Lotus Elan and Lotus Elan Plus 2 Forums

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Genuine-Lucas ... SwPhdVG-Nc

Terry

Hi Terry
I thought he was trying to solve an ignition problem not create more

cheers
Rohan

Thats mean!
whats the alternative for coils?

Terry
PS I have a lumenition black one

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Elanintheforest wrote:Talk to this guy and get a set of points, condenser, coil and distributor cap from him. They are the best, and have solved similar problems I've had.

As Mark says, talk to "Distributor Doctor" - top quality kit, not cheap but then again you pay for what you get.

Cheers

Martin

I personally prefer Bosch

cheers
Rohan

mbell wrote:I'd stick the timing light in the car go for a drive. If it happens again connect the timing light to see if the ignition system is working.

If it's fuel I'd consider temporarily fitting fuel pressure gauge so you can see if it's low fuel pressure/flow.

Having ran old unreliable cars throughout the 70's and 80's I built up faultfinding reflexes that still live with me today, at the very first missed beat I look immediately at the tacho, if the needle has dropped or is flickering then its an ignition fault, if it remains steady and falls in line with the dieing engine revs its likely fuel or these days a broken fan belt, with modern ECU's sensors and tachos the reflex doesnt really help but on an Elan its something that you should develop, the OP said the engine cut out, eve at idle there is enough time to see the tacho telling its tale.

I cannot recall the science but a 4 cylinder ignition system is most likely to have a heat related failure at aroung 2K RPM whether it be points or electronic ignition, its something to do with dwell angle and coil saturation, I was designing a programmable ignition system back then and did a lot of studying because electronics were new to me, now I have forgotten more than I learned! But I know the 2K thing to be true as later I worked for a company that made replacement ignition modules and also made the units for Lumenition (there is a big story there, thos of you that had them fail in the early 90's when the reliability was at an all time low thanks to this company would be enlightened!) they would try their hardest to refuse all warranty claims either saying the returned unit was not manufactured by them or putting it on the tester for 30 seconds running from tickover to max RPM, I would retest these "no fault found" units at 2000 rpm and after no more than 2 minutes they would fail exactly as the Customer had reported.

guys
i considered the lucas dlb105 sports coil as I have one lying around somewhere, but checking online seems that it is 'not suitable for electronic igntion systems'......

I have contacted aldon asking which coil they recommend..........will let you know......

fred

Fred

Rohan likes Bosch, this is the one I have.

http://www.burtonpower.com/bosch-blue-h ... 19027.html

Another possibility is vapour lock. Just in case you can't find and resolve an electrical issue!

Aldon reckon the Lucas Sports coil is OK here http://www.aldonauto.co.uk/shop/prodtyp ... Position=1

I suppose you pay your money, you take your choice. The sports coil you have would be a good start to see if you cure the problem before paying out on a more reliable(?) Bosch!

Terry

spoke to aldon who said that the sports coil [non-ballast] should be ok ......
I think I may have misunderstood and that it is 'original factory fitted electronic ignition', and not their system, which may not be compatible with the lucas dlb105.......

I will give it a go and report back.....

thanks again guys for all the input!!

fred

while waiting for new coil, decided to pull the old one.........if appearance = condition, then it needed replacing anyway...



HT terminal is badly corroded.......surprised it worked at all!!!!

just checked PO's notes and if correct, coil was last replaced in 1973... ....could be 50 years old!!

fred

Looking at the coil it would seem that might/could/should be the problem. If not, have you a battery kill-switch installed somewhere in the car? If so, by-pass it and try that.

Hi elanconvert

I have Lumenition optronic ignition with a DLB 105 coil fitted since 2012 working fine, In the 90's I ran a lumenition that gave problems as mentioned by chancer which I returned to lumenition who said it was ok I did not believe them. in the end I sent it to the supplier and told them it was "not fit for purpose" and claimed a replacement which I got. but the DLB was ok fitted in 1990.

Good luck intermittent faults are difficult to resolve