Will Orum Posted April 18, 2023 Report Share Posted April 18, 2023 Hi all, I've just got my spitfire on the road, drives pretty good. Definitely a brilliant first car! I've started getting an issue where the engine loses all power for a split second. Initially I thought it was me being too heavy on the clutch but it doesn't present itself the same. The best way I can describe it is the engine just loses spark for a couple rotations and jolts the car a bit when the spark comes back. It did it more severely yesterday, thankfully I was waiting at the lights, but I did notice that the tachometer went straight to 0 like the power had been switched off. Has anyone experienced anything like this? Is there an easy diagnosis or am I going to have to root around my ignition system and loom? Cheers, Will Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dougbgt6 Posted April 18, 2023 Report Share Posted April 18, 2023 (edited) Hi Will, Electrical? Check ignition wiring, engine earths. Check rotor for nasty riveted one, if riveted get a nice non riveted red one. Check distributor cover for cracks. Could be fuel starvation, unlikely BOTH carbs, so further back, do you have a fuel filter? |Might be blocked. No fuel filter? Get a fuel filter! Fuel pump not keeping up? I had sludge in the fuel line, from car standing for 20 years, doubt it's that, unless your car's been standing for 20 years. Lots of instances of this on here worth a search for similar problems. Good luck! Doug Edited April 18, 2023 by dougbgt6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Lewis Posted April 18, 2023 Report Share Posted April 18, 2023 (edited) electronic rev counter so this is a 1500 spit?? the fact that the tacho dies instantly is looking like a power loss which can be anywhere .check the terminal crimped wires are secure check the feeds to the coil, make sure the coil polarity is correct thats neg to dizzy pos to ignition feed this will also have a ballasted coil unless its been modified so you should have a 1.5 ohm 6v coil with a boosted 12v feed from the solenoid when cranking if the ballast has been bypassed it needs a 3 ohm coil or you overload the points and condenser maybe fit a temp test small bulb on the coil feed see if it goes dead when it hicups this sort of problem can get you chasing your tail a bit i take it you are on points in the dizzy ?? condensers can be rubbish and check the small braided wire that earths the base plate is not fractured Pete Edited April 18, 2023 by Pete Lewis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NonMember Posted April 18, 2023 Report Share Posted April 18, 2023 As Pete says, the rev counter at zero strongly suggests it's a low tension ignition problem. It could be loss of supply (dodgy switch or connector somewhere) or it could be the points/EI module. As a curve ball, I had a VW Passat that suffered the same symptoms, which turned out to be the loom rubbing on the engine earth strap. Whenever the bit that had worn through the insulation made contact, it shorted the pickup (or points) and killed the spark. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iain T Posted April 18, 2023 Report Share Posted April 18, 2023 A poorly fitting spade on the coil from the dizzy had me scratching my head. Engine fired one day the next it was dead. A quick squeeze with the plyers sorted it. Iain Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will Orum Posted April 19, 2023 Author Report Share Posted April 19, 2023 Thanks everyone for your advice. I'll be able to put the car in the garage in a day or so, I'll have a look at everything mentioned! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dougbgt6 Posted April 19, 2023 Report Share Posted April 19, 2023 Will, Let us know what you find. Doug Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will Orum Posted April 25, 2023 Author Report Share Posted April 25, 2023 It seems I accidentally fixed it yesterday. Drove the car in to work in the morning, the issue was there, juddering me along. Showed one of the guys at lunch to see if he had any ideas, I ended up taking a spade off the coil and placing it back on (to demonstrate that the insulation had broken down right next to the connector) Didn't think too much about it until I drove home without a hitch, I even went to the shops too. I've since repaired and re-spaded the wire and cleaned up the contacts on the coil. I'll let you know if it actually fixed it when I drive it tomorrow! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iain T Posted April 25, 2023 Report Share Posted April 25, 2023 It still counts as a fix even if it was accidental! I did say to try the coil spade as it was the cause of my non starter. Iain Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will Orum Posted April 25, 2023 Author Report Share Posted April 25, 2023 17 minutes ago, Iain T said: It still counts as a fix even if it was accidental! I did say to try the coil spade as it was the cause of my non starter. Iain Not sure how I didn't see your comment before. Would've saved me a bit of a headache! I'll let you have the kudos for this one Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iain T Posted April 25, 2023 Report Share Posted April 25, 2023 56 minutes ago, Will Orum said: Not sure how I didn't see your comment before I'm very easily missed! I hope the simple cheap fix sorts your problem🤞 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pettifordo Posted April 30, 2023 Report Share Posted April 30, 2023 @Will Orum I’ve had a similar problems and replacing the low tension wire from the negative of the coil to the dizzy seemed to fix things. I say that because I replaced so much other stuff I don’t know which one fixed it 🤣🤣🤣 Only takes one small miss connection for this engine to mis-fire 😩😩 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
68vitesse Posted May 1, 2023 Report Share Posted May 1, 2023 (edited) Been having a similar problem with my Vitesse fitted with lumination electronic ignition, started to misfire after it warmed up. Ended up disconnecting the electronic ignition and fitted a spare distributer complete with ancient leads, cap, points, condenser and rotor arm with rivet. No sign of misfire since, will have to try the cap, leads and red rotor arm from other distributer to isolate the problem at some point. Regards Paul Edited May 4, 2023 by 68vitesse Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waynebaby Posted May 1, 2023 Report Share Posted May 1, 2023 Been having a similar problem with my Vitesse fitted with lumination electronic ignition, I had a similar issue with lumention optronic ignition. It turned out to be a faulty Power Module, so in disconnecting the Lumenition you may have isolated the problem. Wayne Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sulzerman Posted May 2, 2023 Report Share Posted May 2, 2023 Had a similar problem on my 2500 saloon. Pertronix electronic ignition was replaced with standard points and condensor, never had a problem since! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
68vitesse Posted May 3, 2023 Report Share Posted May 3, 2023 Seems to be a theme here. Old and simple is best. Regards Paul Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johny Posted May 3, 2023 Report Share Posted May 3, 2023 Thing is people only post when they have a problem and then you never know if its self inflicted or even misdiagnosed☹️ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
68vitesse Posted May 5, 2023 Report Share Posted May 5, 2023 Quite true, still to test rotor arm, plugs and leads. Regards Paul Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josef Posted May 5, 2023 Report Share Posted May 5, 2023 On 03/05/2023 at 08:06, johny said: Thing is people only post when they have a problem and then you never know if its self inflicted or even misdiagnosed☹️ Yeah I’ve been wondering the same. I’ve had electronic ignition in my Herald for 15 years, just chucked in whatever module the TSSC shop were selling in 2007 and never touched it since! So it’s been surprising to read of so many faults. Though as you say the people who don’t have problems won’t be posting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
68vitesse Posted May 5, 2023 Report Share Posted May 5, 2023 This morning put the Vitesse back to how it was when the problem started with the exception of distributer cap and leads and despite some fast driving on the NDR of about ten miles car did not miss a beat. A more logical diagnostic approach would have got me to this point sooner, just need a longer run to convince myself. Regards Paul Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now