snippy
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posted on 7/4/11 at 08:17 PM |
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Rover V8 won`t start
Standard 3.5 V8 with SU carbs fitted. I`ve got a spark to all plugs, fuel gets to both carbs, albeit one carb seems wetter than the other for now.
Turns over but won`t start? I`ve moved the distributor around in all sorts of positions to adjust timing possibilities but it just doesn`t even try to
fire up. I`m getting spit back out of one carb. It`s as if only one side of the engine wants to try. Any ideas? Faulty Distributor? Carbs knacked?
Nick
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scudderfish
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posted on 7/4/11 at 08:20 PM |
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Plug order?
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snippy
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posted on 7/4/11 at 08:25 PM |
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Firing order & HT leads all fitted correctly
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jacko
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posted on 7/4/11 at 08:27 PM |
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+ oil in the carb dish
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CRAIGR
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posted on 7/4/11 at 08:30 PM |
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Have you got twelve volt at the coil on cranking as i believe the run on 9volt via the ballast but need 12 to start.
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mark chandler
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posted on 7/4/11 at 08:41 PM |
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I,ve had a couple that have just died due to rotor arm, one was rumbling down the a21 and it just stopped !
Another when hot would start to cut out after 20 minutes and not start... rotor arm again.
The distributors are pretty rubbish, never seen one that did not have a lot of play...
Very unlightly to be carbs, even moving the distributor a little way makes a big difference
[Edited on 7/4/11 by mark chandler]
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snippy
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posted on 7/4/11 at 08:42 PM |
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quote: Originally posted by jacko
+ oil in the carb dish
What do you mean Jacko? Do I have oil in the carbs?
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v8kid
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posted on 7/4/11 at 09:03 PM |
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Check firing order again. I did this twice and got it wrong!
Check not 180 deg out at distributor.
Check ignition amp or cold start resistor
Check plugs
nothing else left
Cheers!
You'd be surprised how quickly the sales people at B&Q try and assist you after ignoring you for the past 15 minutes when you try and start a
chainsaw
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jacko
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posted on 7/4/11 at 09:30 PM |
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quote: Originally posted by snippy
quote: Originally posted by jacko
+ oil in the carb dish
What do you mean Jacko? Do I have oil in the carbs?
You say you have SU carbs they have to have oil on the dishes the make the carb slides have a vacuum
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rusty nuts
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posted on 8/4/11 at 04:12 PM |
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As already suggested check the voltage at the coil when cranking , if points set up there should be a take off from the starter to feed the positive
side of the coil with battery voltage when cranking. Might be worth removing the spark plug from no 1 cylinder , holding your thumb over the hole and
turning the engine by hand until pressure builds up, watch timing marks and continue turning until TDC then make sure rotor arm points to no 1 lead on
the distributor cap. If it still doesn't fire up give it a squirt of brake cleaner down the carbs, it's a bit less brutal than easistart
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Paul (Notts)
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posted on 8/4/11 at 04:27 PM |
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180 deg out on dizzy and cam.
will spit back out of carb.
Paul
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snippy
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posted on 8/4/11 at 10:06 PM |
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Hmm, a few things there for me to double check over the weekend.......
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richard
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posted on 9/4/11 at 07:03 AM |
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if all the above does not work and you come back to report would help to give us a bit more history on how you come to be at this stage, is it a
rebuild and you are trying to start for first time, someones else car you are looking at, have you ever had it running that sort of thing as might be
relevant
Rich
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snippy
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posted on 10/4/11 at 08:45 AM |
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It`s a Westfield V8 that me and a mate have bought as a winter project. It was a non runner when we bought it but the car has had a top end engine
rebuild with receipts to show this. We`ve done all the cosmetic stuff and repairs and upgrades to the car and it now looks fantastic so the last job
is to get it running so it can go to Stoneleigh. It had stood for 12 months outside by the previous owner before we bought it. We had it running a few
weeks back albeit for about a minute and it clearly wasn`t running right. Now I`m struggling with it again. Good compression on all cylinders. Going
over to fiddle with it today, will bear in mind everyone`s comments and report back.
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snippy
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posted on 10/4/11 at 11:16 AM |
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Bit of an update. The HT leads were in the correct order but it appears they were 90 degrees out with the rotor arm? Swapped them all around and
pretty sure HT leads all now correct and Rotor Arm is pointing at No.1 Cyl when at TDC on timing marks.I`ve added oil to the tops of the carbs too as
they both dry.
Problem now appears to be the coil. On the positive side of the coil I have a black and white wire from the loom and another wire that feeds the
distributor direct. On the negative side of the coil I have a green wire. With both wires off the coil I`m getting 7 volts when ignition on. When
connected to the coil and ignition again on they are reading 0! As a result no spark getting to the plugs. Have swapped wires over on coil to try that
but still get same results. Is the coil knacked?
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Fred W B
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posted on 10/4/11 at 02:40 PM |
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After reading a lot about suitable ignitions to use on a RV8, and battling with the distributor on my pre SD1 rover, I threw caution (and the credit
card) to the winds, and ordered the below kit from Paul at V8 Tuner.
It make sparks like a arc welder.
Fred WB
Image deleted by owner
[Edited on 10/4/11 by Fred W B]
You can do it quickly. You can do it cheap. You can do it right. – Pick any two.
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snippy
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posted on 10/4/11 at 07:28 PM |
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Unsuccessful afternoon on the V8, no spark at all now. Thinking the coil has packed up. Tried to give the + side of coil a direct feed from battery
or a switched feed off the starter when cranking but still no spark.
Fred - I would love to go with a kit like that but funds don`t allow.
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scudderfish
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posted on 10/4/11 at 07:44 PM |
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Do you know exactly what dizzy you've got? Is there a separate ignition amp (a silver box behind the coil), or is there a small box on the side
of the dizzy? Ignition amp failure is not uncommon on the RV8 and it looks like a duff coil. This is a good read
http://www.v8forum.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=78.
The lower voltage with ignition on implies you have a ballast resistor, but that should be about 9v normal and fed 12v direct during cranking from the
starter. What coil you get doesn't really matter provided that it matches whether or not your system is ballasted.
A carbed V8 should be relatively easy to get started if you have fuel and spark. It may run rough as a dog, but provided you have about 4 cylinders
sparking at approximately the right time then you should get something out of it.
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scudderfish
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posted on 10/4/11 at 07:45 PM |
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One other thing, if the coil gets hot, it's probably duff.
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paulf
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posted on 10/4/11 at 08:11 PM |
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I just had a problem getting a Rover V 8 to start, it seemed to have sparks some times and not others and after turning over a few times it stopped
sparking completely.It was an SD1 engine with the Lucas contact less system with the pick up and ignition amp on the dizzy.When i checked it the coil
was always switched to earth by the amp and it turned out that the amp was faulty, I rang around a few local auto factors and no one had one in stock
but i eventually found the 80s metros etc had the same ignition amp and I managed to find one in the local scrapyard, when fitted i had a good spark
and it started first time.
Paul
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snippy
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posted on 10/4/11 at 10:02 PM |
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This might sound daft but I can find no separate ignition amp (silver box) near to the coil and neither is there a black amp module attached to the
side of the dizzy. On the side of the dizzy there is just the vacuum take off. I`ll have to root around under the dash to see if there`s one hidden
under there but it would be an odd place to fit it.
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scudderfish
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posted on 11/4/11 at 06:17 AM |
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If you have neither, then you may have an early OPUS dizzy, which wasn't the best available. As far as I know, they didn't use an amp, so
in that case it probably is just a shagged coil.
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Oddified
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posted on 11/4/11 at 07:50 PM |
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The opus system was common on the early SD1, and not reliable at all. If it is one, when you take the dizzy cap and rotor arm off, under the plastic
cover you'll see a white/cream plastic disc with 8 ferrite rods pressed in around the circumference. The electronics is built into the dizzy
around the outside of the plastic disc.
If it is an opus, they were probably the most unreliable dizzy ever made for the rover v8!
Ian
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snippy
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posted on 13/4/11 at 08:57 PM |
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Well I hope I`ve done right but I snapped up an electronic ignition set up for the V8 off Ebay. So I plan to remove the old dizzy and replace it with
the following set up. Lucas 35DM8 Dizzy, Lucas Coil, Lucas 2CE Constant Energy Ignition Unit. I`m hoping that being electronic it will be more
reliable. I got this lot complete and it is all wired up together ready to fit except for 2 loose wires. There is a small black plug coming off the
coil loom which has 2 wires, one white, one black. I`m guessing black is for earth and white is for 12v feed once igntion on? I`ve tried to upload a
pic of this lot but don`t see how to?
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yorkshire-engines
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posted on 13/4/11 at 09:08 PM |
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This may be way off but when i last built a car with rover V8 power about 1979 ish after the engine had been stood for a long time the
hydraulic tappets dont work correctly and keep the valves slightly open thus no compression
i think it took me a week to start that engine after trying everything possible it just started one day
maybe of help
cheers malc
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