Cracked HT lead problem??

[Older 'n dust]

Just driven back from Peak District and about 10 miles into journey felt as though possible petrol / fuel not getting through occasionally. Pulled over and checked and one spark plug lead was cracked. Carried on driving as husband not with me and he has the AA membership Sometimes engine cut out when stopped at islands etc., and had to rev a little harder than usual to get it to pick up in first gear, however got home in one piece (I think).... will this have likely done any further damage, or can I just happily order two sets of HT leads from JK????.... thanks in advance from a definite m/technobimbo

[sciroccotune]

I would guess you will be fine you will loose lots of power if the leads arc.

[Older 'n dust]

Thanks... will order two sets so carry a spare in future!

[California Dreamin]

Don't order two sets....just one good set from Brickwerks
When leads fail it's usually just one at a time so just keep the 3 good leads as spares.....

I am a little intrigued ..you say the lead was 'cracked' which would be very unusual, are you sure it wasn't arcing (a spark jumping from the lead to the engine?)



Martin

[Older 'n dust]

Quite difficult to see in pic as I had already 'pinched' it back together as best I could, but had no insulting tape with me... There is a crack in the cap of the top right HT lead cover going from top right towards bottom left.... this was the only thing I could find at the time. The only other thought I had was that maybe I had let the petrol get a little too low before filling up and maybe a bit of sludge from bottom of tank had been pulled up and was causing intermittent power loss.... it was that sort of hhmmmm.... difficult to describe, sort of mis firing when foot on accelerator..... made more difficult at islands and T.Junctions, but appeared to be a little better as we got closer to home and less likely to cut out?.... maybe cos I'd done the squeeze bit a couple of times by then and slit was staying closer together...

Pardon my poor explanations, but I know what I mean....



PS... I thought leads were to specific spark plug numbered 1 to 4... is this not the case and can I swap 'em around a bit (suppose the issue may be the different lengths)?? And yes, I am female, so get to ask all sorts of weird and wonderful questions ...

[California Dreamin]

Yes it needs changing but I doubt that this is your problem as the lead needs to arc (the high voltage jumping to another metal object rather than travelling all the way to the spark plug end) and at this point there isn't really anything for the high voltage to jump to.

Available separately so you don't necessarily need to buy a full set of leads (or even two sets lol)

The leads are interchangeable (as long as you use the same take off point on the distributor cap to the same plug) and the lead is physically long enough to reach (as you say..they are different lengths).


Pin type (84 onward)

http://www.brickwerks.co.uk/index.php/h ... r-pin.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Din type (upto 84)

http://www.brickwerks.co.uk/index.php/h ... r-din.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

You would need to crimp the connectors to the HT wire (and or solder)

Martin

[California Dreamin]

look at:
Blocked fuel filter
Blocked air filter
Blocked filter gauze in the carburetor inlet
Bad fuel (water in petrol)


Martin

[Evokiola]

I had similar symptoms to you on one trip. Let the fuel get pretty low, hesitation, stalling at low revs, slow to accelerate, but better under acceleration. Replaced fuel filter by petrol tank, and cleaned the cone shaped filter in the carb. Fairly straight forward after a bit of research on here. Hope this helps

[Older 'n dust]

Thanks for your input... greatly appreciated... Just started getting to grips with engine and bodywork stuff after years of just sending stuff to the garage so lots of idiot questions will be asked when I cannot understand stuff on other threads Quite enjoying having a tinker with bits and pieces now... however as weather gets colder I may not be as happy with my tinpot tinkering

At least if I get this fixed I can start to look for what else I can find, (unless someone else see's this and comes up with any thoughts) and if no luck, will take it for it's pre-mot and then to the guy who usually fixes my cars and get him to looksee!! Want to get it sorted before Dubs in the Valley at Bridgenorth though, cos may go on to have a week in the Gower after that..

PS... thanks for the other tips posted whilst I was writing this one.... will look at those also

[California Dreamin]

I would also get your man to look at the petrol hoses as on close inspection there does appear to be some cracking.


Martin

[Oldiebut goodie]

Yes it needs changing but I doubt that this is your problem as the lead needs to arc (the high voltage jumping to another metal object rather than travelling all the way to the spark plug end) and at this point there isn't really anything for the high voltage to jump to.

Martin

Plenty of signs of water which would aid tracking to ground though.

[Older 'n dust]

Thanks for the help... just learned a valuable lesson... take pics before posting to ask questions! Now just need to spend more time reading up on other bits like body work stuff, so can get going on some of the worst bits of that... think I may limit myself to getting some of this in order before I try to do too much with the engine etc... although I am loving reading all the little tips and getting familiar with the forum, so big thanks to all... and yes - I am a sad git who sits at a desk for a lot of my work life