3.9 No Spark, Softdash

Morning Everybody
well this morning the RRC 3.9 1994 soft dash started and completed its 1.8 mile trip into the office..........came out 15 minutes later and it wont start.

So bonnet up, King lead off and not a thing no spark(and I would of be happy to recieve a shock this time)8

taken all the plugs off the coil and given everything a good clean up, sadly i dont have a multi meter with me to get a reading, however if the ignition is on and the plugs are re connected to the coil the fuel system primes( I accept that a multi meter is the best solution here).

Could this be a coil? the car was running fine until it was switch off with no miss fire etc, I have checked the ignition fuse under the bonnet, and the after market imboliser cuts the starter motor only, all the igintion lights come on, the engine cranks over perfectly. It appears the car is now like its owner..........lacking a spark!.


ideally it would be nice to resolve this at work, as i dont fancy the 14 mile cycle ride home.

On my previous 3.9 Classic, I scratched my head for a while on a non starting issue....

After changing Plugs, leads, cap, rotor arm, coil, suppresor, Rewired the LT Side completly....I felt at a total loss....

Then it clicked, the fecking Ignition amp on the side of the Dizzy....changed it (£15 or so) and bang fired straight away.....ran sweet 'till the day some sad barstewards nicked it, and burnt it out....!!!!

One of our local Auto Factors, can test the Amp, I think the test was a £5'er if found OK, free if duff and new one bought....

do these just pack up???
done abit of google to see if i can answer my own question however i appear to of failed.

Is there anyway to check this in situ so to speak?

They do just fail. Difficult to test. Generally you test everything else, if you can't fault anything it's the module!

bloody thing,
just gone out to it,and turn the key it roard into life.

ahhh the joy of what now appears to be an Intermittent fault, would it be wise to change the amplifier/coil out of course? the old bus is my daily transport so keen to keep it reliable

When the amps gets warm is when they start to play up due to changes in internal resistance when the unit warms up....

Sounds like it happens to you, after 1.8 miles or so, the engine is warm enough to affect the Amp module...then a bit later after it has cooled down, all is well....

for the sake of £15 or so, I'd change it...

Saint.V8 said:

When the amps gets warm is when they start to play up due to changes in internal resistance when the unit warms up....

Sounds like it happens to you, after 1.8 miles or so, the engine is warm enough to affect the Amp module...then a bit later after it has cooled down, all is well....

for the sake of £15 or so, I'd change it...

Click to expand...

Seconded definitely where I'd start if it's running now!

It might be a bit late but sounds like ignition amp to me as well. It would also be a good idea to have a careful look at all the wires to the coil and ignition amp - check for damaged and/or corroded wires and connectors; I have had to replace the spade connectors to my coil due to corrosion. HTH.