electronic ign ?

[mrzigazaga]

Could anyone tell me if its worth putting an electronic ignition system on the 280i and would this bypass the need for the wiring to be tested, I definately know that it is a electrical fault, It did have a bit of a fuel issue but that has vastly improved and now she is calling for more power theres nothing there.. Are there systems that totally replace from ignition switch to distributor, The way the auto electrician is talking £200 might not be enough to cover the fault finding and remedy, Thats why if its the same price or £50 more or less than its gotta be worth fitting a new method of starting that should eliminate the problems of electrical fault.. Cheers

[ed_crouch]

Yep, you can do that but it'll come in around the £200 mark for a good one. Lumenition optronic is probably the way to go.

People will stone me for this, but I would always prefer to spend the time understanding the fault fully before fixing it...

[GinG15]

strange question:

the 280 tasmins already had an electronic ignition factorywise!!!!

[Wedg1e]

The Ford V6 had electronic ignition as stated. I've only ever heard of one failing and causing random running issues - Tony Mather's white fixed head... and I think that went to Germany.

[mrzigazaga]

cheers guys, Guess i should see what the auto electrician says... When i fiddled about with it i had a spark from coil to dizz.. then i didnt.. This happened with both new and old coil.. I was wondering if the ignition wires could be replaced to make sure the feed to the coil is good.. Sorry didnt know it already had electronic ign.. aint had a car with a dizz cap for a while.. Thats probably why they said not for motorcraft dizz... Im too impatient, I wanna drive it NOW..

[benebob]

You could always try a MSD or the like ignition. Mine has one in it. A previous owner bdized it and cut must of the wires to the durapark. It works, I suppose, only issue is with the tach not always wanting to work right.

[mrzigazaga]

To be honest im not sure what distributor is in mine, It had a blue cap but looks like a intermotor part that is for a motorcraft dizz.. Am i wrong in thinkihg it could of been a bosch and would this make a major difference if it has wrong cap.. Soz if its a dumb quest..

[mark387mw]

I had the same symptoms as this on a 2.8 Panther Kallista - intermittent spark, would start sometimes and break down at random. Turned out to be the ignition module, got a new one and all problems sorted. Try and slave one in if you know of a serviceable one somewhere.

Edited by mark387mw on Thursday 5th August 03:07

[GV]

On my 350 I went for a Mallory Unilite and dumped the Lucas. You might want to do a search on some of the Ford type forums to see if there's a dizzy upgrade used on the 2.8 & 2.9's V6's

[keatsie]

If you want to get a really accurate and effective electronic ignition system, invest in something like a Mega Jolt system. This will require a bit of work but would be the better long term option - or alternatively fix the one on the car

[mrzigazaga]

Cheers guys.. Was avin a look earlier.. There are listings but a few say not for motorcraft dizzys, But iam not sure what is in mine, Its got a intermotor on it at mo..Blue.. i thought blue was bosch?... can anyone help..ta

[MJG280]

Blue is Motorcraft Ford and the Orange/Brown is Bosch

The problem might be the rotor as there have been batches of duff ones reported

[keatsie]

Good point, I has a rotor arm on a westie where there was a flaw in the design. The HT found a quicker path to earth this was intermitant

[mrzigazaga]

Hi chaps, I did change the cap and rotor arm.. Coil, leads, plugs, The alternator belt is looser than a wh**es knickers.. But have been reading some issues about ignition amplifiers.. The fault diagnosis sounds very similar.. Starts.. gets warm.. turn off.. wont start.. start.. warm up.. off.. nothing.. wait..wait..wait a bit more.. bang,She starts.. Im not sure if its cheaper to spend £40 on a new module and power booster £20. and hopefully solve my issues, Or take it to fault finding auto electrician for hours for him to say £250 please.. It was your ignition module?... What to do.. I would be more inclined to get the bits just to see but my luck will be something completly diff... waah

[MJG280]

or take it apart yourself and run a soldering iron over the soldered joints. Also checking the integrity of the wires to the external connectors.

They turn up on ebay quite often so worth a go

[mrzigazaga]

Cheers MJG.. Im affraid electrics are definately not my strong point.. Its a total head f**k.. If i can see it, I can change it.. I guess im relying too much on hope..

[jeff m]

Your hot and cold starting issues could be linked to not having an Aux air thingy but HAVING a thermotime switch which ops the cold start injector. The two things work together (sort of)
Also
The 280 (and lots of other fords) have a ballast resister that is in series with the ignition coil with key in the "run" position. It bypasses the resister when starting.
Did you put in the correct coil and wire it correctly?
Should be 8 or 9v when running not 12v. (12 when starting) If it is wrong your coil can overheat....and will not work 'til it cools.

Changing ignition systems sometimes causes rev counter problems....like ...you have to buy a new one

With regard to needing a TVR specialist....you don't....it's a ford cologne V6
But a mech will want you to supply parts because he will not want it sitting on his lift while he sources parts. He will not know the bearings are VW, rear brakes Jaguar etc.

[mrzigazaga]

Good point jeff, I did feel the coil after about arf hr of driving and it was hot.. In fact it was quite hot.. I replaced it with an intermotor part but maybe should of sourced a ford part.. Maybe i dont need a TVR man, There are loads of peeps offering to help me and maybe i should take them up on it.. I dont mind paying for bits and labour plus it will educate me..

[grahamw48]

It's a standard 2.8i Ford Capri engine, just with TVR exhaust manis, so anyone who knows about those (forums ?) will also be able to advise.

[mark387mw]

I got my ignition module from a chap that runs the Capri club spares. If you've not tried this yet then do so, if it didn't fix it then you'll have a serviceable ignition module for future use or resell it.