Non starter...???

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gas1man

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Location
Dorset
Year of Your Van(s)
1971
Van Type
Dormobile
Hi everyone hope all are well.

Reversed the bus about 2 metres , pulled him back in when complete with the job. Has not even left the garage. :shock: :shock:
Now will not start.Turns over and no spark.

Battery fine.
Fuses all good.Power to coil check.
Check petrol flow in bottle.(thanks ozzie). Checked length of petrol pump shaft, all good.
Replace coil.
Replace elec. ignition module x2.

No spark to plugs.

Obviously will not fire, any help appreciated, real head scratcher this one for me. :cry: :cry: :cry:

J & P
:D :D :D
 
Do you have 12V to coil? Check the coil by testing from terminal 1 to a good earth with the ignition on.
Can you swap a set of points into the distributor?
With the distributor cap removed and the engine turned so the points are shut, remove the centre ht lead from the distributor cap and place on the engine block, turn the ignition on, do you get a spark from the coil ht lead when the points are opened?
If you don't get a spark at the ht lead, but a big spark at the points the condenser is faulty.
 
Hi Sparky,
Thanks for the answer.
Yes 12v at the coil. Unfortunately I can not replace the electronic points as I don't have a condenser to go with the standard points.
Replaced the coil with a known working spare. No luck.

Any ideas further welcome. :( :(

J & P
:D :D :D
 
If the coil’s good and there is 12V and you still have no spark then the distributor is the issue.
I threw away my Pertronix and Accuspark due to unreliability and poor build quality.

Did you leave the ignition on when you moved the bus?
 
To test the electronic module:
Connect a jumper wire from the Ignitor plate to battery ground.

Connect the red wire from the Ignitor to the battery positive terminal along with the red lead from a volt meter.

Attach the black wire from the Ignitor to the black lead of the voltmeter.

Move or rotate the magnet sleeve in front of the Ignitor module, the voltmeter should vary from battery voltage to 0 volts and back.

If it does not, then you possibly have a burned out power transistor or a failed Hall cell.
 
Check the coil just in case.
Remove the ht lead from the coil to the centre of the distributor cap, switch on the ignition, hold the end of the lead with insulated pliers about 1/2 inch from the engine block and turn the engine over. There should be a spark, if not, then check the voltage at the +ve terminal (terminal 15), it should be at least 9V.

If this voltage is higher, check the voltage to earth at terminal 1 (coil connection). This should be 0V when the points are closed, and a voltage will be present when the points are open. If there is no reading when the points are open, the coil is open circuit and must be replaced.
Remove all of the wires from the coil terminals (remembering where they go) and using an ohmmeter attach the meter leads to terminal 1 and terminal 15 on the coil. You should get a reading of between 3 and 4.5 ohms, which is the coil resistance. A faulty coil will show a higher reading.


Next connect a lead from the meter to the centre ht connection and the other lead to either one of terminals 1 or 15. The reading should be around 9,500-10,000 ohms. It may be less but shouldn't be anywhere near 11,000 ohms. If you have no reading at all, the coil is faulty.
 
WOW okay , lots to get on with and will report back. Never move bus with ignition on.

Thanks again.

J & P
:D :D :D
 
Well ???
Some one told me that leaving the ignition on without the motor running would fry either the points or the condenser and I can’t remember which, I also can’t remember who told me but it was a long long time ago, maybe back in the days of Dinosaurs even. I’m guessing that’s what Wiggy is going with but along the lines of whatever you’ve replaced them with. All those checks that he’s describing above sound brilliant and he’s a lot more electrically aware than most of us, I reckon this ^^^ will be a good source to help track down elusive issues in the future. :mrgreen:

Ozziedog,,,,,,,,,,exceptionally good darts Wig. :mrgreen:
 
Hello to NO GO!!!

Sparky ,I tested the coil as above and the readings were spot on. I tested the electronic module as instructed, all three,
ended up with two working and one in the bin. 12v at the connection to the coil when ignition on.
Replaced the dissy cap and cleaned the rotor arm and checked continuity on the arm.
Plugged everything back in and kept one lead off the no three with a spare spark plug in to check for spark.
Still no spark.
In the mean time I am going to order a cheap set of elec. points to rule the other two out even though they passed the test.

Somebody who once owned a bay said to me he had an inline fuse hidden on the bus in the ignition wiring???? Not his doing but
was there when he bought it. I know of no factory addition fuse in the wiring line.
I can't find one , does anybody know about such a thing and if so any idea where??? Does not make sense to me as everything is working.,
except the starting part. :lol: :lol:

WELL ANY PEARLS OF WISDOM WILL NOT BE FROWNED UPON. :lol: :lol:

Thank you to all who contribute , much appreciated.

J & P
:D :D :D
 
If there's power to the (good) coil, working points/module (including the spinning magnet if using a module), centre HT lead is not damaged and properly connected, there should be a spark if you turn over the engine. It doesn't make sense to me otherwise.

I would at this point suspect a broken wire somewhere between the coil and dizzy, or a duff center HT lead.
 
Have you checked for a spark from the king lead from the coil as sparkywig said? You didn't mention that bit above.
Another thing to look at, easily overlooked, does the distributor actually rotate when you turn the engine over? All too easy to lose your spark if it has jumped off it's drive. Don't ask me how I know this. :(
 
madman said:
Have you checked for a spark from the king lead from the coil as sparkywig said? You didn't mention that bit above.
Another thing to look at, easily overlooked, does the distributor actually rotate when you turn the engine over? All too easy to lose your spark if it has jumped off it's drive. Don't ask me how I know this. :(

You need to check that there is a spark at the king lead like I said above. If there is a spark then the issue is distributor, if not then the coil is faulty.
Good shout on the rotor arm rotating.
 
BORIS IS ALIVE :) :) :lol: :lol:

Although the 2 electronic ignition sets I had registered a pass on all tests, they were all buggered.
Bought a new set of cheapo 's and he fired up no problem.

So now on the hunt for a decent substitute. One that I can transfer to a new motor when required.

THANKS to all for your help and advice.
Stay virus free and look after yourselves.

J & P
:D :D :D
 
Good news.

I got my dizzy and module from powerspark. Cheaper than the other stuff on the market but has done me several 1000s of miles so far.
 
That's good news.

The Accuspark stuff I bought was poor quality, I couldn't get consistent advance due to horrendous play in the shafts and baseplate, and the Powerspark modules kept failing. Buy cheap buy 4 or 5 times.
I've been running 123 distributors in all my air-cooled vehicles for over 5 years now with no issues. Set them up and almost forget about them.
 
Glad to see you got it running.

I think I may have been lucky with cheap parts, I have had one of these EMPI 3492 modules in the engine for about 20 years now without any issues, replacing a more expensive one that only lasted a few years.
 

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