350i starting and running problems continued...
Discussion
Hi everyone,
A while back I posted up about some issues I’ve been having my with flapper 350i, mainly relating to starting/running. I got lots of feedback which was really appreciated and for a while I thought my issues had been cured, but after not using the car much lately I was disappointed to discover the same issues were present on a recent drive out.
I’m about to start troubleshooting from scratch again and will take on board all the advice that I received last time (including some very comprehensive diagnostic tests!), however I now have a really important event I need the car for which is a 500 mile round trip. Soooo, I’m asking for some help again.
Just to recap, the main issues are that the car sometimes doesn’t start from cold very easily, or not at all. Sometimes its fine and will start within a few cranks, other times it will crank for ages and constantly almost “catch” but not quite get there, and other times it will just crank endlessly with no signs of life until the point of giving up. I understand that the engine has a 10 second rule that if it hasn’t started by this time, the “extra fuel” circuits cut out and there is probably little hope!
The other issue is a random, but quite serious misfire when driving. Again, sometimes, I can use the car and it be pretty much faultless, but other times it can feel like its not going to make it home.
The other day I went out on a 50 mile round trip and the car was running really bad. Sometimes when cruising at a constant speed, it will have a minor “blip” every couple of miles, however the main problem seems to be when you’re accelerating with higher revs.
I did some tests. I pulled out of a junction and pulled away relatively hard, probably ¾ throttle. I held the car in second gear and when I hit about 4500rpm the car misfired badly and wouldn’t rev any higher, however I backed the throttle off until the revs dropped back down and then applied a more gentle throttle and the engine revved to 6500rpm without any problems.
Sometimes when cruising quite gently, I have similar issues when the load on the engine changes. An incline where more throttle is needed could mean lots of misfiring, or pulling away from a roundabout, either hard or gentle.
I’ve checked a whole host of things, including testing the ECU / fuel injection circuits with the Lucas guide and everything seems to check out. I’ve put a new fuel pump on and tested the fuel pressure by adding a pressure gauge into the circuit and reving it. I’ve swapped out the coil, ignition module and rota arm which made no difference to the cold starting issue. I’ve also removed and cleaned the grounding cables that run to the engine / chassis / battery.
Last year, I found that the weights in the bottom of the distributer had seized, so I cleaned these up thinking I had finally found the problem, but it wasn’t. I will of course be checking this again.
I’m about to go out and spend some time troubleshooting, but I thought I would open it up to the Wedge forums once again for advice!
I’m aware of a couple of issues that I need to address – firstly I think the ignition timing is out so I will use the strobe to check this. Assume I need to remove the vac pipe and block it and time it to about 4 degrees?
Also, for the last couple of years I’ve noticed the temperature gauge is under reading by about 10 degrees, however I didn’t think this got its reading from the same sensor that supplies the ECU?
I’m also going to add a fuel pressure gauge to the cold start point and run this to inside the cabin so I can check the fuel pressure when the misfiring is happening under load.
Sooo, if you were me, where would you start now! Also, I am thinking that I may need to start swapping more serious parts out like the ECU and distributor. If so, does anyone who lives locally have one I could borrow/buy please? I’m based in Norfolk but often travel to Ipswich, Norwich and Cambridge.
Thanks in advance,
Dan.
A while back I posted up about some issues I’ve been having my with flapper 350i, mainly relating to starting/running. I got lots of feedback which was really appreciated and for a while I thought my issues had been cured, but after not using the car much lately I was disappointed to discover the same issues were present on a recent drive out.
I’m about to start troubleshooting from scratch again and will take on board all the advice that I received last time (including some very comprehensive diagnostic tests!), however I now have a really important event I need the car for which is a 500 mile round trip. Soooo, I’m asking for some help again.
Just to recap, the main issues are that the car sometimes doesn’t start from cold very easily, or not at all. Sometimes its fine and will start within a few cranks, other times it will crank for ages and constantly almost “catch” but not quite get there, and other times it will just crank endlessly with no signs of life until the point of giving up. I understand that the engine has a 10 second rule that if it hasn’t started by this time, the “extra fuel” circuits cut out and there is probably little hope!
The other issue is a random, but quite serious misfire when driving. Again, sometimes, I can use the car and it be pretty much faultless, but other times it can feel like its not going to make it home.
The other day I went out on a 50 mile round trip and the car was running really bad. Sometimes when cruising at a constant speed, it will have a minor “blip” every couple of miles, however the main problem seems to be when you’re accelerating with higher revs.
I did some tests. I pulled out of a junction and pulled away relatively hard, probably ¾ throttle. I held the car in second gear and when I hit about 4500rpm the car misfired badly and wouldn’t rev any higher, however I backed the throttle off until the revs dropped back down and then applied a more gentle throttle and the engine revved to 6500rpm without any problems.
Sometimes when cruising quite gently, I have similar issues when the load on the engine changes. An incline where more throttle is needed could mean lots of misfiring, or pulling away from a roundabout, either hard or gentle.
I’ve checked a whole host of things, including testing the ECU / fuel injection circuits with the Lucas guide and everything seems to check out. I’ve put a new fuel pump on and tested the fuel pressure by adding a pressure gauge into the circuit and reving it. I’ve swapped out the coil, ignition module and rota arm which made no difference to the cold starting issue. I’ve also removed and cleaned the grounding cables that run to the engine / chassis / battery.
Last year, I found that the weights in the bottom of the distributer had seized, so I cleaned these up thinking I had finally found the problem, but it wasn’t. I will of course be checking this again.
I’m about to go out and spend some time troubleshooting, but I thought I would open it up to the Wedge forums once again for advice!
I’m aware of a couple of issues that I need to address – firstly I think the ignition timing is out so I will use the strobe to check this. Assume I need to remove the vac pipe and block it and time it to about 4 degrees?
Also, for the last couple of years I’ve noticed the temperature gauge is under reading by about 10 degrees, however I didn’t think this got its reading from the same sensor that supplies the ECU?
I’m also going to add a fuel pressure gauge to the cold start point and run this to inside the cabin so I can check the fuel pressure when the misfiring is happening under load.
Sooo, if you were me, where would you start now! Also, I am thinking that I may need to start swapping more serious parts out like the ECU and distributor. If so, does anyone who lives locally have one I could borrow/buy please? I’m based in Norfolk but often travel to Ipswich, Norwich and Cambridge.
Thanks in advance,
Dan.
Dan,
Your problems sound very similar to the problems I had.
I tried everything and I mean everything, nothing cured it.
In the end I borrowed some known good leads and plugs from Chris (Jack Valiant) and the problem was cured.
I had these powerspark leads on it and they only lasted a year or so. I now stay well away from cheap leads !!!
Have you tested the resistance on your HT leads ?
The resistance on at least 2 of my leads were way out of the range so they must have been kn*ckered.
Really quick and easy too.
If you have already tried the above then apologies and good luck.
Just thought I'd post this in case it works for you (hope so mate)
Regards
Your problems sound very similar to the problems I had.
I tried everything and I mean everything, nothing cured it.
In the end I borrowed some known good leads and plugs from Chris (Jack Valiant) and the problem was cured.
I had these powerspark leads on it and they only lasted a year or so. I now stay well away from cheap leads !!!
Have you tested the resistance on your HT leads ?
The resistance on at least 2 of my leads were way out of the range so they must have been kn*ckered.
Really quick and easy too.
If you have already tried the above then apologies and good luck.
Just thought I'd post this in case it works for you (hope so mate)
Regards
Hi Ian,
That's actually a REALLY good call. I haven't actually checked the leads as they are relatively new and came from either land Rover or RPI, plus the car has probably done less than 10k since fitting them. However, I now remember that the lead from the coil to the distributor is a Halfords jobbie due to it needing to be longer than the one that came with the rest of the leads.
Soooo, maybe that's breaking down and causing the issues. I assume that to test them its just a case of putting the multimeter on each end and seeing what the resistance is?
Thanks,
Dan.
That's actually a REALLY good call. I haven't actually checked the leads as they are relatively new and came from either land Rover or RPI, plus the car has probably done less than 10k since fitting them. However, I now remember that the lead from the coil to the distributor is a Halfords jobbie due to it needing to be longer than the one that came with the rest of the leads.
Soooo, maybe that's breaking down and causing the issues. I assume that to test them its just a case of putting the multimeter on each end and seeing what the resistance is?
Thanks,
Dan.
Hi Mate...Im sure the timing should be around 10 degrees but mine was pinking really heavily recently and after adjusting the timing to various amounts it was actually realised that mine needed to be timed at 3 degrees due to the timing marks moving!..
Definitely check the king lead as Ian say's as it quite common that the newly supplied lead doesn't fit due to the coil being bolted to the wheel arch instead of the plenum.
If the mis-fire continues after checking this try un-plugging the TPS to see if that makes a difference...Is the AFM smooth..If you remove the air filter and gently push the plate/Flap to feel if it smooth or gritty.
Good luck...Ziga
Definitely check the king lead as Ian say's as it quite common that the newly supplied lead doesn't fit due to the coil being bolted to the wheel arch instead of the plenum.
If the mis-fire continues after checking this try un-plugging the TPS to see if that makes a difference...Is the AFM smooth..If you remove the air filter and gently push the plate/Flap to feel if it smooth or gritty.
Good luck...Ziga
Temperature guage gets its signal from teh sender screwed into the front of the inlet manifold adjacent to the water pump.
ECU reads the sender adjacent to the thermotime switch, top front left of the inlet manifold.
You mention the '10 second' timer when cranking; that's the thermotime switch at work.
It'd be worth finding out of the cold start injector is spraying for a start; if it is, try unplugging the connector and crank. It may be you have too much cranking fuel rather than not enough - and if that is the case then your auxiliary air valve could be stuck shut (though you ought to have ruled this out if you followed the Lucas diagnostics...).
An RV8 in typical British temperatures will usually start with the cold start injector disconnected anyway.
ECU reads the sender adjacent to the thermotime switch, top front left of the inlet manifold.
You mention the '10 second' timer when cranking; that's the thermotime switch at work.
It'd be worth finding out of the cold start injector is spraying for a start; if it is, try unplugging the connector and crank. It may be you have too much cranking fuel rather than not enough - and if that is the case then your auxiliary air valve could be stuck shut (though you ought to have ruled this out if you followed the Lucas diagnostics...).
An RV8 in typical British temperatures will usually start with the cold start injector disconnected anyway.
Thank you for all the replies so fr - I'm now working through the suggestions.
I've just tested the leads for resistance - I must admit to not knowing anything ohms or what the figures mean. Anyway, the 8 x distributor to spark plug leads (which are Bosch Super Spark) range from 10 to 12 ohms. The coil to distributor lead reads about 18 ohms. Are these figures good or bad? They are cold, so I guess I need to repeat the test after a journey. Turns out they have done 20,000 miles, so time for a change?
Ziga - I've tested the AFM in the past and its smooth and reports the correct voltages. The TPS is also set correctly and also reports the necessary voltages through its arc. I am going to set the timing though as I suspect that's way out, although I may be surprised!
Wedg1e - I'm going to test the temp sensors in a pan of water and make sure they report the correct values at different temperatures.
For the first 15 years of owning the car I had the cold start injector disconnected and never once had any starting/running issues, even when using the car in winter. When I started having problems, I connected the cold start but it didn't seem to make any difference.
I'll also remove and test the aux air valve, although I'm sure I did the Lucas test (needs to be 30-40 ohms). Is there a way I can do a visual check on this? Can I apply 12v to it and watch it open over a period of time?
Thanks again,
Dan.
I've just tested the leads for resistance - I must admit to not knowing anything ohms or what the figures mean. Anyway, the 8 x distributor to spark plug leads (which are Bosch Super Spark) range from 10 to 12 ohms. The coil to distributor lead reads about 18 ohms. Are these figures good or bad? They are cold, so I guess I need to repeat the test after a journey. Turns out they have done 20,000 miles, so time for a change?
Ziga - I've tested the AFM in the past and its smooth and reports the correct voltages. The TPS is also set correctly and also reports the necessary voltages through its arc. I am going to set the timing though as I suspect that's way out, although I may be surprised!
Wedg1e - I'm going to test the temp sensors in a pan of water and make sure they report the correct values at different temperatures.
For the first 15 years of owning the car I had the cold start injector disconnected and never once had any starting/running issues, even when using the car in winter. When I started having problems, I connected the cold start but it didn't seem to make any difference.
I'll also remove and test the aux air valve, although I'm sure I did the Lucas test (needs to be 30-40 ohms). Is there a way I can do a visual check on this? Can I apply 12v to it and watch it open over a period of time?
Thanks again,
Dan.
digga951 said:
I'll also remove and test the aux air valve, although I'm sure I did the Lucas test (needs to be 30-40 ohms). Is there a way I can do a visual check on this? Can I apply 12v to it and watch it open over a period of time?
Thanks again,
Dan.
Yep, that would do it! Er, or rather, it should start off open and gradually close as it heats up (contradicting myself I think Thanks again,
Dan.
) - the ECU adds more fuel in response to the temp sensor telling it the engine's cold, whilst simultaneously the aux air valve admits more air to raise the idle speed. As the AAV warms up it closes off and lowers idle speed then as the coolant warms up the fuel leans off. With the engine warm, heat-soak through the AAV body keeps it closed so no extra air sneaks in.If it was stuck open you'd have a weakening mixture as the engine warmed up and warm starting could then be an issue... not what you are seeing though.
Even when the AAV is open it's not exactly a gaping hole; you can see the 'shutter' with a shaped slit in it. As the AAV warms up the shutter rotates, gradually closing the slit. If you can't see the slit with it cold then it's stuck shut.
A quite bit of Ohm's law tells me it should take about a third of an Amp at 12V (if the 30-40 Ohms is correct).
mtb said:
Very similar symptoms I had before I ditching the efi system turned out to the throttle pot worn out
Mike
Throttle pot wouldn't affect the starting, though it would certainly not help when you floor it as it uses the TP to give enrichment. That said the car should still accelerate smoothly even with the TP disconnected.Mike
Agreed wedgie it would always start but then cut out at a junction quarter of a mile from my house sometimes it ran smooth other times displayed same sysptoms as diggas. When the efi system was stripped out some of the wiring was so brittle you could nearly snap it in your hand car was 30 years old this we think was also causing some running issues
Mike
Mike
I've just tested the extra air valve. I took the air hoses off it and could see the slot in the moving plate. I jammed the AFM open slightly and put the ignition on, and over a period of about 6 or 7 minutes the valve gradually closed. It didn't close all the way though and left a 3mm x 3mm bit of the slot showing, however maybe this was due to a less than fully charged battery only putting out 10v and the engine not helping to warm things up.
The battery is only partly flat due to the lack of use over winter.
In short though, the air valve seems to move!
The battery is only partly flat due to the lack of use over winter.
In short though, the air valve seems to move!
Suggest try scattergun to start with. Clean all multiplug connectors for EFi, including at the flapper and the power resistors. Change the plugs because that's cheap. Change the fuel filter if there's any doubt about it. Is the ignition module a known, good module? 50% of the new modules I've fitted over the years were duff from day 1. Have you used the heat sink paste?
Replacing the HT leads involves a bit more expense, can you get the car to idle in a dark garage (or at night)? Look for arcing.
How old is the petrol?
Replacing the HT leads involves a bit more expense, can you get the car to idle in a dark garage (or at night)? Look for arcing.
How old is the petrol?
digga951 said:
The other issue is a random, but quite serious misfire when driving. Again, sometimes, I can use the car and it be pretty much faultless, but other times it can feel like its not going to make it home.
The other day I went out on a 50 mile round trip and the car was running really bad. Sometimes when cruising at a constant speed, it will have a minor “blip” every couple of miles, however the main problem seems to be when you’re accelerating with higher revs.
I did some tests. I pulled out of a junction and pulled away relatively hard, probably ¾ throttle. I held the car in second gear and when I hit about 4500rpm the car misfired badly and wouldn’t rev any higher, however I backed the throttle off until the revs dropped back down and then applied a more gentle throttle and the engine revved to 6500rpm without any problems.
Sometimes when cruising quite gently, I have similar issues when the load on the engine changes. An incline where more throttle is needed could mean lots of misfiring, or pulling away from a roundabout, either hard or gentle.
These bits sound very familiarThe other day I went out on a 50 mile round trip and the car was running really bad. Sometimes when cruising at a constant speed, it will have a minor “blip” every couple of miles, however the main problem seems to be when you’re accelerating with higher revs.
I did some tests. I pulled out of a junction and pulled away relatively hard, probably ¾ throttle. I held the car in second gear and when I hit about 4500rpm the car misfired badly and wouldn’t rev any higher, however I backed the throttle off until the revs dropped back down and then applied a more gentle throttle and the engine revved to 6500rpm without any problems.
Sometimes when cruising quite gently, I have similar issues when the load on the engine changes. An incline where more throttle is needed could mean lots of misfiring, or pulling away from a roundabout, either hard or gentle.
I had problems that started at high revs (occasionally at first), then when I went on one of the Tunnel Runs is was quite noticeable (inclines), then started getting worse lower down the rev range.
Check out my 400SX misfire cure.
If you are going to add a fuel pressure gauge this will reveal this type of fault.
In my case a hose was collapsing under vacuum and the whole fuel system was cutting off. This lack of fuel problem could be caused by filter blockage, loose connection to the pump, a fault with the pump supply from the relay, or the signal to it cutting off, or some blockage in the pipes leading to the swirl pot or in the swirl pot itself.
When you are using little gas [e.g. idling] the demand for fuel is small and the pump can beat the FPR. When you boot it the pump needs more fuel and you will notice the fault.
Finally I have noticed that starting and cold idle has improved a bit since I fixed it, so there's a similarity there too.
See this: Cutting-out problem on the 400SX
Any doubts about the condition of the hoses then change the lot:
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
Thanks again for the responses - lots to think about.
I'm now about to go outside and do lots of testing / inspecting!
Adam - I hadn't considered a crushed fuel hose, but its a strong possibility. A couple of years ago, I removed the tanks and fitted new hoses everywhere. The car was running fine up until this point, so the problems have started since that time. About 8 months ago, I was under the car again and noticed some of the hoses had already gone hard and perished, including the tank to fuel pump one. It has to go around quite a tight bend, which I guess stretches the rubber on the outside edge. I replaced it (along with some others which had perished), but maybe some of the others that follow bends are flattened or have broken down inside.
I think new hoses all round is a must, plus a new filter!
I will report back!
Dan.
I'm now about to go outside and do lots of testing / inspecting!
Adam - I hadn't considered a crushed fuel hose, but its a strong possibility. A couple of years ago, I removed the tanks and fitted new hoses everywhere. The car was running fine up until this point, so the problems have started since that time. About 8 months ago, I was under the car again and noticed some of the hoses had already gone hard and perished, including the tank to fuel pump one. It has to go around quite a tight bend, which I guess stretches the rubber on the outside edge. I replaced it (along with some others which had perished), but maybe some of the others that follow bends are flattened or have broken down inside.
I think new hoses all round is a must, plus a new filter!
I will report back!
Dan.
Another update...
Fuel hoses looked ok, although the pump to filter one is a tight radius and is more oval than round where it curves. I ran a length of hose from the cold start injector point into the cabin and put a pressure gauge on the end.
I also tested the temperature sensor in a pan of water and it was spot on with the resistance values all the way up to 90 degrees, so I think this is ok. Its relatively new as well.
The car started first time today, so I let it warm up and checked the timing which was about 12 degrees (although its hard to see as you can't get your head down low enough to line up the marks). I adjusted it to about 8 degrees. I think my timing marks are correct as a) the car came direct from TVR and had white marks printed on the scale and b) as soon as I retarded it to 0 degrees or under it started spluttering. The car has always been timed with the marks in the past and used to run fine.
I took it for a spin and floored it in 2nd gear again and sure enough at about 4800 rpm it starts misfiring badly. The fuel pressure remained at 2.5 bar though on my gauge. I kept my foot down and the misfiring continued, sounding like a rough rev limiter. Again, I kept my foot steady and after about 6 or 7 seconds of the car struggling to clear itself, it let out an almighty back fire and then carried on misfiring. I reduced the throttle again and drove more gently, and it was relatively fine.
I pulled over and adjusted to the timing to around 4 degrees and have another drive. This time, the misfiring was even worse and came in at around 4200 rpm. Fuel pressure seems to be just under 3 bar at idle and always around 2.5 bar when the car is under load.
Sooo, I'm starting to think its an ignition problem now. Anyone agree or disagree?
I just took the distributor cap off and the rotor arm moves on its bob weights and springs back again when released. I can hear a hissing from the vac advance take off on the manifold, so that's not blocked. Cap and arm seem ok visually and are both genuine Lucas from RPI. I tested the resistance on the coil to distributer lead and this was the same as when it was cold (16 ohms with the multimeter set to 20k).
Maybe time for a new cap/arm/leads etc?
Fuel hoses looked ok, although the pump to filter one is a tight radius and is more oval than round where it curves. I ran a length of hose from the cold start injector point into the cabin and put a pressure gauge on the end.
I also tested the temperature sensor in a pan of water and it was spot on with the resistance values all the way up to 90 degrees, so I think this is ok. Its relatively new as well.
The car started first time today, so I let it warm up and checked the timing which was about 12 degrees (although its hard to see as you can't get your head down low enough to line up the marks). I adjusted it to about 8 degrees. I think my timing marks are correct as a) the car came direct from TVR and had white marks printed on the scale and b) as soon as I retarded it to 0 degrees or under it started spluttering. The car has always been timed with the marks in the past and used to run fine.
I took it for a spin and floored it in 2nd gear again and sure enough at about 4800 rpm it starts misfiring badly. The fuel pressure remained at 2.5 bar though on my gauge. I kept my foot down and the misfiring continued, sounding like a rough rev limiter. Again, I kept my foot steady and after about 6 or 7 seconds of the car struggling to clear itself, it let out an almighty back fire and then carried on misfiring. I reduced the throttle again and drove more gently, and it was relatively fine.
I pulled over and adjusted to the timing to around 4 degrees and have another drive. This time, the misfiring was even worse and came in at around 4200 rpm. Fuel pressure seems to be just under 3 bar at idle and always around 2.5 bar when the car is under load.
Sooo, I'm starting to think its an ignition problem now. Anyone agree or disagree?
I just took the distributor cap off and the rotor arm moves on its bob weights and springs back again when released. I can hear a hissing from the vac advance take off on the manifold, so that's not blocked. Cap and arm seem ok visually and are both genuine Lucas from RPI. I tested the resistance on the coil to distributer lead and this was the same as when it was cold (16 ohms with the multimeter set to 20k).
Maybe time for a new cap/arm/leads etc?
Hello,
Another update. Still not got to the bottom of the problem yet.
Over the weekend, I swapped out the ignition amp, cap and rota arm but this made no difference. Whilst I can't guarantee the spare parts aren't faulty too, the symptoms remained exactly the same so its likely they are good. I've no reason to believe otherwise.
I did some more test drives and played about with some things. I disconnected the throttle pot with the engine running, and the revs reduced slightly which to me suggests its at least doing something. The car seemed to drive pretty much the same whether it was connected or not, with the wall of misfiring/backing firing at approx 5k as usual. Maybe this suggests that the TP isn't working, although the static voltages across its arc have been measured lots of times recently and all check out.
I connected it up again and played about with the timing, but again this didn't seem to make much difference to the drive either. I set the timing at 2, 4, 8 12 and 16 degrees (approx) and each time the car didn't seem to be much different in response. The misfiring didn't seem to improve or worsen to any extent. Does that suggest the advancing mechanism isn't really working properly?
When I timed the car, I disconnected and blocked the vacuum pickup on the plenum and used a strobe. When set, I connected the vacuum pipe again and revved the engine. Even at only about 2k rpm, the advance seemed to be nearing its maximum point. The other thing I noticed is that the round stud sticking out of the pulley would sometimes be visible when the engine was revved, but sometimes it wouldn't. Does this stud represent anything? Is it the point of maximum advance s it seemed to line up with the timing marker when revving the engine.
The petrol in the car is new, and so far I've not been able to look for electrical arcing at night.
I've been reading the Honest John pages again and think I now need to go down the route of making some test lights to see whats happened with the ignition amp whilst the car is misfiring...
Frustrated now :-(
Another update. Still not got to the bottom of the problem yet.
Over the weekend, I swapped out the ignition amp, cap and rota arm but this made no difference. Whilst I can't guarantee the spare parts aren't faulty too, the symptoms remained exactly the same so its likely they are good. I've no reason to believe otherwise.
I did some more test drives and played about with some things. I disconnected the throttle pot with the engine running, and the revs reduced slightly which to me suggests its at least doing something. The car seemed to drive pretty much the same whether it was connected or not, with the wall of misfiring/backing firing at approx 5k as usual. Maybe this suggests that the TP isn't working, although the static voltages across its arc have been measured lots of times recently and all check out.
I connected it up again and played about with the timing, but again this didn't seem to make much difference to the drive either. I set the timing at 2, 4, 8 12 and 16 degrees (approx) and each time the car didn't seem to be much different in response. The misfiring didn't seem to improve or worsen to any extent. Does that suggest the advancing mechanism isn't really working properly?
When I timed the car, I disconnected and blocked the vacuum pickup on the plenum and used a strobe. When set, I connected the vacuum pipe again and revved the engine. Even at only about 2k rpm, the advance seemed to be nearing its maximum point. The other thing I noticed is that the round stud sticking out of the pulley would sometimes be visible when the engine was revved, but sometimes it wouldn't. Does this stud represent anything? Is it the point of maximum advance s it seemed to line up with the timing marker when revving the engine.
The petrol in the car is new, and so far I've not been able to look for electrical arcing at night.
I've been reading the Honest John pages again and think I now need to go down the route of making some test lights to see whats happened with the ignition amp whilst the car is misfiring...
Frustrated now :-(
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