Discussion
Hi all
A month or so ago I pulled out a sparkplug cable while the engine was running. It stalled and now it won't start again. Its not the fuel cut off thing or the fuses in the glove box. Are there any fuses anywere else?
Or does any one have any idea what else it might be?
Thanks for your help.
84 turbo
A month or so ago I pulled out a sparkplug cable while the engine was running. It stalled and now it won't start again. Its not the fuel cut off thing or the fuses in the glove box. Are there any fuses anywere else?
Or does any one have any idea what else it might be?
Thanks for your help.
84 turbo
Monte,
A little more information would be nice such as it cranks, but won't catch, I have a spark but no start etc.
If I had to guess from what you've stated, I would guess you don't get a spark at all. I would further guess that the cause of this is because one or both of the wires which comes from the distributor, not the cap, has come loose inside the distributor. This is a somewhat common problem with the Lucas distributor.
To confirm/remedy this, you will have to pull the distributor as the wire connection is inside, and resolder it. To do that, make sure the engine is at TDC - push car forward in 5th gear (sparkplugs loose) until the timing indexes on the cam pulleys line up. If you run out of room, place the car in neutral, back it up, reengage 5th gear and push forward again til they line up. Then loosen the distributor mounting screw, but befor pulling it free, mark your cap to indicate the position of all the HT leads, esp. the #1 cylinder. Now pull the distributor free taking care to see that the spring which rides the bottom of the dist. shaft does not fly out and get lost. Once the dist. is out, remove the cap and you will see where these two ignition leads pass through the outer case of the dist. and resolder the connections. You should replace the dist. shaft 'O' ring prior to reinstalling the distributor and might even consider having it recurved before reinstalling it. When reinstalling it, be sure that the distrubtor fully seats on the auxillary shaft and that the spring is in place. Re-check timing once the engine catches. I'm about 99% certain that this is your trouble. Good Luck. Happy Motoring! Jim'85TE
>> Edited by lotusguy on Sunday 9th March 19:49
>> Edited by lotusguy on Sunday 9th March 19:51
A little more information would be nice such as it cranks, but won't catch, I have a spark but no start etc.
If I had to guess from what you've stated, I would guess you don't get a spark at all. I would further guess that the cause of this is because one or both of the wires which comes from the distributor, not the cap, has come loose inside the distributor. This is a somewhat common problem with the Lucas distributor.
To confirm/remedy this, you will have to pull the distributor as the wire connection is inside, and resolder it. To do that, make sure the engine is at TDC - push car forward in 5th gear (sparkplugs loose) until the timing indexes on the cam pulleys line up. If you run out of room, place the car in neutral, back it up, reengage 5th gear and push forward again til they line up. Then loosen the distributor mounting screw, but befor pulling it free, mark your cap to indicate the position of all the HT leads, esp. the #1 cylinder. Now pull the distributor free taking care to see that the spring which rides the bottom of the dist. shaft does not fly out and get lost. Once the dist. is out, remove the cap and you will see where these two ignition leads pass through the outer case of the dist. and resolder the connections. You should replace the dist. shaft 'O' ring prior to reinstalling the distributor and might even consider having it recurved before reinstalling it. When reinstalling it, be sure that the distrubtor fully seats on the auxillary shaft and that the spring is in place. Re-check timing once the engine catches. I'm about 99% certain that this is your trouble. Good Luck. Happy Motoring! Jim'85TE
>> Edited by lotusguy on Sunday 9th March 19:49
>> Edited by lotusguy on Sunday 9th March 19:51
monti265 said: Thanks for that,
I dont know what TDC means or were the timing indexes are on the cam pulleys or were the cam pully is. Think i'll take it to a garage.
I don't see how one or both of those leads came loose I just pulled the lead near the plug didnt touch the distributor.
Monti,
TDC stands for Top Dead Center which means that the engine is turned so the #1 piston is at it's uppermost position in the cylinder. It is marked both on the crank pulley (which is hard to read even when under the car and also on the rim of the flywheel which you can see from above by looking through the viewing hole in the trunk once the rubber cover is removed.
Your cam pulley(s) are the two round pulleys on the front end of the valve covers, the thing that the timing belt goes over. The timing marks are the two 'dimples' or 'dots' on the edge of both timing pulleys. These should line up facing each other when the engine is rotated to TDC. With the sparkplugs loosened to allow the engine to turn easily (no compression), you can turn the engine by putting the car into 5th gear and pushing it forward. You do this until the dots on the cam pulleys line up.
You say you don't know how the wire could have come loose by pulling a sparkplug lead, well it just hangs there loosely and pulling a sparkplug lead is usually how they tear away from their old, brittle solder joint. I've seen this happen 4 times, trust me, I'm almost certain this is your problem. The best way to check is to see if you have any spark when the engine is turned over. Take the loose sparkplug lead and hold it (preferrably with an insulated handled pliers) about 1/4 to 1/2" from the block and have someone else turn over the ignition. You should see a spark jump between the lead and the block. I'm betting you won't see a spark. This is because the wire running from the reluctor in the distributor to the wiring harness to the amplifier and coil has come loose and so won't trigger the coil to spark. As I said, this is a common failure on the Lumenition equipped cars, but usually the least obvious cause. People usually find it once they have exhausted every other possibility.
Another remote possibility is that a wire has come loose from one of the ignition relay in the ignition box (where the coil lives). There are two relays mounted to the trunk back, not the two on the ignition box cover. Check to see that these are all intact.
But, and please take no offence, but if you are unfamiliar with the car to the degree that you don't know what TDC and the timing marks are, it's probably best that you trust this repair to someone more qualified as you said. Let me know how it comes out. Happy Motoring! Jim'85TE
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