Pete Lewis Posted December 12, 2016 Report Share Posted December 12, 2016 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bordfunker Posted December 12, 2016 Author Report Share Posted December 12, 2016 Doug there is a definite whiff of unleaded after protracted turning over of the engine, so I'm fairly certain the fuel pump is doing what it should. I tried the multimeter on the coil, first set to the 200 Ohm setting, and applied to the positive and negative terminals of the coil. This showed a reading 23 Ohms, when apparently what I should be seeing is around 1.0 - 1.7 Ohms. That indicated an issue with the primary resistance so next up was a test of the secondary coil. This time one of the the multimeter probes was inserted into the king lead socket and the meter set to the 20k Ohm setting, which should have delivered a figure in the region of 11, but what I got was 7.5. Either I'm not doing this correctly or the coil is fried. Karl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AidanT Posted December 13, 2016 Report Share Posted December 13, 2016 It depends on your set up but yes at 23 ohms its knackered Aidan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Lewis Posted December 13, 2016 Report Share Posted December 13, 2016 12v primery should read 3 ohms across the terminal blades and balasted 6-8v should read 1.5 ohms with no power or any leads connected dont have the secondary results office a bit cold with no sun pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Lewis Posted December 13, 2016 Report Share Posted December 13, 2016 well there is no 2ndary reistance given in any of my Triumph Manuals or any Lucas manuals , not even for testing Lucas state just by blip the points should give a sharp spark across a 6mm gap from the king lead if its weak then duff condenser or duff coil.... replace it theres a lot of reference to over tight clamped fixing band clamps ( thats old centre screw in the omega clamp) too tight and coils will fail !!! Pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bordfunker Posted December 13, 2016 Author Report Share Posted December 13, 2016 Thanks for all the feedback all. We'll soon see if it is fried, as I've ordered a replacement from Rimmers. Karl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bordfunker Posted December 15, 2016 Author Report Share Posted December 15, 2016 Well, it's not the coil. Having said that, the new coil does at least give the right outputs when hooked up to the multimeter. Given that there is power to the ignition system and the engine is at least turning over properly, I need to look at the fuel system and compression next. Based on the fact that it was running without issue the other week, I'm thinking that the fuel system is the issue here now. Not that I'll probably get a chance to look at it till after Xmas now. Karl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Lewis Posted December 16, 2016 Report Share Posted December 16, 2016 Check or bin the condenser , or its connections pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bordfunker Posted December 16, 2016 Author Report Share Posted December 16, 2016 I've got a spare condenser in the garage so will try swapping that. I took the air filter off last night to take a look at the carb, and there does appear to be a lot of moisture around the carb to manifold joint, so further investigation required. Karl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Lewis Posted December 16, 2016 Report Share Posted December 16, 2016 If theres a lot of unburnt fuel lying around due to non starts then it will seep out the gasket daft as it may seem the gasket make up is more to seal air leaks , but can be quite pourous to liquid fuels And a gasket leak has to be pretty severe to stop a cold start take the plugs out and cook them dry , blow lamp or in with the turkey preferably a hot air gun But back to your weak spark ...check the points and condenser is still in the ball park pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bordfunker Posted December 17, 2016 Author Report Share Posted December 17, 2016 Thanks Pete. I replaced the condenser with a new one I had spare. No joy. I then tried the old rotor arm which I know worked. Still no joy. I haven't tried replacing the points, but I did churn the engine over with the dizzy cap off and there was a good spark at the points. I suppose I'll have to replace the points next. Karl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Lewis Posted December 18, 2016 Report Share Posted December 18, 2016 you shouldnt get too much of a spark at the points thats what the condenser should control to stop sparks burning the points Pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bordfunker Posted January 4, 2017 Author Report Share Posted January 4, 2017 Work has been extremely hectic over the last few weeks due to my company having finance year end on December 31st. Which muppet decided it would be a great idea to have such a critical event slap bang in the middle of the festive season? Probably someone in Finance without a social life or family! Anyway, whinging aside, I've managed to get some time to work on the Herald on Boxing Day, and try and get it started. I'd already replaced the battery, coil and condenser, so next step should have been the points, however before I did that I took a look at the plugs. These turned out to be oiled up, and when tested didn't produce a spark, but luckily I had a spare set of plugs, so these were gapped and fitted, and hey presto! I had a Herald which started! And then when I tried it again on Monday, it didn't! Aaaaagh! So today it was out with the plugs, cleaned them all up with my new brass brush, then put them all back in. Still no joy! Then I noticed that in removing the plugs I'd managed to pull the Lucas connector off the distributor to coil lead. D'oh! With that replaced everything started as it should, so took the Herald for a spin around the estate on which live, only to have it splutter to a stop 500 metres fro home. No fuel! After walking back home, Mrs B drove me to the local garage with a fuel can, and then back to the fuel-less Herald. The Herald started easily enough, but stuttered it's way for the first few hundred metres as clouds of black smoke poured out of the exhaust, almost 50 years of crud from the bottom of the tank being sucked through the carb! I guess I know what I'm doing tomorrow. Karl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dougbgt6 Posted January 4, 2017 Report Share Posted January 4, 2017 Well done Mr B. But what is this strange pastime, called......work? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bordfunker Posted January 4, 2017 Author Report Share Posted January 4, 2017 'Work' it's that thing that pays for the roof over my head and the food on the table! I have actually done some other bits on the Herald, such as fitting the new speedo retaining bracket that Colin sent me, so that now the speedo is firmly attached. I also got around to replacing a lot of the screws that were supposed to hold the dashboard in, as these were missing as well, and while I was it re-installed the missing interior light which I found hanging behind the dash. That still leaves the intermittent speedo illumination to sort out, but that's a job for another day. Karl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Lewis Posted January 5, 2017 Report Share Posted January 5, 2017 May be its competing with the christmas tree lights and just winking in tune with the festive accounting season did you connect the earth lead to the speedo clamp ??? There should also be a support ring on the back of the speedo to spread the load of the clamps distorting the fibre panel although most get thrown in the bin as a pain, to get it all aligned when you cant see and cant feel what you attempting ...... then need the sticky plasters pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Casper Posted January 5, 2017 Report Share Posted January 5, 2017 I guess I know what I'm doing tomorrow. I hope you are not planning to open the drain plug at the bottom of the tank. That is NOT a good idea. Any water in the fuel goes to the bottom of the tank where it rusts and weakens the bottom of the tank round the plug hole. You need to fit a fuel filter in the rubber connection at the tank outlet. With that done you also want to clean the tank as best you can, however you can (removal is the best option but it's fun - I guess a forum search will find a post on this). C. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bordfunker Posted January 5, 2017 Author Report Share Posted January 5, 2017 May be its competing with the christmas tree lights and just winking in tune with the festive accounting season did you connect the earth lead to the speedo clamp ??? There should also be a support ring on the back of the speedo to spread the load of the clamps distorting the fibre panel although most get thrown in the bin as a pain, to get it all aligned when you cant see and cant feel what you attempting ...... then need the sticky plasters pete The support ring on mine is on the front behind the chrome bezel! As for the earth connection to the speedo clamp, I'd need to take another look. I spent about 40 minutes lying on my back, with my head in the footwell, resting on the brake, with my legs over the back of the driver's seat, just trying to put the speedo back in properly. The speedo is still sitting at a slightly jaunty angle, so I will have to revisit it at some point soon anyway. That and I need to take a look at the fuel gauge as that is clearly not working. Casper, no intention of touching the tank at any point soon. What I will be doing later is cleaning out the carburettor to be on the safe side. Ironically I had installed a new filter last week, only to remove it again when the Herald wouldn't start. That'll also be going back on. Karl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Lewis Posted January 5, 2017 Report Share Posted January 5, 2017 At least youve got the ring,,,,, just its the wrong side of the panel Is your 1200 stabilised gauges? The votage stabiliser should be on the back of the speedo and again relies on the speedo being earthed if you have needles which move quick then no stabiliser Pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bordfunker Posted January 5, 2017 Author Report Share Posted January 5, 2017 I can see the voltage regulator on the back of the speedo, and the needle on the fuel gauge moves relatively slowly. I hooked up a volt meter to both the sender end of the system, and the gauge end, both of which gave me a reading of around 12v, therefore think the issue may be with the sender as the gauge always shows pretty much full. Tried stating the Herald again just now. No dice. Seems to be churning over quiet slowly at the moment like the battery is down on amps, but showing good volts. Not sure what is going on there as the battery is new. Leaving it to charge for now. Karl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Lewis Posted January 5, 2017 Report Share Posted January 5, 2017 If its an original smiths stabiliser it should give a 10 - 0 -10 -0 - 10 pulsed output to average out at about 10.5v if its giving 12v it likley its failed, and hi voltage gives high readings on fuel and temp gauges pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dougbgt6 Posted January 5, 2017 Report Share Posted January 5, 2017 If it's reading 12v, Pete's right. It's an ex-voltage stabiliser, it's not the sender. You can get a replacement, but solid state stabilisers are cheap as chips, they put out a constant 10.5v and very reliable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bordfunker Posted January 5, 2017 Author Report Share Posted January 5, 2017 Thanks both of you. That does ring a bell, as in my dim and distant past I owned a 1200 VW Beetle, a proper one with an air cooled engine in the back, and the fuel gauge on that didn't work either, and that was down to the voltage regulator. Looking on Rimmer's they look pretty cheap, so I'll add one to my next order. Thanks again. Karl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dougbgt6 Posted January 5, 2017 Report Share Posted January 5, 2017 Karl, Rimmers are the traditional pulsed electro mechanical devices, have a look on flea bay for the solid state electronic alternative. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AidanT Posted January 6, 2017 Report Share Posted January 6, 2017 I purchased mine from paddocks. Doug , it looked exactly the same as the original but was in fact solid state. Unless it says it's the original bi-metallic version I would suggest that it's actually a solid state one in disguise!!???? Aidan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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