Ignition problems...

[orangebooboobearcrew]

Hi,

Having fixed the oil leak now and hopefully got the timing close enough to at least fire the van, tried turning over again this morning but still will not fire.

I pulled no. 1 plug off and held against engine crankcase whilst the missus turned it over - no spark!

So, I then took the HT lead off centre of dizzy and held this against fan housing (couldn't reach crankcase) and again turned over - no spark!!

Suggest problem from coil HT lead backwards. Coil is brand new and worked fine before we took engine out for top end rebuild. Any ideas what I need to test now to identify the problem?

My thoughts were:-
HT lead possibly suspect (from coil to dizzy)?
Coil wired up incorrectly - is there only 1 wire going to negative terminal and presumably for the 3 on the positive don't matter which goes on which positive terminal?
Break in wiring somewhere from ignition to coil - possibly distrurbed a wire when removing engine sufficiently for this to break? Nothing visible though..

[orangebooboobearcrew]

Could it be a fuse / relay supplying the coil?

Really stuck now and don't know where to look...

[toomanytoys]

Have you got 12v at the coil with ignition on?

[orangebooboobearcrew]

Hi,

Thanks for your response.

How would I test this the best way...?

Cheers,

Chris F

[toomanytoys]

with a volt/test meter is best..

[orangebooboobearcrew]

Cheers - I've got one of those but still learning how to use it...

Do I put the positive lead from the tester onto the positive terminal on the coil then the negative lead on the tester to bodywork / earth?

Thanks again for your help. This is starting to get beyond me now and I'm thinking about having to get the mechanics in...

[Aidan]

that sounds right, the live ignition feed is number 15 iirc

[albertramsbottom]

Have you got the bentley mate, its all in there. How to check the coil, hall sender and electronic ignition system.

But it does say do not turn engine over with the high voltage coil lead disconected

And it says that if you use a multimeter to do any testing you must disconnect and connect only when the ignition is off

[orangebooboobearcrew]

Cheers guys - thanks for your help; I was beginning to wonder if I'd been deserted!

Silly questions time then:-

What does reference to number 15 terminal mean? Does it matter which lead is on which terminal on the positive side of the coil? If so, would you know which is which?
Unfortunately not got the Bentley manual - got Haynes but not that useful and not really how to find supply fault...
So if I do put multimeter on, presume I do this before ignition switched on, the switch ignition on, do test, then switch ignition off, then disconnect meter?
I won't be turning over as I aware there are some monster voltages and don't want to toast myself just yet - but give me another few days of the van not running and I might give it a go!!

Thanks again...

[jamesc76]

If ya get a belt of the ht leads it'll smart but not kill ya ! only 20-30,000 votls but very little amps !

[orangebooboobearcrew]

Cheers James but I'll try and give it a miss if I can!!

[toomanytoys]

one wire will have 12V (ish) the other will be nowt.. I'd have to check what the Aircooled wiring colours are, but I think the black wire is the power and the green one is the "signal" from the amplifier...

[orangebooboobearcrew]

Joking apart, if I turn the ignition switch on but don't turn the engine over - will this still be charged to 20-30,000 volts? I really wouldn't want to get a nip of that? what's the safest way?

[albertramsbottom]

Joking apart, if I turn the ignition switch on but don't turn the engine over - will this still be charged to 20-30,000 volts? I really wouldn't want to get a nip of that? what's the safest way?

Just dont touch the middle high voltage one. test the 15, should 12 voltish

Cheers

[albertramsbottom]

Oh

and did you sort out the plug issue on your dizzy, becuase if this is knackered you wont get a spark. I Think

Albert