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Tips
Tips

Distributor problem

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How would you know there is no spark at the rotor tip? That's sort of a Catch-22. With the cap on you can't see the spark, with the cap off you can't make a spark.

What problems are you having that you are looking at the rotor?
 
Ive never worked on a neg,pos car.I put a screwdriver in plug boot and held it close to body. I got no spark. Is that the wrong way to test for spark.Ive got spark at points.
 
When you say "neg,pos", I assume you mean positive ground car. Is that correct?

The polarity of the car will determine which terminals on the coil go the the points but beyond that the testing will all be the same.

Returning to the spark issue, there are many possibilities why you are not seeing a spark. Obviously the rotor and cap have to be on the distributor when you are looking for spark at the end of a plug wire. The ignition timing also has to be reasonably close as well. FWIW, I take a spark plug and place it in the end of a wire and rest the plug on the engine block. I don't use a screwdriver to look for spark but you do what works for you.

What color and intensity is the spark at the points? A decent spark would say that the points are OK, the condenser is OK, and power is flowing through the coil. Therefore, I would suggest your next test would be to pull the wire from the center of the dizzy cap and hold it near the block while you crank the engine on the starter. You should see a spark between the wire and the block. Testing this way will tell you if the coil is working without throwing the cap and rotor into the equation. Once you know you have spark from the coil, put the wire back on the cap and try again with one plug wire pulled from any cylinder and repeat the test holding that wire near the block.
 
yes,its a positive ground car.I put a test light on the coil lead going to the ignition.The other end of test light went to ground(pos side of battery)turned the key on and light came on.I thought that meant the coil was working.
 
Likley the points are dirty, and not making good contact. fold a piece of fine grit sandpaper in half , so both sides are abrasive. Then use a small screwdriver to spread the points apart enough to slide the little piece of sandpaper in there, then pull the sandpaper out. repeat that a few times, then blow out any debris. This should get the spark working. Be sure to add new points and condenser to your list of stuff to get the car up and running reliably.
 
Also, check to make sure all insulating washers are present between the condensor and the dizzy body, and the low tension wire from the coil and the body. Common problem.
 
TO see if the points are working electrically, disconnect the wire between the coil and distributor, hook the clip on the end of your test light to the non-ground terminal of the battery, and the probe end to the wire, or directly to the terminal on the distributor. as the engine is being cranked over your test light should be flashing as the points open and close. if not, something is keeping the points from grounding. either the points themselves, or some other piece of the circuit. If the test light stays on, something is shorted to ground. (see Mickey's comment above)
 
IMHO, you need these:
https://www.amazon.com/Triumph-Workshop-S...d_bxgy_b_text_b

The Triumph Spare Parts Catalog, and the Instruction Manual. With the supplied Stanpart numbers, you can order parts from TRF, and see exploded views of parts, ala MOSS.

Just a suggestion from one who's been there..... don't forget new sparkplugs!
 
dklawson said:
Therefore, I would suggest your next test would be to pull the wire from the center of the dizzy cap and hold it near the block while you crank the engine on the starter.
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That would be my next step as well <span style="font-weight: bold">except</span> that on a stock TR3, the wire is screwed into the cap and not easy to remove.

So, because that one is kind of difficult, I would first check instead that your test light connected to the coil terminal that is wired to the side of the distributor (as you tested before) will flash on and off as you crank the engine (or turn it by hand). If not, you've got a problem with the wiring to the points, or the points themselves not closing.

If that looks OK, my next step would be to try to verify spark from the coil. You can remove the cap and undo the screw inside of it to remove the high tension coil wire. Or you can find something to substitute for the wire. A pair of screwdrivers will do (but you'll need a second set of hands to crank the engine while you hold both screwdrivers, being careful of course not to touch the metal part).

Others will have their own list, but I'd say the most common problems for me have been :

1) Improper assembly of points (hint: the plastic 'top hat' goes on 'top' of the wires), or leaving out the rotor. If I had a nickel ...

2) Failure of the wire that runs from the side of the distributor to the points. This wire is forced to flex as the vacuum advance moves, and the constant flexing can cause it to break internally. The factory wire is a special "extra flexible" type but even it can break sometimes. Then some people try to use ordinary stranded wire as a substitute, and it fails much more often.

3) Failure of the condenser or it's mounting/grounding. One of the very few times I've had to "walk home" was when a condenser suddenly failed. I could still see spark at the points, and spark at the plugs, but it wasn't strong enough to make the engine run.

Other problems I've seen:

1) Points improperly adjusted (don't open far enough). This usually means the point cam was not properly lubricated, causing the rubbing block to wear rapidly. The cam should get a light smear of grease every year or two.

2) First coil failure I've had myself was just last Oct, at TRfest. Again, it still put out some spark, enough to make the engine run a little, but not very well (with lots of sputtering and a few backfires).

3) Rotors, even brand new ones, sometimes fail and short the spark to ground. This frequently indicates you also have a bad plug wire or plug.

4) There is a ground wire inside the dizzy that is riveted to the point plate, and runs to one of the screws that holds the plate to the body. It can also break internally, and cause all sorts of weird problems.

HTH
 
ok,I have spark to plugs after changing cap rotor and wires.she sputters just a little.I have a new battery but the cranking is slow.Is that normal for this type of starter.(very old looking starter).I sprayed starter fluid down carbs,but it every time I did It wouldn't sputter at all.I disconnected line going to fuel pump and connected a self primer to a gas can,blew out old gas until it ran clear at carbs.The car had 30 year old gas in it.Will I nead to rebuild carbs to get her going.Also its 25 degs. here.with straight 30# will she ever kick over?
 
TR3driver said:
That would be my next step as well <span style="font-weight: bold">except</span> that on a stock TR3, the wire is screwed into the cap and not easy to remove.
Click to expand...

Ooops. I forgot about the screw terminal caps. Thanks Randall.
 
JonnyRotten said:
ok,I have spark to plugs after changing cap rotor and wires.she sputters just a little.I have a new battery but the cranking is slow.Is that normal for this type of starter.(very old looking starter).I sprayed starter fluid down carbs,but it every time I did It wouldn't sputter at all.I disconnected line going to fuel pump and connected a self primer to a gas can,blew out old gas until it ran clear at carbs.The car had 30 year old gas in it.Will I nead to rebuild carbs to get her going.Also its 25 degs. here.with straight 30# will she ever kick over?
Click to expand...

That 30 year old gas is not gonna work. Best to drain it out and put some fresh gas in there. Also, make sure the battery is fully charged. Get a small ten amp charger if you don't have one. They're not very expensive. With a fully charged battery, it should crank over fast enough at 25 deg. BTW, did you pull out the choke???
 
I might move the temp fuel source closer like just before the first carb. At any rate the starting fluid or carb cleaner should get some response. How about timing? Static timing is pretty simple, also if you've got a buddy to help you can rotate the dizzy a little each direction and see if you get a response.
 
JonnyRotten said:
...I have a new battery but the cranking is slow.Is that normal for this type of starter.(very old looking starter)....Also its 25 degs. here.with straight 30# will she ever kick over?
Click to expand...
Even a new starter and battery will have a bit of a time with cold 30 weight at first!
 
Pull the plugs, if they are wet then dry them with a propane torch (or just put in different plugs). Then try again, using carb cleaner (Gumout) instead of starting fluid.

25 degrees + straight 30 weight = slow cranking, without a doubt. And they never did exactly spin very fast, with the stock starter; even warm you can hear every cylinder turn over (the R part of rRrRrR) But it should still start, if you are getting at least 9 volts or so to the coil while it's cranking. "Back when" I ran straight 40 weight year-round and it would crank painfully slow in the winter time; but still start even when newer cars wouldn't. (With my alternator conversion, I used to help jump start the American cars that wouldn't start, only partly to show off
grin.gif
)
 
SHE RUNS!!!!!I adjusted the timing walked over, pushed the button thinking nothing would happen and she INSTANLY started up!which kinda scared the crap outa me.And then the smile began,and then it kept going.now I look like the people on the Batman movie after the joker got to them.
 
The first time we fired up the GT6 engine it had been dormant for a decade. I was unaware the car had no muffler. It roared to life, threw a rooster tail/fan of carbon all over the back of the garage and nearly deafened my wife and me. We quickly shut the engine off but continued to laugh for the next 10 minutes.
 
Happened to me too........fired after just 1 revolution....and started lurching forward as the car was still in gear!! Almost took out my toolbox and scared the **** out of me. BE CAREFULL. These little cars can surprise you in the funniest ways.
Gordon
 
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