23 replies to this topic

[Merryck]

Ok, new starter fitted this morning, and it's a vast improvement. I've had the carb off and checked my work - all is good.

 

I've had it try to fire a few times, but generally it's just turning over until the starter disengages, so I have to turn off the ignition and start again. I'm getting fuel and spark, so I don't know what could be causing this behaviour.

 

It's a Powerspark electronic ignition - I don't know if that jogs anything in anyone's memory! I'm fast running out of ideas!

[sonscar]

Verify the timing.This should always be first call when recommissioning an engine,Steve..,

[Merryck]

I've done a bit of Googling and I think that's next up in the list. The Midget has a clamp on the dizzy that allows it to be adjusted. The clamp is attached to the engine with two bolts so it can be returned into almost exactly the same position, but there's no saying that it's previous position was barely working ok, so I'll have a play with it in a bit. I'm going to grab some more fuel just to be sure there's enough. There is, but for a fiver it's worth it to know for sure!

[sonscar]

The dissy can rotate all the way round inside the clamp.One failing is the pinch bolt on the clamp crushes the body and the dissy can never again be accurately located.Fellow Spridget owner,Steve..

[Merryck]

Well I've tried with more fuel, adjusted carb settings, adjusted timing and I'm still getting nothing.

 

Really running out of ideas now!

[Clip]

The only thing I can think of then is your electronic ignition. Can you get hold of a points distributor? I’ve had some funky things happen with electronic ignitions, e.g. car would start fine when cold, then when hot would struggle like it was massively advanced. 

[Merryck]

Worth a shot. I think I've got a box of old points in the shed, I'll dig them out and see if I can undo my conversion. It's always been perfectly reliable, so I didn't even consider it!

[Steam]

Have you done a basic firing order check.
You should able to get a fire out of it by aligning the rotor arm "near enough" and the correct order.
If the firing order is correct and the timing is somewhere near then fuel down the plug holes and it will fire. If not you are missing something.

[timmy850]

I’d check what kind of voltage you’re getting on the positive side of the coil (while spinning the starter over). If the starter is drawing a lot of current and the wiring isn’t up to scratch, then sometimes the distributor doesn’t get enough voltage for the electronic module to fire.

Mine was like this until I upgraded the wiring to the coil. It’d crank over nicely, but only try and start once the starter was stopped. It’d start up straight away with a bump start

Edited by timmy850, 17 March 2023 - 05:35 AM.