9 replies to this topic

[mailman]

Hi all,

I've just installed a Minispares electronic Distributor

https://www.minispar...-276-cam-profil

And it appears that the module has gone puff immediately.

I'm trying to diagnose.

What on earth could have caused this?

I have the gold coil (https://www.minispar...erformance-type) which has over 12V to it with the ignition on.

I'm at a loss.

[timmy850]

That distributor needs the correct coil. They suggest GCL143 which is 0.9ohms along with being 12v feed

You’ve bought a low power 3.0ohm coil which means you’ve cut the power of the spark significantly

You also need to make sure the distributor module is fed 12v and not a ballast (pink) wire which will cut power to the electronics

[mailman]

Would that cause it to not function? Or would the additional resistance of the coil cause it to burn out?

[timmy850]

If the module doesn’t get enough voltage it may cause it to not function

If it is functioning it might be making such a weak spark it won’t start

Whether this will cause the module to fail I’m not sure. If they are the powerspark modules then they are replaceable

[68+86auto]

That module will work with standard coils however it's not a good idea. It will run perfectly fine however the life of the coil will be significantly reduced. How have you got it wired up?

[mailman]

I wired it up red to +ve coil, black to the black and white wire that disappears into the look and (I believe) attaches to -ve coil.

There was a wisp of smoke that wafted through the centre dash hole/heater area when I tried to start it this morning, then absolutely nothing. No spark whatsoever.

[timmy850]

What year is the mini and does it have the standard wiring loom?

You might need to get a multimeter out and trace all the wires and check what voltage they have and if there are any burnt wires or blown fuses

[mailman]

It's a 1973 850, standard loom, big fuses, non original engine hence trying to update the ignition.

I'll try and do a bit more research.

[timmy850]

On this diagram (Mini 850 -1976 with alternator)
White wire goes to coil positive side.
White/black goes from coil negative to distributor

Can you check to see if the white wire gets 12v when you have the key on?

Generally speaking on a negative earth mini the only wire on the negative post of a coil is the distributor and the tacho signal

https://www.classicm...hive/electrical

https://classicminid...ER SWITCHES.PDF

Edited by timmy850, 13 January 2025 - 04:26 AM.

[68+86auto]

I wired it up red to +ve coil, black to the black and white wire that disappears into the look and (I believe) attaches to -ve coil.

There was a wisp of smoke that wafted through the centre dash hole/heater area when I tried to start it this morning, then absolutely nothing. No spark whatsoever.

 

That sounds like your problem. You've wired it incorrectly. There's still a chance you haven't cooked the module but the fact you noticed smoke is an issue. Did you happen to leave the engine earth strap disconnected too? Leaving the strap disconnected typically melts the heater/choke cables and therefore releasing smoke.

 

As Timmy850 has said:

• The red wire should go to the coil positive.
• The black wire should go to the coil negative.
• That white wire most likely goes to the coil positive to supply 12v unless it has a black stripe.

 

 

Also, I hope that distributor actually suits your engine as it has a very specific advance curve. I haven't tested that one but here's the curve of the C-27H7699. It doesn't start advancing until 2000 engine rpm.

 image_2025-01-13_211636684.png   96.63K   3 downloads

Edited by 68+86auto, 13 January 2025 - 11:18 AM.