Spluttering - UPDATE 04/07

[Yoof]

What's the ignition system health like- mainly hall sender and coil.

[Alex]

Coil pack was replaced just before the conversion, and I think the leads are the same ones I bought when I swapped the engine. Done roughly 32k miles. Plugs about 25.

Hall sender's an unknown, how much are they to replace?

First port of call is the leads, I think. Be rude not to, seeing as I have three sets in the garage.

[PeteG40]

i'd change plug leads rotor arm and dizzy cap if you have them around plugs also as they are supposed to last about 20,000 miles.

Hall senders tend to be a bit all or nothing in my opinion.

[Andy]

I've had intermittent hall senders, depends on how they're failing. Deffo do the leads if they've been on there since we dropped that G40 lump in.

[Alex]

Well it's not missfiring any more, fucking thing now doesn't start.

Changed plugs, leads, dizzy cap and rotor arm.

It turns over but doesn't fire, and stinks of petrol. So I'm guessing I've got something wrong.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vAtIYu0nbEA

I should never be let loose under the bonnet.

[hardchargin40]

You got the firing order right?

[Alex]

That's what I'm thinking now. Tried swapping the king lead, dizzy cap and rotor arm back to the old ones and no difference.

Anyone got a diagram showing the firing order?

[Alex]

Firing order checked from here:

http://www.polog40.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic,2212.0.html

And it's right.

hmm, looks like next step is checking leads

[Alex]

Unplugged each lead in turn, rested it on the rad cover with an old spark plug. No spark from any of them.

Do I need the little screw-on bits that come with the plugs? The old Beru leads didn't.

[Alex]

Random. Just been out to try a plug with an old lead, turned it over and it fired up with only three of the new plugs in.

Turned it off, plugged the lead back in and it started up first time.

Strange.

But, hey, just when I thought I was out of the frying pan.

Took it out for a spin and it's ticking. Seems to drive ok, though I didn't take it far. It's making a loud ticking noise that varies with the revs. And though it drives smoothly there's an intermittent drop in revs when it's idling. Wasn't doing that on Sunday, it's a new one for tonight. Here's a video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CIMM_JAvJVM

Any ideas?

Getting a bit fucked off with this now. The car was FINE two weeks ago for fuck's sake.

[Alex]

A bit of extra info - sounds like it's coming from the top of the engine. I guess it could be a really noisy injector, but I doubt it.

Quick flick around the net and I'm thinking it's a sticky valve or possibly a sticky tappet.

Tappets were changed at PSD about 20,000 miles ago.

Whatever it is though, it's just started. Reckon it's to do with repeated cranking this evening?

[cheys03]

In the past I've found ticking noises to be a spark from an ignition lead or connection that's grounding before it reaches the spark plug. New leads or at least a good wiggle of the old ones helped for me. Not sure if you've already done this or not though with all the troubleshooting you've done so far.

[Andy]

Is the plastic cover inside the dizzy that protects the hall sender wiring still there and intact? I've had these go brittle and fall apart - meaning intermittent missfires, occasional refusal to start etc. Worth checking.

Is it a ticking noise and not a spark arcing kind of noise? Wait 'til it's dark and try it again - you'll soon notice if it's arcing out somewhere!

Have you got a spare dizzy you could try?

[Alex]

Sounds like a ticking at the top of the engine - even under the rocker cover. Not really sure. If I put my head under the bonnet I can hear the engine, the charger, ticking injectors and whatever this noise is, so it's quite difficult to pinpoint.

Don't have a spare dizzy to try either.

The plastic cover in mine seems fine - is there a specific way that it mounts? Should it clio into anything or does the dizzy cap hold it in place. Mine's loose.

[cheys03]

Where are you located Alex? I've a known working dizzy, leads, rocker arm and cap on my daily (GT, same dizzy). If you're close I don't mind troubleshooting with you.