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Ignition problem

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ekamm

ekamm

Jedi Warrior
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Well I was taking the tr3 out for a spin, wanted to see if wheel balancing had fixed my shimmy problem and no luck. Ran the car for a while all is good. I stopped the car to pick up my daughter. Then turn it over and it cranks but won't start. First engine problem that I have had since I got her going in Aug.
No spark, everything else seems well. The only thing I have changed recently is turning the timing advance a little to try to see if I can get a little better acceleration. Where would you start?
 
The first thing I would check is electrical connections. Both the coil wire and the jumper wire from the coil to the back of the distributor. Also check the jumper for any breaks or cracks.
Next, I would check the rotor to make sure it is secure and in good condition. Newer rotors have had problems with the rivet connection.
If you have a Pertronix set up, the jumper wire will have been removed.
 
I used a electronic, pen type spark indicator. (It tried to fire once and thr pen lit up but that was it.) Wiggled every thing nothing obviously wrong. I have power 12 v to the coil. Looked at the points , all looks normal. new rotor also looks good.
 
At this point no spark at plugs, smells flooded after cranking and won't fire with starting fluid. Going to work on it later this morning will attempt to set timing. I have another coil but kinda doubt that to be the problem.
 
ekamm said:
Well I was taking the tr3 out for a spin, wanted to see if wheel balancing had fixed my shimmy problem and no luck. Ran the car for a while all is good. I stopped the car to pick up my daughter. Then turn it over and it cranks but won't start. First engine problem that I have had since I got her going in Aug.
No spark, everything else seems well. The only thing I have changed recently is turning the timing advance a little to try to see if I can get a little better acceleration. Where would you start?
Click to expand...

Eric: If this is the original ignition set up, underneath the distributor cap are a set of points, a condenser (capacitor) and a rotor. Do you have a simple electrical multimeter or a test light? If you do you can test for voltage at the points when you switch on the ignition. In fact you can simulate the operation of the points by opening and closing them manually. If you have voltage and you open and close the points you should produce high voltage and hopefully a spark. If not you may have a bad condenser. Change out the condenser and try it. if you still get no spark, you may have a bad coil. There are really no other reasons for no spark.

If you have an electronic ignition, follow the manufacturer's directions for troubleshooting.

Here are some guidelines from Lucas.



Good luck.
 

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That is good info from Poolboy (as usual).

Eric - if she isn't getting spark at the plugs cranking her over isn't going do anything except drain the battery. Let's focus on why no spark and then go from there.

Is there power from the coil to the distributor?
 
Thanks for the info. The car isn't here I will go through every thing and let you know.
 
Well so far I've worked my way to the condenser and I'm waiting for it to be dropped of at he parts place.
 
one thing that has happened to me is (with a poor quality points) the "plastic" follower on the dizzy cam wore down. The result is the point gap decreases to the point where they don't open any more. No point opening equals no spark. Check to make sur the poionts are opening and closing as the engine is cranked. Easy to do with the dizzy cap removed.
 
Adrio said:
one thing that has happened to me is (with a poor quality points) the "plastic" follower on the dizzy cam wore down. The result is the point gap decreases to the point where they don't open any more. No point opening equals no spark. Check to make sur the poionts are opening and closing as the engine is cranked. Easy to do with the dizzy cap removed.
Click to expand...



Adrio: That's interesting. But how many miles before the cam follower is shot? A small smear of lithium grease on the cam lobe was always recommended.
 
OK here's the scoop .As I suspected from the start it was a timing issue. I guess since I had never dealt with it before I was apprehensive to change it. No spark, not because of an dizzy issue but not timed = no spark. I looked at a few different timing approaches, none of them seemed to do the trick. So with the help of a buddy did the old you crank it and I'll turn it (the dizzy) and she fires right up. Turn it back and forth a little till it sounds good and tighten it down. She's running great! Thanks for all the help, any knowledge is worth having.
 
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