Hello Triumph List,
I call my '73 "Disco TR6" because of the nightly light show under the
bonnet.
Little sparks dancing over the HT wires, and onto my fingers. Sparks
under the dizzy cap, sparks externally from plugs to head, sparks at the coil
(-) terminal. So, she idles rough, but she drives OK!
Put in new wires, you say? Did that. That was just the beginning.
I need some help!
This car has one year on my frame-up restoration. Last year it idled
slightly rough, and I burned through two sets of points in 4,000 miles. I
blamed Lucas.
Over the winter I treated myself to a Pertronix ignitor with NGK BP6ES
plugs @ .035", and a rebuilt alternator by BRP. It idled lousy with the
Pertronix, and then I noticed the light show. I put the points back in. I
then realized I was getting 12V out of my ballast wire, and feeding my poor
6V coil 12V, full time.
Here's what was in the car, or parts I've thrown at it trying to fix this
arching problem.
-new battery
-both battery cables new
-rebuilt distributor
-distributor vaccuum line removed, carb vac pipe plugged
-new points, condensor, distributor cap and rotor
-new primary wire
-new NGK BP5ES plugs @ .025"
-timing at 8 deg BTDC, or 0, or 4 ATDC
-new Lucas copper HT wires, new TRF green wires, no difference
-new stock 12V coil fed right off the fuse block - white wire
These parts have had no effect on the arching. I've also tried a few other
tricks with no improvement:
-grounding a headbolt directly to the battery ground
-grounding the distributor body directly to the battery ground
-cleaning grounds
-checking that cute little ground strap inside the distrubutor
-swapping in a different distributor
-checking polarities
-load testing the battery
-checked that the outer crank pulley has not spun on the inner pulley
-putting a Dodge Dart ballast resistor in-line to feed the coil (getting
desperate)
Please help. I've talked with many knowledgeable folks about this, and we
are baffled. You are my last hope Triumph List! Reply directly to me if you
wish, I will summarize for all.
p.s. Yes, I have the (-) on the battery connected to ground.
-----Disco TR6 from Massachusetts-----CF2570U-----
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