ignition pick up in the distributor

[griffnz]

I've got an intermittent problem with my Griffith 500...every now and then it misfires. seems to drop a cylinder, and stink of petrol. Turning off and restarting works (at least after a few goes). Had the car serviced yesterday and they thought they'd temporarily fixed it by closing the air gap in the ignition module...apparently they couldn't find anyone in New Zealand stocks a replacement part. Sadly on my way home misfire occured...

Before taking the plunge and buying a new ignition pick up does this sound the right fix? Also, any ideas on the best place to source one. it will need to be posted to NZ.

cheers

ps - my tech knowledge is somewhat limited..

[thrownarod]

There are two components that often cause this fault on the Rover V8 TVRs.


1) The ignition amplifier



This is a Range Rover part and should be available locally, the Land Rover part number is STC1184.

Its Lucas part number 9EM , so you don't need to pay Land Rover prices.

Just make sure you get one with the right connector for your car, there are both two and three pin versions out there.

If you get stuck you can but a converter cable here:

http://www.simonbbc.com/converter-cables/2-pin-to-...

The ignition amplifier breaks down because of the excessive under bonnet heat.

You will need to fit the new one using some heat sink compound that will be supplied in the box.


2) The coil



Replace the old Lucas coil with a decent Bosch one, the Land Rover part number is PRC6574.

But again you don't need to pay main dealer prices, any Bosch supplier will provide you with the correct coil for half the price.


In the UK it would cost about £60.00 for both the parts if you shop around.

I wouldn't mind betting if you replace the ignition amp and the coil your problem will be solved.

Hope this helps?

[spend]

Fault or not it's well worth having a spare ignition amp, coil you should certainly be able to source locally.

The demise of Lucas and market flooded with dubious quality pattern parts is an oft overlooked deciding factor in converting to alternative ECU's with more modern (readily available) coil packs etc.

[blitzracing]

Just to quantify the parts involved, there is a magnetic trigger head and rotor with in the distributor with an air gap that can be set, and basically comprises of a magnet and coil so there not much to wrong here apart from the odd bad connection to the ignition amp, that is either bolted on the side of the distributor (pre serp) or a remote module. Its the Amps job to take the very small signal from the trigger and "amplify" it to allow it to fire the coil.

[jr6yam]

blitzracing said:

Just to quantify the parts involved, there is a magnetic trigger head and rotor with in the distributor with an air gap that can be set, and basically comprises of a magnet and coil so there not much to wrong here apart from the odd bad connection to the ignition amp, that is either bolted on the side of the distributor (pre serp) or a remote module. Its the Amps job to take the very small signal from the trigger and "amplify" it to allow it to fire the coil.

The wires from the pick-up inside the distributor can wear due to movement
of the baseplate. Although in my case the fault was complete loss of
ignition, not a misfire.
According to the Haynes manual; The resistance of the pick-up should be 6k ohms approx
Failure of the pick-up is a known fault in Range Rover cicles

John

[griffnz]

thanks all..I'll see what i can do the info provided!

[griffnz]

Got an new ignition module, and fitted that. Unfortunatley the problem not fixed, but I do now have a spare igntion module as per advice above! As next step I'll see if I can work out how to check the pick up wires as above....

[Ballistic Banana]

Take a look at your rotor arm. I had a crap one that I guess the copper bit was lifting as it span as when I checked it it just came of the plastic bit oh to easily as if it had never been stuck. Ht leads are worth another look.. Had one of them shorting out on a manifold once too (wasn't touching but close enough) .. Only found it as started car in the dark and had a look under the bonnet and see this little sparking going across the heat had melted some if the covering down to core enough for it to track across.

BB