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No Ignition Fire on 78 MG

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Maxx Levell

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Hello Guys,

I just regestired on this forum. A friend of mine that works with me has a 78 MG with the electronic distributor. We cannot get fire through the distributor. The car has fire to this point, but not beyond...some others have advised him to ditch the electronic dist and go with a points system. I think that he should keep the electronic setup...but what do I need to help him check to get fire to this thing?

This is his first MG. He bought it disassembled and has done a lot of work to it. He didn't know much about cars when he started, and has actually accomplished quite a bit on his own. I have some mechanical ability, but have absolutely no experience with British cars. I would really like to help him out with this project. He is getting pretty discouraged....

Any help would be appreciated. I don't know a lot of information on this car off the top of my head, but I can contact him if you need to know any more specifics.

Thanks In Advance,
 
hey neighbor, electronic ignitions are great until they fail, then nothing and you get to buy a new one. If he has the factory version scrap it and get a petronix or Crane unit, they are both as good as the factory stuff is bad. If he has one of those, it is probably time for a new one. I have a crane unit and a good spare that I carry when I'm on the road
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Chuck’s right.

Before your friend goes investing good money in a points distributor, seriously consider one of the aftermarket electronic upgrades to the existing system.

Assuming the mechanicals of the Dizzy are intact this is a simple upgrade and is less than half the ($$) cost of a points type distributor. I installed the Petronix Ignitor in mine in an afternoon. You can pick them up for about $100 through Moss Motors or Victoria British.

Welcome to the forum!

Good luck,
 
Anyone that advocates ditching electronic ignition in favor of a points type distributor is someone I won't ask for automotive advice a 2nd time.
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Thanks for the help so far guys. I just sent him an e-mail this morning with the address for this site so that he can register and get on board. Maybe he can take it from there.

I am thinking that he said that the dist is brand new, but I could be mistaken on that.

Bret, I checked out your site, and it appears that his car is nearly identical to yours. Same color, same wheels, same year, everything. I thought that was pretty wild.

Chuck, since you are close, maybe he can give you a call or something when he has problems. He is really a nice guy. We both work for the fire department. He always wanted a MG, and he bought this one from a guy in boxes. He has completely re-built the engine by reading and following along in books. A lot of us at work have experience with working on vehicles, just not British vehicles.
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And it appears to be a little different than what we are accustomed to!!

He didn't make it here in the first place because he just did a web search by entering MG...got about a million hits and didn't know where to start. I'm sure he'll be signing up here in the very near future...this site looks like just what he needed.

Again, thanks for all of the help so far guys.
 
Maxx have him send me an email, I'll be glad to help. We have a very good British car club here and what I don't know they do. We had over 100 cars at our yearly show yesterday
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Be sure ask you friend to drop by (or you) to tell us how he did.

FYI On my MG Tech page. I talk about one of my weekend projects with Pertronix Ignitor & Flame Thrower Coil.

My MGB Tech Page

Again, good luck to your friend.

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Thank you for answering so quickly. I am sorry I haven't. Too many irons in the fire right now. The car has been a nightmare on finances and nerves,but is slowly paying off. I haven't got it running yet, I still have to order the piece you recommended, thank you for that it's going to be my next order. Let me know if there are any other suggestions. P.S. I will soon have questions about weber carburators, but one step at a time. Thanks
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Connell, what kind of weber do you have? if it is the downdraft it is really simple. If it is a dcoe good luck. Drop me an email, I might be able to round up a distributor for you
 
Connel, The distributor that you have should be identified. There are two factory solid state systems. The first was a distributor that had a box on the side for the electronic amplification. It was not a good piece of work. The second that was produced was the HEI which had a separate amplifier in a small bleck box separate from the distributor body. This is a very good system, it is a clone of the XJ6 series 3 Jaguar. What ever you do, dont go back to points. That would be foolish. TDhe HEI system of the after market kits are very good ignotions. /what kind do you now have? I can advise you on how to repair the HEI system.

Best regards. Jack
 
thanks i will look at the distributore soon. Just wanted to let you all know that it is a '77 MGB, not a '78. I don't know if that makes any difference. Thanks and i will continue to check replies and i am sure that i will have more questions.
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<blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by Maxx Levell:
Hello Guys,
We cannot get fire through the distributor. The car has fire to this point, but not beyond
Thanks In Advance,<hr></blockquote>

Am I reading this correctly? There is spark from the coil but not at the plugs. If so, replace the rotor & check the cap.
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