Ignition Amp?

[Jhcolling]

Around every 10 days through winter I take the car out of the garage and let it idle on the driveway until she is up to temperature, I then take it for a 5 min drive around the estate before returning back to the garage.
Same scenario today but around 2 mins after I started the car she just died as though the ignition had just been turned off. The car was running fine up the the engine stopping. The car now cranks but won't fire.
A bit of searching has led me to believe the issue lies with the ignition, specifically the ignition amp or maybe the ignition coil. Before I go out shopping for parts is there anything I may have missed?

I have checked the HT leads are all connected, unplugged and plugged the relays back in.

The relays all click when starting and i can hear the fuel pump too.

Minor confession: I forgot to unplug the trickle charger before I started the car, the car did start fine and i immediately noticed my error and un plugged, the car ran for a few minuted after this error before stopping but not long enough to get up to temperature.

Thanks in advance.

[Jhcolling]

I suppose it could be the fuse but would that cause it to stop suddenly, I have no experience with the 100amp fuse going yet so can't really comment on how they go. The car is a 98 reg 450, where would i locate the fuse?

[Jhcolling]

Thanks everybody, much appreciated.

I think I can rule out the fuses as everything seems to still work and the car battery still has plenty of life so it would appear the car wansn't running on the battery.

I will try the spark method and see if it sparks and take it from there. Just to check, is the yellow circled lead the king lead you refer to?

Edited by Jhcolling on Monday 8th January 12:40

[Jhcolling]

OK, I'll try to have a crack at it tonight.

[Jhcolling]

Excuse the ignorance here, but how do I hold it without actually holding it? I assume I or the wife is at risk of electricution?

[Jhcolling]

I’m alive and can confirm I have no spark. I don’t really know how to use a multimeter but I can copy parrot fashion. What’s my next step?

[Jhcolling]

I can confirm there is 12v to the ignition coil. So it is either the coil or ignition amp?

[Jhcolling]

The rotor arm turns, albeit slowly. Ive not disconnected the ignition amp yet and earthed the coil, should I still do this?

[Jhcolling]

Penelope Stoppedit said:

Ok This is good, the distributor is turning

There is a problem in disconnecting the amplifier and earthing the coil, you can go ahead and do it ***But*** I doubt very much that you will get a good spark, you will very likely get a weak spark as long as you don't give it too much of a gap to jump across - The amplifier helps create the good spark

You have probably guessed you are dealing with a novice here so if I don't get a spark then I cannot be 100% confident i have done the process right in the first place. I think i will go ahead and order an ignition amp and replace it, if the problem is still there then I've lost £30 and have a spare.

A bit more googling says I need a Lucas part and not a cheaper alternative but the only ones I can find are Intermotor and the like. Should I be looking away from the TVR parts suppliers?

[Jhcolling]

Penelope Stoppedit said:

Did you pull the king lead out of the disributor cap to check for a spark, another poster did mention this earlier, did you also make sure you held the king lead terminal close to a known good engine earth when checking for a spark?

I did check yes, it was as close as I could get it without actually touching. I put the king lead here, between the two unused bolt holes.

[Jhcolling]

Sardonicus said:

They are out there this is new old stock before Lucas got rationalised into generic crap, this is embossed and its knowing what a genuine one should look like https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/IGNITION-MODULE-DAB127-...

I went ahead an ordered part DAB118 here:
http://www.autoelectricalspares.co.uk/lucas-dab118...

Your part no is DAB127, anybody know which is correct?

[Jhcolling]

Sardonicus said:

ood luck thats the generic Lucas muck you need to avoid part numbers can change if they come with terminal kits or plugs etc its the correct module that your after

Edited by Sardonicus on Wednesday 10th January 17:18

So you're saying DAB118 won't work?

[Jhcolling]

Well you guys are great. I’ve removed the existing ignition amp which was a cheap imitation and replaced with part Lucas DAB118. She started immediately.

Thanks to all who gave me your input and advice.

[Jhcolling]

UKAuto said:

That is good to hear - and just to be sure, as was mentioned earlier by another poster, I hope you put the correct paste behind the amplifier when you installed it. The paste allows the heat to conduct effectively back in to the housing of the distributor. If you do install it without the pasted it will run, and may even last a few days - but it will fail. (I know it was a couple of weeks back, but sounds like you aren't putting a lot of run time on it, so thought it is best to ask so you don't have disappointment when you bring it back out in the spring). Cheers.

Yes, paste used and i also have a replacement in the garage should the same happen again.

I've got giddy on the back of this so just ordered replacement Bosch HT leads as the current ones are non branded blue leads. You will probably all be needed again to help fix whatever mess I get into this weekend.