Coil

[stebec]

Can anyone tell me if the wires on my coil are correct, there are 2 wires coming off the + side, the - side is correct, its going to my distributor, I’ve only had the car for a month and new to the classic car scene. 

Steve

[GrahamB]

From your previous post, I presume this is a 1500 Spitfire.  There should be a pink/white and a yellow/white wire to the + terminal of a 6 volt coil. The pink/white is a resistive lead to drop the 12 volts to 6 volts during normal running.  The yellow/white is connected to the starter solenoid to boost the power during starting.  There should also be a second wire, slate/white, to the negative terminal which sends pulses to the rev counter.

I hope I have the colours correct, they are a bit difficult to read on my wiring diagram.

[Josef]

Graham you’re correct about the colours.

Steve I also notice your heater valve is bypassed, that could get uncomfortably warm and won’t help your cold starting. The valves are often fixable if it leaks, and the Smiths type cheap enough to replace regardless.

 

 

[stebec]

10 hours ago, GrahamB said:

From your previous post, I presume this is a 1500 Spitfire.  There should be a pink/white and a yellow/white wire to the + terminal of a 6 volt coil. The pink/white is a resistive lead to drop the 12 volts to 6 volts during normal running.  The yellow/white is connected to the starter solenoid to boost the power during starting.  There should also be a second wire, slate/white, to the negative terminal which sends pulses to the rev counter.

I hope I have the colours correct, they are a bit difficult to read on my wiring diagram.

I’m thinking of putting electronic ignition on the car, but one of the leads goes to the + terminal on the coil, but as you see, I don’t have a spare terminal 

[stebec]

9 hours ago, Josef said:

Graham you’re correct about the colours.

Steve I also notice your heater valve is bypassed, that could get uncomfortably warm and won’t help your cold starting. The valves are often fixable if it leaks, and the Smiths type cheap enough to replace regardless.

 

 

Is it an easy fix for the heater? 

[johny]

Yes very easy if you get the valve fixed although of course you will spill some coolant as you undo and reconnect the heater hoses....

On the wiring, what is the whitish wire just next to the red/white one connected to at the bottom of the photo?

[stebec]

31 minutes ago, johny said:

Yes very easy if you get the valve fixed although of course you will spill some coolant as you undo and reconnect the heater hoses....

On the wiring, what is the whitish wire just next to the red/white one connected to at the bottom of the photo?

Hi Johnny, I’m going to fit a new radiator on next week, so coolant not a problem. The wire you mention, I’ve not got a clue what it’s for, there is some very strange wiring on this car, there is even a wire attached to the earth on the battery.

[johny]

Oh dear, non standard wiring is a pita as you cant be sure whats going on! Laborious as it might be I would recommend spending the time to try and figure out whats been done and remove as much as possible of the additions...

[stebec]

4 minutes ago, johny said:

Oh dear, non standard wiring is a pita as you cant be sure whats going on! Laborious as it might be I would recommend spending the time to try and figure out whats been done and remove as much as possible of the additions...

Think I might invest in a new wiring loom

[johny]

Is it that bad🙁

[Pete Lewis]

there shouldbe a resistive white/pink ballast or a seperate ballast resistor to drop the oil to 6v with a bypass white yellow ?

from thesolenoid to boost the 6v to 12v when cranking  this needs a 1/5 ohm coil

if the ballast system has been removed or bypassed then you need a 3 ohm coil 

the extra wire on the pos+ could be for electronic rev counter if the dizzy dosnt have the older cable drive 

Pete

[stebec]

14 minutes ago, johny said:

Is it that bad🙁

Everything works ok, but a lot of the wires seem very brittle, think for peace of mind I’d be safer with new wiring. Have you any idea how I can get the electronic ignition wired up? Because with 2 wires already coming off the + side of the coil, there is nowhere to connect to

[johny]

You would need to remove those blue connectors that some one has put on the wires at the coil positive and then put both of them into one new connector so leaving a terminal free....

[stebec]

37 minutes ago, johny said:

You would need to remove those blue connectors that some one has put on the wires at the coil positive and then put both of them into one new connector so leaving a terminal free....

Thanks Johny 

[johny]

Really would try to clarify colours of each wire and what they do first...

[Josef]

I agree, but there’s mains electrical cable visible in that shot of the battery which doesn’t speak well to the quality of previous maintenance so it definitely wants some serious investigation and improvement…

[stebec]

The wiring seems to be a mess

[stebec]

8 hours ago, johny said:

Yes very easy if you get the valve fixed although of course you will spill some coolant as you undo and reconnect the heater hoses....

On the wiring, what is the whitish wire just next to the red/white one connected to at the bottom of the photo?

I take it I just need to separate these 2 pipes and reconnect them to the Valve, why would someone bypass the valve?

[johny]

Most likely the valve has a leak or blocked although it does look quite new. You could try operating it while blowing through and also put a finger over the outlet to check for leaks...

[Colin Lindsay]

25 minutes ago, stebec said:

I take it I just need to separate these 2 pipes and reconnect them to the Valve, why would someone bypass the valve?

Possibly not connected to the dashboard controls, so can't operate it anyway? That valve is very easy to remove and check (don't lose the O-ring) but if needs be you can buy valves that are simply a straight pipe with an open/close lever on it, very simple to install in place of the Smiths valve if need be. 

[foshi]

possibly the heater matrix is leaking hence pipes joined 

[johny]

I think its just the valve thats bypassed so the heater matrix is in use all the time. You might be able to operate the valve locally with a pair of pliers or something....

[stebec]

26 minutes ago, johny said:

I think it’s just the valve thats bypassed so the heater matrix is in use all the time. You might be able to operate the valve locally with a pair of pliers or something....

The control cable is still attached to the valve, I will see if it still works tomorrow 

[Josef]

2 hours ago, stebec said:

I take it I just need to separate these 2 pipes and reconnect them to the Valve,

Yes. As others have said though I’d bet on it leaking / being blocked. Not sure why someone would bypass the heater to be always on though.

[johny]

Lets face it our heaters dont exactly add a lot of heat to the cabin😁Even with it on if the weathers warm you just wind the window down a bit more....