently left the ignition on. i then had no spark anymore. so i bought a new coil because I think i burnt mine out and put it on. still no spark, not even from the coil. so thats coil, distributor cap and rotor arm eliminated anyway. going to iorder an ignition module tomoro. going to change my leads asap aswell as they're not looking very good.