rusty nuts
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| posted on 1/2/17 at 03:45 PM |
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The only way your going to know for sure if the coil pack is the problem is to change it.
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perksy
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| posted on 1/2/17 at 08:06 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by AlexXtreme
Changing the coil is going to be the last report as it is so much work to do!
Are coils really that un-reliable? I can imagine in the engine bay where it gets warm I can imagine it not lasting long, however mine is under the
dash board, only sen 16k miles over 16 years and by the looks of it has been garaged!
Typical symptom of a faulty coil is it 'breaking down' under load when the engine is hot
If your coil is under the dash, How long are your leads ? are they standard lengths or ones that have been custom made ?
Also are they routed ok ?
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02GF74
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| posted on 1/2/17 at 09:26 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by perksy
Typical symptom of a faulty coil is it 'breaking down' under load when the engine is hot
The alternative view is the coil breaks down when it becomes hot - which may take a little while thus coinciding with the engine being hot too  The
coil dissipates a fair amount of heat and will get hot enough so you cannot hold it in your hand.
So definitely worth swapping it out for a good one.
incidentally why isn't the coil in its usual place in the engine bay? would make life a lot easier.
[Edited on 1/2/17 by 02GF74]
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perksy
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| posted on 1/2/17 at 09:33 PM |
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That's what I meant, Honest  
Can't remember the last time I saw a coil buried under a dashboard though, Love to know why it was put there in the first place ?
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AlexXtreme
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| posted on 1/2/17 at 10:32 PM |
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the leads were part custom.. the spark plug end was supplied fitted and i made up the other end my self under the dash. They route through a hole in
the dash which I sealed with silicon to stop the rubbing / getting damaged. It was a long job and when I had finished - no difference.
The only reason I can think of that the coil is under the dash is that the engine is mounted further back that std with which left little room to
mount the coil other than under the carbs which would give an even longer route for the leads and keeping out of the eng compt would keep it cool.
Will have a think about changing the coil.. :-(.
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02GF74
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| posted on 2/2/17 at 09:27 PM |
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ok. my last comments on this.
Basically I suggest you get the spanners, screwdriver and drill out and relocate the ignition module to the engine bay where it belongs. I find it
hard to believe there is no room in the engine bay and having 15 kV zapping about in the occupants' compartment is not the best idea  . If
necessary, relocate the battery into the passenger footwell to make space, unless already done. I don't believe there will be any issue with
temperature, after all, isn't the engine bay the place where car manufacturers put the engine's ignition gubbins?!?!?!? It should make it
more accessible so will be easier for you and the AA man to work on.
You may find that you can use off the shelf ready made spark plugs - this will rule out any problems with the custom made ones - are you 100% sure
they are fully working? Furthermore they will not need to pass through any bulkhead hole - I assume they are bunched together to pass through one
hole (again photos of your set up would really help) - which is not great - you do not want ignition leads to closely run parallel to each
other.
I am more than happy to be corrected here but I do not believe your problem is due to carbs being affected by engine heat. The carbs flow cold air,
pass cold fuel, not to mention the latent heat of evaporation as the petrol is atomised so are kept cool. I need to check but am pretty sure there
should be an insulator between the manifold and the carbs - is there one? And petrol resistant o-rings are fitted correctly so there are no air
leaks?
So my recommendation is to spend a bit of time and money on replacing the coil pack, fitting pukka leads, relocating the coil pack, cleaning out the
carb jets, check the sensor for the ignition is working correctly, check electrical connections for the ignition before spending oodles of cash at the
tuning place, that should be the last resort if the problem is not resolved.
Good luck and report back on the cause of the problem.
quote:
Originally posted by AlexXtreme
the leads were part custom.. the spark plug end was supplied fitted and i made up the other end my self under the dash. They route through a hole in
the dash which I sealed with silicon to stop the rubbing / getting damaged. It was a long job and when I had finished - no difference.
The only reason I can think of that the coil is under the dash is that the engine is mounted further back that std with which left little room to
mount the coil other than under the carbs which would give an even longer route for the leads and keeping out of the eng compt would keep it cool.
Will have a think about changing the coil.. :-(.
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sdh2903
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| posted on 2/2/17 at 09:37 PM |
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Exactly as Mr 02GF74 says Imo.
ford coils are not known for being bullet proof and the whole custom plug lead situation sets alarm bells ringing. In my humble experience misfires
are 90%+ plugs, lead or coil related. Usually the last one I end up changing....
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AlexXtreme
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| posted on 3/2/17 at 02:17 PM |
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Firstly thanks for your helpfully suggestions.
I have brought a new coil and will tackle changing it as a first option and see if it makes any difference... if no difference will re-locate.
Agreed having the leads going through the bulkhead is not ideal however as the pic below shows, there is not much room... don't want to position
around the exhaust side as the whole area gets pretty warm - previous owner clad the shell in this area with insulation due to heat issues. On the
other side, the coil would have to go under the carbs which would require extra long leads...
max gap around the back of the engine is not much!
https://goo.gl/photos/D3QwCxwyJtk4hq21A
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perksy
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| posted on 3/2/17 at 07:55 PM |
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To be fair it does look a bit tight
Difficult to see in the photo, but if you made a bracket up to suit could you not mount the coil between the carbs and the bulkhead ?
Just my 2p but i'm not a great fan of 'homemade' plug leads so if you can alter things so that you can use standard ones it would be
more reliable in the future
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rusty nuts
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| posted on 3/2/17 at 08:10 PM |
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If your HT leads use a screw on fitting at the coil end they could well be your problem as could badly crimped fittings.
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AlexXtreme
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| posted on 3/2/17 at 10:43 PM |
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the thing is that I when I changed the leads it made no difference so so not think it is the leads.
there is not more than 30 mm gap between the carbs, the rod for the bonnet release and the bulkhead... I can not get my hand or feel the hole where
the leads go through the bulkhead and definitely no room for a coil.
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AlexXtreme
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| posted on 4/2/17 at 10:54 AM |
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it was not a screw fitting at the coil - I had to crimp them on.
Alex
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02GF74
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| posted on 2/3/17 at 08:21 PM |
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.... one month on, what's the story now?
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AlexXtreme
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| posted on 3/3/17 at 02:46 PM |
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right ... meant to give an update but no time.
- brought new Weber distributor
- looked at moving it but this would been loom extension and the mounting bolts for the bracket were not accessible without moving the engine.. in the
end it was easier to work on it under the dash - bloody horrible
- as I could not take the bracket off the b'head I had to take the dist. off the bracket... this took a complete weekend for 4 bolts after
buying new short stubby ratchet and flexible drive new LED inspection light (the best thing I have brought for years!). Still could only either look
or feel and not do both at the same time.
- the last bolt took approx 3 hours with lots of swearing.
- anyway it is replaced and sealed the leads with silicone where they went through the b'head to minimise the chance of chaffing.
what i did notice straight away was the car started much easier than previously - I guess much better spark so it looks as though distributor was on
the way - thanks everyone for this advice.
Car runs better in general although still lumpyish. I think I need to run it at higher ticker (1000 rpm) as when for an example radiator fan cuts in
the load almost stalls the engine. Something still not 100% right so as this would be the second time I have had to raise this... but much happier
than before.
I think I will get the carbs looked at again as something is not quite right there... does anyone know a small garage who knows their carbs in
Southampton. The guy I know is in New Milton which is quite a pain for me.
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