'83 Excel will not start.....help!

[Bigvolvo]

The car was very damp when I bought it last year but started on the button, now its dried out and Ive cleaned and gapped the plugs, cleaned the dizzy cap and rotor arm and plug leads but it refuses to run.
Several times its coughed into life for a few seconds and then stopped. The plugs get wet, especially if I so much as touch the gas. The fuel pump works fine- infact its getting too much fuel if anything. I have leaned the idle valves on the carbs half a turn. Its got a gallon of fresh fuel too.
The car has a Lucas 46 dizzy and Lucas electronic ignition- could the coil or rotor be wrong? Then again it ran before, albeit lumpily. The spark at the plug end didn't look too great so I closed up the plugs to 0.025".

[amarshall]

It sounds like it could be AB14 failure - very similar symptoms to what has happened to me once too often.

I've linked to the Lucas diagnostic info. in this thread : http://www.lotusexcel.net/phpbb/viewtop ... =27&t=6616

[barker_001]

I have a spare internal module for the AB14, you would be welcome to try it. It is accessed by unscrewing the rear panel of the AB14 box.

[Bigvolvo]

Mmmmmm- replaced ignition module and coil and still no go! Next rotor and dizzy cap I guess. Getting spark but it still seems rather weak. Id understand it running badly but not running at all surprises me.

[barker_001]

Broken / intermittent connection in the distributor pickoff which feeds the AB14? It is a common fault. At the black connector which normally fits in the front of the AB 14, you should be able to measure a steady 2 - 3 kilohms or so. If you can also simultaneously operate the vacuum advance by sucking on the tube while taking the measurement, the reading shouldn't fluctuate. If you have an open circuit it is most likely to be a break in the silicone insulated wires connected to the pickoff inside the distributor.

[Bigvolvo]

Thanks- I'll take a look; although my dizzy has no vacuum advance/retard, its a Lucas 46.

[bash]

Could be very old / stale petrol. Have you tried starting it with a squirt of easy start ? If it doesnt start then its an ignition issue, if it does start, empty the tank and let the fuel pump empty the fuel line. it should be ok then. My petrol lawnmower has this problem every spring because the knob on the pusher forgets to drain the tank !!!
Bash

[barker_001]

my dizzy has no vacuum advance/retard, its a Lucas 46.

That's good news, the wires are less likely to have broken and you won't get the same strange looks off your neighbour as I did whilst manually applying a vacuum...

[marky]

All sounds a bit familiar - try unplugging the rev limiter - takes two seconds - my electronic ignition is not compatible with the rev limiter - when I first got the car it started all right but after a while it refused. The rev limiter if the furthest forward box on the right bulkhead in the engine bay.

Mark.

[Bigvolvo]

Great!!! It runs, turns out the spark plugs were at fault. Bosch and I suspect not quite right. Sprang into life when the correct NGKs were fitted.
Now I can get it out of the garage and start work on the brakes and clutch slave cylinder. Will post some pics too.