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My Sprite started to sputter, hesitate

Stoney

Freshman Member
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Hi guys, I am a new member... A fellow owner directed me to this forum. I have had a rebuilt 1967 1275cc Sprite for around two weeks. The car has been gone through. It has run fine until today, while coming back home it started to sputter, knock almost cut off then lurch back into firing. This happened in all forward gears. I use only high-test gas, and the oil, filters, etc. are good. Any ideas out there before I chance going to a Euro-Tech mechanic (If I can get the car there?) Thanks, Stoney /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazy.gif
 
Hello and welcome to the forum.

I know it has been hot the last couple of days. If you are still using the original coil, perhaps it is getting to the point where it can no longer work. Check across the primary with an ohm meter and compare to what it is supposed to be. I am not certain what it is supposed to be on a Sprite , (1.5 or 3 ohms). If the coil is bad, the primary's ohm reading will be significantly out of spec. Also if you notice that something has been dripping out of the coil onto the
car, that is your other clue....
The Spridget forum is where the Sprite and Midget folks hang out. You might try posting in that forum so they will see it and can respond.
 
Thanks for the info. It has a new coil, but then even new stuff isn't faultless out of the box. Thanks again.
 
Stoney,
If it's a new coil, then it is probably OK. You may want to pop off the distributor cap and make certain the rotor is OK and there are no signs of arcing inside of the cap. The fact that it is sputtering and then runs good again makes me think there is some kind of electrical problem since you know the gas, fuel system are OK.
 
I think you should examine the fuel system some more; although you're getting some fuel, I think there are a number of conditions that could cause you to get an improper mixture, and these symptoms could describe that. Maybe wait for someone more knowledgeable to reply with advice on this as well, but what I'd do...

Check to see if the fuel flow rate is high..the fuel should squirt out and not dribble out. If it doesn't come out properly, you know to ignore the rest of the engine when looking for the source of the problem.

There are probably some carb. problems that could cause it..sticking needles or jets, perhaps? Maybe the pistons in the suction chambers are sticking due to dirt.

Again, just thoughts..
 
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