hello alll


i have a series three with a 3.5 v8 in it .I drove out the driveway on to the street it stopped and it wont even give a cough a lick or anything. i was previously running well.

i thought it mate have weak spark so i have put new plugs leads and a coil and a cap on it. It has new fuel pump as the other one was in bad shape.

i think i am getting fuel ok i can see fuel jetting in to carb . I took a plug out and it was wet and i also poured a bit into it. nothing !! its has a edelbrock 500 fitted.

the spark was blue but quite weak then after some messing around it has became yellow know there is nothing. I has asked the works garage and they said that it could be the ampage multiplier is that correct? or i maybe got it mixed up! It has a lumanition destributor on it at the monemt and i havent realy hade much bother with it. Does the lumination have an apmlifier or is it just the original distrubutor

i would be glad if people have any ideas as i have ran out of them.

regards alistair

Cue Dr Evil

OK. If you have fuel getting into the cylinders, that's probably not where your problem lies.

What condition is your rotor arm in? Does it have a build up of crap on the rotor to cap contact?

What condition is your distributor cap? Does it have a build up of crap on the contacts?

Is your centre carbon brush making good contact with the centre of the rotor arm, or has it worn away?

If you are in any doubt, pull the carbon brush out a little bit to stretch the spring and then try it again.

Not really too much to these engines. Given that it has been running its unlikely to be anything in the mechanics as something that stops it running suddenly would normally have more sinister symptoms - loud inappropriate noises for instance! You are also getting fuel by the sounds of it too so we can rule that out for the time being.

That leaves ignition - given that you have been getting some spark you probably have power to the various bits that need it but I'd check. So first off I'd take the dizzy cap off dry everything out and check that everything is moving as it should. Clean all the points etc. Then I'd take the coil and the control box off and put them somewhere nice and warm for a while - I've dried out bits in the oven before - 50degs usually does it - not warm enough to damage anything but speeds out the drying process.

Then obviously clean all the contacts and put it back together. With the cold weather I'd suspect one of those items is faulty but get it back up and running first if you can.

HTH,

Jon

hi

thanks for the replys . i have put a new cap on it along with a new rotor are. When i had the cap off i gave the wee light or eye or what ever it is a wee clean as it is a lumination distrubutor. I would think that it will be pretty damp where she is sitting. IS there much to go wrong in these types of distributors ? is it not mainly all in the wee aluminium box. and the parts right at the top?

regards alistair

Pretty much - its all pretty straightforward stuff. My money would be on something having got damp. Do as suggested and let us know the results.

Lumenition dont do distributors, they do fitting kits for distributors and the magic eye for inside and the switching box for the outside. There isnt nromally a sperate amp module when running lumenition.

You are probably running a lucas dizzy and which one depends on the year of your engine but its most likely a d8.

Are you running a ballest resistor? what coil so you have?

There is loads of lumemition fault finding info here ::: Autocar Electrical Equipment ::: in the pdf's and if you ring them or email they are helpfull.

If you look at what colour the plastic is around where the wires come out of the box it will tell you what MK lumenition you have. the current one is the mk17 which is white plastic