Kept the Wedge BUT ..............

[Gerry Attrick]

I've been quiet over the past seven or eight months as the Wedge has been in the garage - unused but still loved. I was made redundant earlier this year, so didn't have the cash to run it. However, despite getting very close, I managed to keep it.

However, now I've started using it, it seems pretty sick, and I need some of you guys to come up with some bright ideas to help me out.

It started up fine, after a few turns. A bit hesitant to begin with but once it got warmed up it was fine. Fresh petrol of course. I ran it for about two weeks and 200 miles but then one day after a run of about 3 miles and a stop for 10 minutes, it wouldn't start and the battery went flat pretty quickly. I was fortunate to be outside a garage, and they put a battery booster on it. It was still very reluctant to start, but eventually it did but ran very roughly. I took a long route home covering about 20 miles and it was fine after the temperature stabilised. Half an hour later it refused to start again.

I checked the following:-

All starter connections are showing the starter to be OK but I suspect it may be on its way out. Perhaps the brushes are worn and need replacing. I can't see that this will have an effect after the engine has started, though.

Poor spark at plugs

Coil OK and 12 volts showing. Resistances OK. (New a couple of years back)

Checked LT leads to coil and they seem to be fine.

No tracking on dissy cap. Cleaned any way. (Cap and leads replaced a couple of years back.)

Cleaned rotor arm.

Static timing at 4 deg btdc.

Forgotten what it was but pickup gap fine.

Replaced ignition amp with new one.

Started but still runs rough and won't idle.

Checked dynamic timing and this shows it at about 30 deg atdc. This can't be right!!! Static timing checked again and still showing 4 deg btdc.

Looked on PH Forum and found a similar problem reported. This was fixed by replacing the dissy.

Removed dissy, cleaned and oiled weights and vacuum advance mechanism. All appear to be working well.

Removed the slow return vacuum valve.

Still no improvement.

Replaced pickup in dissy. Still no improvement.

Advanced ignition to 10 deg btdc (static) to get it to idle smoothly, but this makes it pink very badly even under light throttle.

OK so the big question is, "Where do I go from here"?
Any help gratefully received.

Don

[350zwelgje]

Good to hear you kept the wedge, and are able to run it again. Did you have a look at the coolant temperature sensor? Based on difficult to start and idle not ok - and it seems temperature related. You replaced the ignition amplifier, that was the other thing I was thinking of.

Rob

[tempus]

Hi,what is the battery like? and when were the plugs replaced? is the alt.charging,were have i put my drink?all these questions.Tempus

[dickymint]

Easy peasy it's the temp sensor......maybe.....possibly...............who knows but a very warm welcome back Gerry

[TVRleigh]

have a look at my post here
http://www.pistonheads.co.uk/xforums/topic.asp?h=0...

It has the values for the temp sensor, your need a ohm meter to test it tho.

Also if you are using the cold start injector, you may want to take it off to see if its working.

also you may want to try with it disconnected if you are.
in our climate most people recomend not using it.

[Gerry Attrick]

Thanks guys. Thanks for the ideas. Strange how you get convinced it's one thing and ignore other possibilities. Rob, The temperature sensor was replaced about four years ago, but I suppose it could have failed again. Chris, The battery was new last year and seems fine on another car, I've tried. The plugs are a possibility as these haven't been replaced recently. I've not checked the alternator - what effect could this have?? Leigh, the cold start is disconnected.

I'll have a look at these things tomorrow and keep you up to date with the news.

Thanks
Don

[tempus]

morning don,if the battery was iffy and and was low on charge the alt tries to make it up,if its a plate connection in the battery,the alt tries to load and then unload,on cold starting this makes it seem like its hunting,combined with a low tickover it will, after a few minutes of reving between about 500 and 1000 stall,but if your batt is good treat it to some plugs,i prefer ngk but anything is better than nothing.Tempus

[Wedg1e]

Borrow an ECU and see if that fixes it. Also check to see if the airflow meter flap is free to move through its full range.