burning out points.

Yes! This I believe will be the root of your problem.

Check also that the shaft doesn't have too much slack as this to will give poor points gap with variations as the shaft moves.

Your email has reminded me soo much about how much I hate points! You would do will to fit a lumination kit.

As for the odd sparking on various cylinders , dizzy caps could be suspect or the leads. I know you said you have new leads but try rotating them (the ones that will reach) fo another cylinder. I got a full set of leads for the

101.. I'd say I've now replaced about 3 in less than 1000 miles due to failure.

Lee D

The possible reasons for points burning, some of which you have checked:-

1. Condenser
2. Wrong coil - if you have a 'sports' coil or one which is designed for a ballast resistor and you don't have a ballast resistor, the higher than design current can cause short life. (rarely a faulty coil will do it too)
3. Traces of oil or grease on the contacts. This will do it every time.
4. Bad voltage regulator allowing the alternator to run at excessive voltage. Unlikely, as you would expect blowing bulbs to be common as well.
5. Incorrect points gap, and as Lee pointed out, wear on the shaft or bushes. Also wear on the platform that holds the points and rotates with vacuum advance will give inconsistent gap.

If the spark is inconsistent on specific cylinders this points to either the distributor cap, or it could point to a worn shaft or cam that is giving very little opening of the points on those cylinders. JD

On or around Thu, 25 Aug 2005 10:05:23 +1000, "Samuel" enlightened us thusly:

generally that's the condensor/capacitor - check that it's really a good'un, dud new ones have been known. Try another. ISTR that one point (ho ho) about the condensor is to reduce arcing on the points as they open. Is the coil correct? I suppose a coil drawing too much current (ballast coil on a non-ballast system, say) could cause problems.

wouldn't think so, but too-small gap can cause erratic spraks in a worn dizzy.

I'm assuming that you've already replaced the dizzy cap and leads with good items...

On or around Thu, 25 Aug 2005 01:13:53 +0100, "Lee_D" enlightened us thusly:

WRT the V8 (and indeed any engines) the hype about Magencor leads is not all hype. Put a set on one of mine, and they're definitely better. Also, the quality of the components on the ends is much superior.

re: lumenition - on a 4-cylinder rover you can fit the lucas 45D4 electronic dizzy as used on the later O series engines (marina, early rover 820, sherpa

1700/2000 petrol) which is a good mod. Dunno if there's a 6-cylinder equivalent swap... what dizzy did the SD1 6-cylinder engines use?

Pretty high on my wish list for Morph, just wish they weren't so dammed expensive but I guess that says something about them.

Lee D

Hi, Happened to me a few years ago it was the coil at fault. I put fitted a high tension coil instead of a low tension coil and within about twenty minutes of the engine running burnt the points out.

Have you replaced the coil or have you had it running ok with coil that your using now?

Adrian Ford

On or around Thu, 25 Aug 2005 11:08:50 +0100, "Lee_D" enlightened us thusly:

I thought that too, but having seen the quality they're easily 3 times as good as the crappy ones you get for 1/3 the money.

well, i put a new set of points and condensor in yesterday afternoon and set them properly with the feeler gauge i bought yesterday, and no luck. i started switching leads around and trying a different coil. no difference. then i tried switching the plugs, and BINGO. found the problem. put a new set of plugs in this morning and she's running perfectly.

it seems that within the space of about 2 weeks of very sparse driving, two of the spark plugs had gone from working perfectly, to not working at all (and i mean not working AT ALL. not a single spark after about 30 seconds with the timing gun). is this just an incredible coincidence, or something more sinister??

Sam.

On or around Fri, 26 Aug 2005 11:09:32 +1000, "Samuel" enlightened us thusly:

took me ages once to trace a misfire on a car I had - one of a set of 4 new plugs was faulty - "can't be the plugs, I've only just changed 'em".

Also had a rotor arm go from working to full-time not-working as a result of developing a short from the top plate to the post inside - no visible damage, just no sparks.

Ditto that on the old Jag lump when I first started it up..I'd just set up an electronic ignition too...blasted plugs!

Lee D

And that's what makes the difference. Had a disco1 in the other day with an intermittent acceleration misfire - hooked it up to the crypton and as you floored the throttle quickly, you got an instantaneous random misfire on 3 out of 5 of the cylinders. The owner's comment was "but I just put new leads on about a month ago", to which I said "yes, but with respect, you fitted cheap and nasty crappy quality leads". It's the better quality of the connectors (especially at the plug end) that seems to separate the good from the bad. I do not simply believe that Magnecor leads are the be-all and end-all of the issue, original genuine leads seem to last for quite a number of years, it'll be interesting to see how the Magnecor's fare as they get older.

Are there any advance rate issues with doing that 4-cyl conversion, Austin?

Badger.

Call me old fashioned, but I STILL prefer copper leads - as they used in the factory when my S11a was made. And I still have quite a few metres left.

Karen

Ditto. But not only do they play hell with the radio but they don't cope with high-output coils well so I don't generally use them. The inductive core Bosch leads work pretty well - and they're not stupidly priced either.

Those that I travel in convoy with whinge :-)

In news:deolv1$9k7$ snipped-for-privacy@lust.ihug.co.nz, EMB typed: | Karen Gallagher wrote: | || Call me old fashioned, but I STILL prefer copper leads - as they || used in the factory when my S11a was made. And I still have quite a || few metres left. | | Ditto. But not only do they play hell with the radio but they don't | cope with high-output coils well so I don't generally use them. The | inductive core Bosch leads work pretty well - and they're not stupidly | priced either. | | | -- | EMB

Radio? In a series? I'd never hear it unless I had the engine turned off ;)

Karen

distributor.

Change the condensor when they go wonky it often causes burnt points make sure you have the correct value too or it will run badly.(thank god for electronics) I concur with the view contactless systems are far superior and there are plenty of alternative aftermarket sets if you dont trust "the Prince of sudden unexplained Darkness" (Lucas) Derek

Vader "come over to the darkside" Skywalker "never I will stay true to Bosch"

On or around Sat, 27 Aug 2005 15:17:03 +1200, EMB enlightened us thusly:

I've had bosch ones in this country from halfrauds, they were relatively cheap and utter crap. Quite possible that there are better quality ones to be had, though.

Champion Triple Silicone are not bad, but no-where near the quality of magencor.

Mind, at the LRO show, not one of the major suppliers had brought leads, magnecor or otherwise. Impressive eample of parallel thinking going wrong.

On or around Sat, 27 Aug 2005 13:26:42 +1000, "Karen Gallagher" enlightened us thusly:

got one in mine. needs some better speakers.

In news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com, Austin Shackles typed: | On or around Sat, 27 Aug 2005 13:26:42 +1000, "Karen Gallagher" | enlightened us thusly: | || In news:deolv1$9k7$ snipped-for-privacy@lust.ihug.co.nz, || EMB typed: ||| Karen Gallagher wrote: ||| |||| Call me old fashioned, but I STILL prefer copper leads - as they |||| used in the factory when my S11a was made. And I still have quite a |||| few metres left. ||| ||| Ditto. But not only do they play hell with the radio but they don't ||| cope with high-output coils well so I don't generally use them. The ||| inductive core Bosch leads work pretty well - and they're not ||| stupidly priced either. ||| ||| ||| -- ||| EMB || || Radio? In a series? I'd never hear it unless I had the engine turned || off ;) | | got one in mine. needs some better speakers. | -- | Austin Shackles.

my opinions are just that | "For millions of years, mankind lived just like the animals. Then | something happened which unleashed the power of our imagination - | we learned to talk." Pink Floyd (1994)

Me too. My German Shepherds ate one of the speakers a while back ;) They work OK when ticking over using the PTO, otherwise no point in having it on if driving 'at speed' - or what passes for speed in a series.