Distributor locating pin

[vauxhallbitz]

Update, tried the Fiesta distributor but it would not start so tried the proper one and it starts and ticks over but will not rev any ideas?

[Johnboy HB]

You may need to advance the ignition a little

[bedfordbad]

Strange... was it ticking over nice?
Would still rev if advance a retard wasn't working.. so sort of points to carb now!
I bought a see through plug cap off eBay for a couple of quid.. very handy thing and would point to weather spark was there or not as it cuts out....

[vauxhallbitz]

Idles nicely but as soon as you rev it or try to drive it it is very lumpy and feels like it is running on three cylinders.

Getting a good spark as I have one of those see through devices.

Tried advancing the ignition but made no difference.

It must be timing as the car drove perfectly, as it has for 6 years, two nights ago and all we have done is take out the Fiesta distributor, needless to say we are reaching the end of our tethers with this one!!!!!

[droopsnoot]

It must be timing as the car drove perfectly, as it has for 6 years, two nights ago and all we have done is take out the Fiesta distributor, needless to say we are reaching the end of our tethers with this one!!!!!

It's still worth checking other stuff, though - things can go wrong coincidentally when you haven't touched them, so they can also do it when you have only touched something else.

I spent ages a few years ago tracking down inlet air leaks on my Firenza for an MOT test, removing carbs from the manifold, fiddling around, and it was only when I was putting them back on that I noticed a crack in the servo pipe that had probably caused all the trouble from the start. But it had been there for ages untouched, so I discounted it.

[bedfordbad]

Thing is if it's idling nicely surely it can't be timing as the only thing that changes when revved is advance and retard alters it slightly. .. and it would still rev with that disconnected. .
Try squirting a tablespoon of petrol or easy start down carb when revving ... crude but sure way of telling if carb blocked. .
What's plug colour? Oily ect?

[vauxhallbitz]

You will be glad to hear that the problem has been resolved!

It turned out to be two problems,

1. The coil was overheating so much that you could hardly touch it. Another coil solved that problem.

2. The advance and retard was not working properly because the plastic end which fits on the distributor was very slack, a jubilee clip sorted that out and gave enough movement for it to work.

I was so relieved to hear it run again after all this time!!!

A big thanks to everyone for their advice it is much appreciated.

Fred I will sort out the distributor next week.

[1972nail]

Good to hear it's running again.

Over heating coil, there must be a reason for that. Was it the original AC Delco coil or an after market one? If an after market one was it the correct type to suit a ballasted ignition or non ballasted if you've bypassed the resistance wire. Lastly, have you now fitted the correct type of coil to suit so that it doesn't happen again?

[vauxhallbitz]

I spoke too soon, I replaced the overheating coil with a Lucas Sport non ballast coil and took the car out for a run tonight.

It began missing between 40 and 50 then starting backfiring but around 60 it seemed fine, when I opened the bonnet the new coil was so hot I could hardly touch it.

I did the mod moving the white wire several years ago so am at a loss to explain this......

[1972nail]

Excessive dwell time will cause coils to overheat. Check your points gap, put in a new condenser and if the points gap had to be altered than reset the timing accordingly.

Dwell time is affected by points gap, the wider the gap,the longer the dwell, if the condenser has an internal short then the coil thinks that the points are open for longer than they actually are. Both situations allow the coil to charge up longer than it should and cause overheating.