I am really fooked now, urgent help please (and its not a p38!)

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While I think about it, have a careful check of the wires at the coil. I had a mystery misfire that drove me mad for a week, turned out to be a frayed wire. Cut off and replaced the cable connector - good as gold. So have a good look at cables and connectors in and around the coil. I assume the wires are on the coil the right way round and the connections on ignition amplifier are secure.
 
Thanks for all that Kev, there is no spark from the king lead, 12v in coil but nothing coming out, have tried two coils but no they were just bog standard bosche ones.

I have spare dizzy like I said which he is going to finish fitting tomorrow as it has another amplifier on it, luckily I have the thermisters too so I hope he can to that if needed and also set up the AFM as you suggested.

I have cleaned all the contacts for the coil including the earth reallly well, twice incase it was that.

I cannot understand how if the only things I changed were the coil and idle screw how and we had it running good since it can suddenly have died, we hadnt touched anything else apart from he tweaked the AFM a little.

Could all the fruitless cranking have killed off the amplifier? or if he hooked up some wires on the coil wrong could that have killed anything-even so it was running when it died!

Could have plugging unpluging the ecu so much in one day have killed it? if so how are we getting power to the coil? argghhh! man have I learned not to fiddle now!
 
Don't worry about it. I think you really need to try a different rotor arm. They can die "just like that". Early this year I was stopped, engine idling going throu a drive through - it just stopped!! couldn't start it had to get a mate to tow me home. Checked for spark - plenty off king lead but nothing off any of the plug leads. Swapped rotor arm and away it went!! I've said many times though, only fit genuine Lucas rotor arms unless it is a life and death emergency.

Playing with the ecu and base idle and air flow meter will not affect the ignition system. The injection and ignition circuits are totally separate; remember the Rangie was originally built to run on carbs and a points and condenser dizzy. The EFI motor is essentially the same but with whistles and bells glued onto it. Once you get it set up properly it should be reasonably reliable, I have abused mine and it keeps going but you do have to do the maintenance and keep on top of them. Regular checks are essential to keep your V8 in tip top condition, this means regular servicing and checking everything.
 
Why didn't you just swap the ignition amplifiers out? It can be done without removing the dizzy as can checking earthing and pick up resistance. I guess you like doing things the hard way. You'll have all that messing about re-setting the timing now.

Another thing that can affect the way your V8 runs is the condition of your plenum. Have you taken the plenum and ram housing off? you really should and give them both a thorough clean, then check/set the throttle butterfly and the throttle linkage/cable. Only takes an hour or so but can give noticeable bonuses if there is/was an air leak and an incorrectly set closed throttle position (check throttle pot!!).
 
Ok , no spark from coil to king lead so it cant be the rotor arm as it hasnt got that far.

we coulnt get anything onto the screws of the amplifier with the dizzy in situe, I have let the meachnic do that ayway and he is supposed to finish that bit tomorrow.

We used carb cleaner to clean the plenum and butterfly but they looked pretty clean.
We have not done the throttle switch yet as we have no spark.

I agree the two systems are sperate which doesnt add up to why I have no spark when that side has not been messed with. could constantly unplugging the ecu (carefully) have caused it to fail?
 
fett said:
Ok , no spark from coil to king lead so it cant be the rotor arm as it hasnt got that far. Take the king lead off the dizzy and hold it close to the rocker cover (make sure the lead is firmly pushed into the coil) Crank engine check for spark. If no spark check coil, ignition amplifier and air gap on inductive pickup.

we coulnt get anything onto the screws of the amplifier with the dizzy in situe, I have let the meachnic do that ayway and he is supposed to finish that bit tomorrow. Run tests on amplifier using a digital volt meter (DVM)as per Rave/Haynes first. 5.5mm spanner required. Mark position of dizzy, rotate clockwise to get at screws (it is v.tight but possible).

We used carb cleaner to clean the plenum and butterfly but they looked pretty clean. Did you check the distance between top and bottom of throttle butterfly relative to the mouth of the bore as per workshop manual? Dimension to be within 0.5mm - adjust usingsmall set screw below stop lever. Also check there is no excessive play on the throttle shaft.
We have not done the throttle switch yet as we have no spark. You dont need a spark to check throttle pot. It is on a separate system. Follow procedures in Haynes/workshop manual.

I agree the two systems are sperate which doesnt add up to why I have no spark when that side has not been messed with. could constantly unplugging the ecu (carefully) have caused it to fail? NO
Click to expand...

Let us know how you get on. I have assumed you have a manual - everything you need is there.
 
Yeah I have Haynes manual.

Re spark at king lead there is no spark from coil, tested on 2 different leads one end fully in coil the other aginst several good earths.

seems easier just to take dizzy out as I have a spare to put in with amp on it.

I know I dont need a spark to check throttle pot but I need it to run the engine at all and thats more important right now , one thing at a time lol.

Thanks so much for your help, mechanic is coming tomorrow whilst I am at work to finish dizzy so I will see how he has got on when I get home and if he has got it going then will be back where I started with low idle speed lol :doh:
 
Sounds similar to what we had on a 3.9 hotwire classic. Unplugged the fuel temp sensor and it ran as a quick fix. Had been overfuelling thinking it was still cold when the engine was hot. Does it start fine when cold then go off when it starts to warm up?
 
hippolover said:
Sounds similar to what we had on a 3.9 hotwire classic. Unplugged the fuel temp sensor and it ran as a quick fix. Had been overfuelling thinking it was still cold when the engine was hot. Does it start fine when cold then go off when it starts to warm up?
Click to expand...

No it always ran good, never died on me , idle was too low which is why I was messin with it (wish I hadnt) it was only overfuling because of me. we fixed that and then when we had it idling to test emissions it died- no spark!

See previous posts for more info.

No mechanic yet, good job I have other cars!
 
Well its still fooked , the mechanic came , fitted new dizzy, got it started after a while , it idled nicely, timed it , a little flat spot on acceleration. anyway he turned it off to tighten the dizzy clamp and it wouldnt restart. he has given up! but did a good 11 hours for me for free in the cold so I dont feel too bad as it has eliminated some things. I have booked it in with a landrover keen guy for monday but before it goes I will check two things, fuel pump (as I have a spare and)as it was noisy before and also see if It still has its spark back. Wow what a hassel!
 
fett said:
Well its still fooked , the mechanic came , fitted new dizzy, got it started after a while , it idled nicely, timed it , a little flat spot on acceleration. anyway he turned it off to tighten the dizzy clamp and it wouldnt restart. he has given up! but did a good 11 hours for me for free in the cold so I dont feel too bad as it has eliminated some things. I have booked it in with a landrover keen guy for monday but before it goes I will check two things, fuel pump (as I have a spare and)as it was noisy before and also see if It still has its spark back. Wow what a hassel!
Click to expand...

11 hours work for free !

doesn't sound like a proper mechanic to me
 
He does mobile stuff,done rebuild for the family a few times. I just wanted someone who was free right then! if its just the fuel pump now I got a bargain!
 
so not only does this "mechanic" work for 11 hours for nothing - he gives you parts !

i wonder if he wants some more work
 
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