Brian:
You are the only one currently responding to my follow up post
so I hope you don't mind me turning back to you.
Here is what I believe is going on.
I checked the rotor by cranking the ignition and it turned
counter clockwise. I never noticed that when I turned the
engine by hand to check points I was actually turning it
in the wrong direction...one leason learned today.
Put all back and still couldn't get it to fully turn over.
Almost but not quite. Went back and checked the rotor
and turned the ignition and the rotor didin't turn. Re-checked
the base of the distributor to make sure siting flush
against the clamping plate. Loosened clamping pate and
reset the distributor (BTW, does it matter the position
of the rotor when engaging the drive dog? You can put it into
the slots so the rotor is either way, being 180 degrees from
the previous position of the drive dog going in the slot. I
have tried it in both positions just to be safe).
What appears to be happening after a few tries of this cycle
is the drive dog is slipping up out of the slots. I beleive this
because on some tries the rotor turned fine and then I'd try again
and it wouldn't turn. If I try turning the rotor by hand it just
spins freely. If I put downward preasure while turning the
rotor it will then match the slots and engage, at which point
it won't turn by hand. Try cranking the ignition and it spins
correctly but go back and try again it diesn't spin.
Seems to me again, that the drive dog is somehow disengaging
from the slots, thus not getting any spark to the compression
chamber to turn the engine over???
Any help would be much appreciated.
Scott Suhring
Elizabethtown, PA
'70 TR6
Power British Performance Parts, Inc. wrote:
> Scott,
>
> Could it be that the drive dog wasn't quite engaged fully after you checked
>it? Be sure the
> base of the distributor is fully home against the pinch bolt clamp with no
>gap in between.
>
> If all checks out there, leave the cap off the distributor, reach inside and
>crank the
> engine with the key. Watch the rotor. It should spin counterclockwise when
>viewed from
> above. I just checked one I have on the shelf and the arrow does point in the
> counterclockwise direction, but that's no guarantee your's is the same. The
>simple check is
> to watch it for counterclockwise rotation.
>
> If that all works, look at the connections on the coil. You should have a
>white/black
> tracer from the dist to the coil negative terminal and a solid white from the
>harness to the
> coil positive. If all of that wiring is correct, remove the white wire from
>the coil
> positive and run a jumper directly from the battery positive to the coil
>positive and try to
> start the car (use alligator clips for the jumper and attempt to start it
>immediately after
> hooking the jumper wire - if left on for a few minutes, it can burn out the
>coil).
>
> Should the car run fine with the jumper but not with the white wire from the
>harness, then
> you need to trace it back to the ignition switch. Under the dash near the
>key there is a
> bundle of a few white wires sticking out of the harness about 3". They are
>all pigtailed
> together. That is the origin of the white wire that runs to the coil.
>Perhaps you have a
> short somewhere in there.
>
> Good luck!
>
> Regards,
>
> Brian Schlorff '61 TR-4 '64 TR-4 '72 TR-6 '79 Spit
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