Rover V8 Starting Problem
Discussion
Anyone out there can diagnose my regular ignition problem. I am running a carb'ed 4.6 stage 3 Rover engine in my MGB , all go's well, but i regularly get starting problem and it appears to be the same problem.
I go to start it and nothing, after the useual checks I come to the same place and find that when I open the dizzy I find the rotor arm is blackened, after a little wet and dry paper to get it back to the shiney surface it fires up no problem, works every time.
I have replaced the dizzy cap, rotor arm and ignition leads for new. The dizzy is the original (but standard) Rover SD1 with the remote Amp, so it is around 25 years old, now I know what most of you are thinking but the old adage of 'If it ain't broke dont fix it' is the first commandment in my garage. And although I have been thinking of ditching the distributor and going for coil packs and a crank driven trigger ignition system. But first things first why is my rotor arm getting blackened, and I am not speaking about high milage it has happened 3 times in about 3000 miles.
I go to start it and nothing, after the useual checks I come to the same place and find that when I open the dizzy I find the rotor arm is blackened, after a little wet and dry paper to get it back to the shiney surface it fires up no problem, works every time.
I have replaced the dizzy cap, rotor arm and ignition leads for new. The dizzy is the original (but standard) Rover SD1 with the remote Amp, so it is around 25 years old, now I know what most of you are thinking but the old adage of 'If it ain't broke dont fix it' is the first commandment in my garage. And although I have been thinking of ditching the distributor and going for coil packs and a crank driven trigger ignition system. But first things first why is my rotor arm getting blackened, and I am not speaking about high milage it has happened 3 times in about 3000 miles.
Good question. Not sure what it is, but I though it looked like a carbon/soot type deposit, like there was some type of arcing. The car is garaged all the time and this has happened during hot weather so dampness should not be an issue, This is on the rotor tip which is a non ferrous material so corrosion should not be there.
I would try another rotor.
Why? As in the beginning ordered standard replacement parts and first time the rotor didn`t fit, the second didn`t fit either. After this discovered that several types are available with ridges and notches that are different. After some trail and error found the right rotor, but it is a `strange` push fit, as in you need to push very hard as otherwise the distributor cap doesn`t fit like with the others.
Perhaps in your situation it is the other way round and the rotor is pushed down easily, but creates too much distance between the rotor tip and the contacts in the cap causing the current situation.
Rob
Why? As in the beginning ordered standard replacement parts and first time the rotor didn`t fit, the second didn`t fit either. After this discovered that several types are available with ridges and notches that are different. After some trail and error found the right rotor, but it is a `strange` push fit, as in you need to push very hard as otherwise the distributor cap doesn`t fit like with the others.
Perhaps in your situation it is the other way round and the rotor is pushed down easily, but creates too much distance between the rotor tip and the contacts in the cap causing the current situation.
Rob
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