Michael,
re:
"... got a definite shock ... I wonder if this is signifigant?"
Probably not (and it's a rough way to troubleshoot ;). Just means you have
a strong spark (which doesn't mean it couldn't be intermittent).
I was doing some diagnosis the other day--ended up being a dropped carb
needle--and was getting zapped good even though I was holding a plug cap
with pliers with insulated grips and using gloves. If you don't see arcing
that's
probably not your problem (I had a similar problem once and did the
"in-the-dark" test and there were arcs down the distributor cap--new cap,
problem gone).
FWIW, I had spark better than half an inch long, with the original coil and
a Pertronix Ignitor.
bs
********************************************
Bob Spidell San Jose, CA bspidell@pacbell.net
'67 Austin-Healey 3000 '56 Austin-Healey 100M
********************************************
Subject: BN7--Intermittent miss, continued
> I posted a few weeks back about an intermittent miss on the 3000, to which I
> received a number of helpful, if inconsistent, replies--some suggesting
> mixture and others spark.. In the interim, the intermittency has become
>"less
> intermittent", appears pretty regularly when accelerating slowly or
>moderately from
> low RPM's (2000 or so) and seems to be more of a fluttering at constant
> cruising speeds (3000 or so) but does NOT appear under load--there is no miss
>under
> hard acceleration all the way up to redline.
>
> Under the theory that most carburettor problems are spark-related I thought
> that I would start with the ignition system. In doing an "in-the-dark" test
> for visible spark leaks tonight I happened to rest my forearm on both the
> ignition cap and fender and got a definite shock which seems to be coming
>from
> around the coil lead where it comes out of the cap, though nothing was
>visible. I
> could not find any crack or arc trail on the cap either in or out, but I
> wonder if this is signifigant?
>
> Best--Michael Oritt
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