HELP!!!!

[handi_andi]

Hiya
Yes forgot to mention that, when I cleaned the plugs four were certainly wet with fuel. Number 3 was cokey but also smelt of fuel. The fuel is certainly getting through. Am really at a loss, the engine was running fine the last time it was fired up and was happy as anything and idling nicely. Hence why I am so bemused at the stubborness to start.
Andrew

[oldokie]

Have you tried jumping out the switch in the glove box? Have you metered the volts at the coil while cranking?

[handi_andi]

What switch in the glove box? No I haven't but I do know I am loosing 2v through tacho, but tried jumping that out today but didn't change anything
Andrew

[oldokie]

I didn't know it was there either, until it went 'belly-up' about 2:35 am at over 100 mph on the way home from the pub! Anti-theft device of some sort, supposed to blow the horn if the ignition circuit is tampered with or so the book that I didn't have with me says.

[handi_andi]

That's what I thought you might be talking about but wanted to make sure given its a Lotus! As far as I can tell mine does not have one fitted having spent lots of time tracing the electrics and improving some of them. Even if it does mean my Lotus now has 9 relays and an extra fuse box. Does mean though I only have one microswitch now with the second being replaced by a relay. System actually works as designed so that when headlights come up the sidelights and rear lights come on regardless of position of side light switch. Plus I am running halogen headlights, halogen fogs and a neat little pair of halogen bug eye driving lights cunningly hidden behind the grill, all without stressing out the main electrics as the main loom simply runs a set of relays which then switches the new feed I have installed directly from the solenoid down to the nose cone where all the new electrics are mounted on a frame arrangement. May sounds a bit over the top but given my headlights yesterday wouldn't work due to loss of continuity in one of the cables from the fuse box down to the relays so had to swap to the other one is not so bad as means I have a redundancy of wiring.
Cheers
Andy

[gjz30075]

I've re-read this thread and I can't find if you've actually determined if you have spark or not. One quick and easy way is with a spare plug or two. Pull a plug lead and put on the spare plug. Lay the plug on the cam cover (unpainted part, hopefully)or at least ground the plug somehow and crank away. Pull two leads if you have to. You should be able to determine if you have spark or not.

[handi_andi]

Hiya
Yes I am getting a white spark and have checked two different plugs. The spark looks a bit weak though if you know what I mean, hence why I went hunting around the ignition system and put the volt meter on the coil etc. I thought for a moment I was being daft as well and thought perhaps there should be an earth on one side of the low voltage side of the coil but having checked several wiring diagrams it appears everything is wired correctly.
Andrew

[alaric]

Hi.

Have you tried a different coil? I've found in the past that although I got a spark in air, I couldn't get the engine to run for more than a few munutes. I tried everything, and eventually phoned a proffesional who confidently told me it was a cracked coil that was shorting once hot.

Anyway. Good luck.

Sean.

[handi_andi]

Interesting point though, i suppose i could jump round it somehow. Will see what tomorrow brings.
Thanks
Andrew

[ppnelan]

I didn't know it was there either, until it went 'belly-up' about 2:35 am at over 100 mph on the way home from the pub! Anti-theft device of some sort, supposed to blow the horn if the ignition circuit is tampered with or so the book that I didn't have with me says.

...or perhaps it's a cut-out to stop YOU from losing your license...

Matthew

[oldokie]

Had that been the case, it would have been 'belly-up' outside the pub, not on the side of the fwy for the CHP to stop by and see how trully rehydrated I was. Nope, just one of those Karmic devices that jump up to bite your bum now and then.

[handi_andi]

Right I have tried again today. I pulled all four spark plugs and as I did I lay them on top of the camshaft covers to see if there was a spark. They were all wet with petrol and after cleaning them they all gave a spark, although some had to be cleaned again to get a consistent spark. The engine wouldn't start even with the aid fo dry start fluid and wouldn't even cough today. So the spark plugs are currently lying on top of the storage heater to fully dry them out before I try again on Wednesday. The battery is also on charge to make sure it is fully charged up.

Am really starting to think I must be doing something fundementally wrong. I have a spark, I have fuel in the line that is being pumped through, the engine is turning over at a decent rate and the last time it ran it was purring away nicely.

May sound a daft question but can anyone describe what a good spark should look like? Mine are white and quite thin and reedy and seemed to half the time be jumping from the anode to the ring instead of across the spark plug gap.

Cheers

Andrew

[mikealdren]

If the plugs are wet, sounds like you have fuel, possibly too much.

Silly question but how are you testing the plugs?
The spark goes from the centre anode to the body of the plug but that need to be earthed to complete the circuit. Make sure the body of the plug is earthed to the engine head or block while testing.

Mike

[twincamman]

sounds like the timing is off a tooth in the distributor gear ----put 1 at TDC--0 degrees on the crank pulley -alien the cams and remove the distributer cap and rotor ---the slot for the rotor should be at 35 to the hour in minutes on the clock face and the top of the rotor approching 10 minutes after on the clock on the clock face ---replace the rotor and cap ---then turn the distributor until a plug sparks --thats number one screw i t in nuber one plug and arrange the rest to the correct firing order --that will start you ----ed

[handi_andi]

I had the plug lying on the rocker cover. The spak most of the time wasn't jumping the gap as you might expect but was jumping to the end of the threaded section. Looked more like a spark you get from an electronic cigarette lighter as in thin reedy and white than these pictures I found: http://www.volker-iridium.com/vi_tech.asp

So I am starting to suspect the coil isn't working properly and am considering swapping it out for my old one to see if that helps. Also wondering if I have the carbs set too rich, however, as I have said already I haven't touched anything since she was last running and then she was running as smoothly as a good Singer Sewing Machine.

Andrew