burning out points.

JD · Aug 28, 2005

Austin Shackles wrote:

> On or around Sat, 27 Aug 2005 13:26:42 +1000, "Karen Gallagher"
> <[email protected]> enlightened us thusly:
>
>>In news:[email protected],
>>EMB <[email protected]> typed:
>>| Karen Gallagher wrote:
>>|
>>|| Call me old fashioned, but I STILL prefer copper leads - as they
>>|| used in the factory when my S11a was made. And I still have quite a
>>|| few metres left.
>>|
>>| Ditto. But not only do they play hell with the radio but they don't
>>| cope with high-output coils well so I don't generally use them. The
>>| inductive core Bosch leads work pretty well - and they're not stupidly
>>| priced either.
>>|
>>|
>>| --
>>| EMB
>>
>>Radio? In a series? I'd never hear it unless I had the engine turned off
>>

>
> got one in mine. needs some better speakers.

Got one in mine - but then it is rarely used on road, so it is quite useable
while pottering round the property or driving down to the village (only the
last kilometre is on road - barely get into fourth/overdrive).
JD

Samuel · Aug 29, 2005

> ||
> || Radio? In a series? I'd never hear it unless I had the engine turned
> || off

> |
> | got one in mine. needs some better speakers.
> | --
> | Austin Shackles. www.ddol-las.net my opinions are just that
> | "For millions of years, mankind lived just like the animals. Then
> | something happened which unleashed the power of our imagination -
> | we learned to talk." Pink Floyd (1994)
>
> Me too. My German Shepherds ate one of the speakers a while back

> They work OK when ticking over using the PTO, otherwise no point in having
> it on if driving 'at speed' - or what passes for speed in a series.
>

i just fitted a kenwood cd player into the old girl yesterday. i can hear it
easily, however the 6 cylinder rover motor is a much much quiter piece of
work than the 2.25.

Sam.

Samuel · Aug 29, 2005

> The possible reasons for points burning, some of which you have checked:-
> 1. Condenser
> 2. Wrong coil - if you have a 'sports' coil or one which is designed for a
> ballast resistor and you don't have a ballast resistor, the higher than
> design current can cause short life. (rarely a faulty coil will do it too)
> 3. Traces of oil or grease on the contacts. This will do it every time.
> 4. Bad voltage regulator allowing the alternator to run at excessive
> voltage. Unlikely, as you would expect blowing bulbs to be common as well.
> 5. Incorrect points gap, and as Lee pointed out, wear on the shaft or
> bushes. Also wear on the platform that holds the points and rotates with
> vacuum advance will give inconsistent gap.
>
> If the spark is inconsistent on specific cylinders this points to either
the
> distributor cap, or it could point to a worn shaft or cam that is giving
> very little opening of the points on those cylinders.
> JD

seems you were right about the coil JD. had a look at it and in plain
writing it had written on it "sports coil, for use with a resistor." the
previous owner obviously hadn't twigged and just plugged the coil straight
in without installing a resistor. quick look under the hood of the old 164
volvo i'm wrecking and i found what i wanted. resitor is now installed and
should hopefully give the old points a bit more life.

Sam.

JD · Aug 29, 2005

Samuel wrote:

>
>
>> The possible reasons for points burning, some of which you have checked:-
>> 1. Condenser
>> 2. Wrong coil - if you have a 'sports' coil or one which is designed for
>> a ballast resistor and you don't have a ballast resistor, the higher than
>> design current can cause short life. (rarely a faulty coil will do it
>> too) 3. Traces of oil or grease on the contacts. This will do it every
>> time. 4. Bad voltage regulator allowing the alternator to run at
>> excessive voltage. Unlikely, as you would expect blowing bulbs to be
>> common as well. 5. Incorrect points gap, and as Lee pointed out, wear on
>> the shaft or bushes. Also wear on the platform that holds the points and
>> rotates with vacuum advance will give inconsistent gap.
>>
>> If the spark is inconsistent on specific cylinders this points to either
> the
>> distributor cap, or it could point to a worn shaft or cam that is giving
>> very little opening of the points on those cylinders.
>> JD
>
> seems you were right about the coil JD. had a look at it and in plain
> writing it had written on it "sports coil, for use with a resistor." the
> previous owner obviously hadn't twigged and just plugged the coil straight
> in without installing a resistor. quick look under the hood of the old 164
> volvo i'm wrecking and i found what i wanted. resitor is now installed and
> should hopefully give the old points a bit more life.
>
> Sam.
Glad to hear you have found a definite cause!
JD

hugh · Aug 31, 2005

In message <[email protected]>, Samuel
<[email protected]> writes
>
>
>> The possible reasons for points burning, some of which you have checked:-
>> 1. Condenser
>> 2. Wrong coil - if you have a 'sports' coil or one which is designed for a
>> ballast resistor and you don't have a ballast resistor, the higher than
>> design current can cause short life. (rarely a faulty coil will do it too)
>> 3. Traces of oil or grease on the contacts. This will do it every time.
>> 4. Bad voltage regulator allowing the alternator to run at excessive
>> voltage. Unlikely, as you would expect blowing bulbs to be common as well.
>> 5. Incorrect points gap, and as Lee pointed out, wear on the shaft or
>> bushes. Also wear on the platform that holds the points and rotates with
>> vacuum advance will give inconsistent gap.
>>
>> If the spark is inconsistent on specific cylinders this points to either
>the
>> distributor cap, or it could point to a worn shaft or cam that is giving
>> very little opening of the points on those cylinders.
>> JD
>
>seems you were right about the coil JD. had a look at it and in plain
>writing it had written on it "sports coil, for use with a resistor." the
>previous owner obviously hadn't twigged and just plugged the coil straight
>in without installing a resistor. quick look under the hood of the old 164
>volvo i'm wrecking and i found what i wanted. resitor is now installed and
>should hopefully give the old points a bit more life.
>
>Sam.
>
>
Have you wired it to be bypassed when starting? The idea is to put full
12v across the coil when starting to compensate for drop in voltage
whilst cranking, but then the resistor drops it to about 9v in normal
running.
--
hugh
Reply to address is valid at the time of posting

Samuel · Sep 1, 2005

> Have you wired it to be bypassed when starting? The idea is to put full
> 12v across the coil when starting to compensate for drop in voltage
> whilst cranking, but then the resistor drops it to about 9v in normal
> running.

is that so? it makes perfect sense, but it wasn't set up like that on the
volvo. and shes fires up fine anyway so isn't much of a concern. i've got a
fresh large heavy-duty battery in which doesn't even break sweat, and i plan
on plonking another in parallel with it shouldn't be much voltage drop
anyway. but thanks for the info, will remember that.

Sam.

JD · Sep 1, 2005

Samuel wrote:

>> Have you wired it to be bypassed when starting? The idea is to put full
>> 12v across the coil when starting to compensate for drop in voltage
>> whilst cranking, but then the resistor drops it to about 9v in normal
>> running.
>
> is that so? it makes perfect sense, but it wasn't set up like that on the
> volvo. and shes fires up fine anyway so isn't much of a concern. i've got
> a fresh large heavy-duty battery in which doesn't even break sweat, and i
> plan on plonking another in parallel with it shouldn't be much voltage
> drop anyway. but thanks for the info, will remember that.
>
> Sam.

The dropping resistor was originally devised for American cars with large
engines and six volt batteries, where the ignition was really struggling
with the voltage drop when starting. It was later adopted for engines that
were hard to start for various reasons. Your engine was never hard to
start, and originally used a 12v coil with no dropping resistor. The coil
you have should work as an equivalent with the resistor. Note that even
with the resistor, it probably draws more current than the original coil.
JD

hugh · Sep 1, 2005

In message <[email protected]>, JD <[email protected]> writes
>Samuel wrote:
>
>>> Have you wired it to be bypassed when starting? The idea is to put full
>>> 12v across the coil when starting to compensate for drop in voltage
>>> whilst cranking, but then the resistor drops it to about 9v in normal
>>> running.
>>
>> is that so? it makes perfect sense, but it wasn't set up like that on the
>> volvo. and shes fires up fine anyway so isn't much of a concern. i've got
>> a fresh large heavy-duty battery in which doesn't even break sweat, and i
>> plan on plonking another in parallel with it shouldn't be much voltage
>> drop anyway. but thanks for the info, will remember that.
>>
>> Sam.
>
>The dropping resistor was originally devised for American cars with large
>engines and six volt batteries, where the ignition was really struggling
>with the voltage drop when starting. It was later adopted for engines that
>were hard to start for various reasons. Your engine was never hard to
>start, and originally used a 12v coil with no dropping resistor. The coil
>you have should work as an equivalent with the resistor. Note that even
>with the resistor, it probably draws more current than the original coil.
>JD
I had a Renault12 some years ago and the resistor was in the wire from
the ignition switch to the coil. It broke so I put a ballast resistor on
top of the coil and wired in a switch to bypass it manually when
starting. Made a good anti-theft device too.
--
hugh
Reply to address is valid at the time of posting

burning out points.

JD

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