Series 3 Ex MOD ignition timing

Hi all, I purchased a 1980 ex MOD lightweight (2.25 Petrol) and I am currently working my way through numerous faults and niggles which are keeping me off the road. Currently having issues starting but I believe that this is due to a couple of things; one being a NG battery which is in the process of being replaced (new one on order) the other is due to carburetion (plugs sooted up after running and wet with petrol when trying to start). One other issue that I need help with is the 'Accuspark' ignition system that has been fitted by the previous owner. Its had the whole lot fitted (distributor, plugs, leads and coil), but when I bought the Land Rover, it had a missfire on cyl 1 which was due to the plug lead being loose in the dissy cap, I believe the previous owner had a 'fiddle' with most things whilst trying to resolve the missfire as I have found that the 'advance/retard' adjust screw on the dissy, has been screwed fully in one direction (advance I believe). I want to check the timing with a strobe light (when I can get it started) so I want to ensure the dissy is in the correct position. Would I be correct in saying that if I were to screw the adjuster fully to the advance position, then fully back to the retard position (whist counting the revolutions) the mid point of this should be my optimal position prior to confirming with a strobe light??

I ran a 2a petrol for many years. I would have a go at doing timing the old way.
Put the slow running screw on the butterfly shaft up a turn to increase tick over a bit.
Turn adjustment wheel to a position where tick over is at its fastest sounding.
If PO has been messing with dizzy position you can loosen clamp and turn it to find the fastest running position.

tottot said:

I ran a 2a petrol for many years. I would have a go at doing timing the old way.
Put the slow running screw on the butterfly shaft up a turn to increase tick over a bit.
Turn adjustment wheel to a position where tick over is at its fastest sounding.
If PO has been messing with dizzy position you can loosen clamp and turn it to find the fastest running position.

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Thanks for the reply. Have just been out again this morning to go through the basics once more. Although the mixture is too rich and the dissy has been played about with, my past experience tells me that the thing would at least try to start and run lumpy whilst you carried out the adjustments you suggested, which would then have it purring like a cat. This morning I have now found that the so called 'New' Accuspark system fitted by previous owner, is now giving an intermittent, very weak spark on all cylinders so i'm either going to try and borrow an old dissy with points etc. or contact Accuspark and see if i'm able to bench test the coil and module, to see what the issue is. I've read many reports about these systems and it seems to be a 50/50 split where some last for years and others only months. When I bought the Landy, I tested the spark whilst looking for the missfire and the spark was good, 3 months on and its 'Kaput'. I did read on another forum that testing the plug lead down to earth can cause the module to fail (not sure why as the fault finding page on their website tells you to do exactly that), so when testing I connected it to all 4 spark plugs (in turn) which I grounded out just to prove each plug and err on the side of caution with regards other peoples comments. One step forward and two back at the moment!!!

If it's too far retarded it can give rich mixture symptoms. Once you've sorted the spark problem I'd be using the method @tottot uses, and check by flooring the throttle in a high gear to see if you get any detonation.

A weak [ yellowish ?] spark suggests coil issues, at least it does with standard systems..

boguing said:

If it's too far retarded it can give rich mixture symptoms. Once you've sorted the spark problem I'd be using the method @tottot uses, and check by flooring the throttle in a high gear to see if you get any detonation.

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Thanks for the suggestion. Hopefully the feedback i'm getting will help solve my issues

Do you know which carb you have. I had a Zenith copy in my 2.25 petrol and although it was fairly new, it caused the truck to run really badly.

boguing said:

If it's too far retarded it can give rich mixture symptoms. Once you've sorted the spark problem I'd be using the method @tottot uses, and check by flooring the throttle in a high gear to see if you get any detonation.

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tottot said:

A weak [ yellowish ?] spark suggests coil issues, at least it does with standard systems..

Click to expand...

A failing coil is what I thought as other posts that I have seen about the Accuspark system, suggest that when the module fails, there is no spark whatsoever. I have Emailed Accuspark to see what bench tests there are that I could carry out on the coil or module and hopefully identify the issue.

British Leyland Rover said:

Do you know which carb you have. I had a Zenith copy in my 2.25 petrol and although it was fairly new, it caused the truck to run really badly.

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The carb is a Solex 361v