On Tue, 11 Jan 1994, Roland Dudley wrote:
> Over the weekend I spend more time checking the snake's intermittent
> stumbling problem. I couple of people speculated that the float inlet
> few times and tried the starter. The engine caught right away, ran for
> a second or two then sputtered to a stop. I repeated this operation
My money is on electrical, not fuel.
If the engine starts, but dies every time you take your hand off the
ignition switch, it is likely to be an open ballast resistor or a failure
of the switch to energize the run circuit that bypasses the ballast. If
it continues to run sometimes but not others, it could be an intermittant
connection in the run circuit, and again I would suspect the switch itself
first. If it always starts, and always runs, but badly, it might be a
high resistance connection in the run circuit, or a ballast resistance
that has become high but not infinite (sounds improbable, but I suppose it
could happen). See also condensor comment below.
Try running a wire from your battery directly to the appropriate coil
terminal, thus bypassing the ballast resistance, and see if the car runs
well. Not a permanent solution, because the coil will not like the
permanent high primary current. If this works, see coil comment below
before tearing out wires.
> can give one. Sometimes the engine seems to completely die briefly,
> other times it seems to continue to run but very poorly as if it was
> only firing on one or two cylinders. Sometimes it does act like it's
> flooded. I recall a Plymouth Barracuda I once owned sounding similar
> when the choke stuck on. Sometimes the problem persists for a while,
Similar symptoms can be caused caused by a failing condensor in a
conventional distributor. Most people have never experienced a really bad
condensor, so don't recognize the symptoms. I got used to it when my model
A fords used to fry them all the time during Missouri summers. The engine
would run, albeit badly and with no power.
> ignition key is turned off (even removed), the ignition waning lamp
> glows dimly. When the key is in the on-position the lamp goes off. If
> daylight, but I forgot. I think it's just a faulty switch but it could
> also be related to the running problem somehow.
Could be. Back to the ballast resistor thread. I suspect the switch has
a start and a run connection (energizing the circuit with the ballast) on
the back. If the run connection is not made reliably, the car may start
perfectly but run badly.
> The ballast resistor appears to be an integral part of the wiring
> between the ignition switch and the coil. At least that's my best
Bummer. Harder to fix if broken than a separate resistor. But make sure
it is not internal in the coil (suspect that if there are three primary
terminals on the coil). I think there are coils with internal ballasts.
Finally, suspect the coil. It might have an internal fault such that it
can operate on 12v, but not on less.
Now that I think about it, my Sprite must not have any ballast. Is that
because british cars are not expected to start?
Ray Gibbons
|