110 V8 starting problem, help please!

right!... ive just bought an original 110 v8 on carbs (obviously). havent had anything to do with petrols for a while and i cant get it to start on the starter motor?

the battery is very good as is the starter and turns over well. the engine runs like a dream and starts immediatly with a bump but just cannot get it to cold start on the key.

once warm, it will start on the key. i did notice that the plugs are fairly coked up, do i just need a new set of plugs or am i just doing something wrong?

any theories please!

regards, dave

You may have answered your own question, why not treat the ignition system to some parts and takle it from there?.

well yeah, im going to sand blast the plugs tomorrow, see i that makes a difference but obviously would rather not shell out on new if i dont have to. was just thinking there may be a sort of strict starting procedure?

Have you checked that everything is wired up correctly - the symptoms could be interpreted as such that the starter motor is taking all available power and leaving nothign to power the coil, hence why it will bump start ok. Either that or your battery is knackered and no turning it over quickly enough

sidewaysste said:

Have you checked that everything is wired up correctly - the symptoms could be interpreted as such that the starter motor is taking all available power and leaving nothign to power the coil, hence why it will bump start ok. Either that or your battery is knackered and no turning it over quickly enough

Click to expand...

What he said ^^^^^. I'm wondering if a normal coil has been fitted instead of a a ballasted coil.

davidmayo said:

like i said i dont have much to do with petrols so ive probably got this wrong but surely there would be no difference in starting whether there was a ballasted coil or a non ballasted coil fitted?

perhaps of a ballested coil was being used as a standard coil without resistor then starting on the starter motor would be a problem?

have i got this right, if so i will need to check the coil.

Click to expand...

I could probably have explained it better.

Your battery usually has about 12.5-13 volts in it. When cranking the voltage drops significantly (ever noiced your dash lights dim when cranking?). If you have a 12v coil fitted the voltage could be to low to create a spark when cranking.

A ballasted coil operates at 6v instead of 12v

The resistor drops the voltage from 12v to 6v. This measns that when cranking you have plenty of power to the coil.

You can do a quick test of spark by unlpugging the HT lead from the dizzy and holding it just over the manifold ( I would strongly recomend you use insulated pliers to save flying) and then getting someone to crank the engine over while you watch for a strong spark.

If there's no spark you'll need to get your multimeter out to test the voltage at the coil terminals both while connected and also disconnected.

Coil Test - Testing Your Ignition Coil - Coil Resistance Test - How To Test Your Ignition Coil With an Ohmeter

yeah, makes sence, theres spark but dont know how good its supposed to be to be honest. well where is the resistor and what does it look like? is it the thing on the side of the distributer or is it inline? i did notice that theres an inline thing thats supposed to have two wires but one wire (red) has been cut at both ends, dont know if that important?

davidmayo said:

yeah, makes sence, theres spark but dont know how good its supposed to be to be honest. well where is the resistor and what does it look like? is it the thing on the side of the distributer or is it inline? i did notice that theres an inline thing thats supposed to have two wires but one wire (red) has been cut at both ends, dont know if that important?

Click to expand...

Do you have a piccy?

The ballast could be seperate or could be built into the coil.

I sold my 110 V8 about 5 years ago and I can't remember the setup off the top of my head.

does it look like this?

erm, well no, the inline thing looks more like a fuse holder (may well be?) and says "rists", possibly a make?, on it i think. obvoisuly the coil looks similar if a little old. but im thinking the thing on the side of the distributer doesnt really look like that either, this has a plug that goes on it rather than the terminals like the thing u have pictured, so probably not the same thing at all.

can you get the coil and ballast as a set, like pictured?

also noticed that a large black wire coming from the coil soon turns into a much smaller white wire via some after market terminal crimps, probably suggests something has been removed doesnt it?

davidmayo said:

erm, well no, the inline thing looks more like a fuse holder (may well be?) and says "rists", possibly a make?, on it i think. obvoisuly the coil looks similar if a little old. but im thinking the thing on the side of the distributer doesnt really look like that either, this has a plug that goes on it rather than the terminals like the thing u have pictured, so probably not the same thing at all.

can you get the coil and ballast as a set, like pictured?

Click to expand...

There are several types of ballast resistor hence asking for the piccy

You should be able to buy them as a set. That piccy was from rimmer bros. Please note that I didn't search for a V8 set so please check before ordering.

Ignition Coil - Optronic Megaspark - 12 volt Ballast at www.rimmerbros.co.uk

davidmayo said:

also noticed that a large black wire coming from the coil soon turns into a much smaller white wire via some after market terminal crimps, probably suggests something has been removed doesnt it?

Click to expand...

Yeah. When vehicles are getting on they have a lot of modifications done. Unfortunately while many of them are for the better, it means it makes working out what has been done and why that bit harder.

yeah, will try and up load a pic when it light. well it was on the road a few months ago, this was before i had it, went on sorn due to headgasket gone, this is now done.

was just thinking though, the coil looks to be years old, so surely wouldnt be a problem with it if it was being used daily fairly recently.

davidmayo said:

yeah, will try and up load a pic when it light. well it was on the road a few months ago, this was before i had it, went on sorn due to headgasket gone, this is now done.

was just thinking though, the coil looks to be years old, so surely wouldnt be a problem with it if it was being used daily fairly recently.

Click to expand...

It could be damp or corrosion has set in while it's been parked up.

Summit else to check is the feed from the ignition switch. Sometimes they can drop the live feed when in the crank position but it shows up when checked with the key turned in the second position.

definitely pictures required!