A small and random spark

[RobStan]

Morning all

On Saturday morning the weather was good so I thought I'd take the old girl out for a small run... She had other ideas!

I put the car in the garage last Sunday afternoon and not moved it since. I jumped in on Saturday and it's not firing. So I did the normal checks; Battery - Good, Fuel - loads, Distributor - not damp and everything looking normal. So I check the spark. As I crank the engine I get a big spark and then a small one and then as I continue to crank it I get small sparks or none.

So I check the leads. The coil is new (about 2 months ago) I checked the points gap. All see good.

Any suggestions?

Should I just throw money at it and get an electronic distributor and be done with it?

Thanks
Rob

[status]

Hi Rob

Did you check (or change 'cos it's cheap) the condenser? I had a Dolomite many years
ago that would run but had a very weak spark and, having checked everything else, I
changed the condenser and it all burst back into life again.

cheers
Nick

[RobStan]

Funny you say that, I've just walked over toa little shop round the corner I picked one up. I'll test to night.

[daza]

Rob,

Another suggestion, I dont know what your distributor drive is,, but if its not gear driven,,, check its not skipping out of the shaft, and that its clamped down properly.


Darren

[rsh]

Try running a hot wire straight to + side of coil and if spark is improved, it's probably down to the ignition (white) wiring circuit, loose connections and worn wiring loom likely culprit.

[Slow M]

Are you using a ballast resistor? These can also fail.