New coil , wont start

Morning , during routine maintenance a week ago on my 82 petrol series 3 I cracked the coil and it slowly started dripping oil , up until then it had started 99% of the time on the first turn , I left it and ordered a new one (exact copy) ive put it on and now it wont start ( for info ive got a powerspark. Electric ignition ) . There are 2 wires to the + on coil ( red wires) from ignition and to distributor and then black wire to the - connector on coil . ive taken the dizzy cap off and it is turning when i briefly flick key , any ideas please , im assuming this means dizzy is working if its turning ? Rotor cap and arm are in good condition.

Try the old coil again,just because the oil has drained does not mean it will not work in the short term.If it works new one is duff.

tottot said:

Try the old coil again,just because the oil has drained does not mean it will not work in the short term.If it works new one is duff.

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Not unheard of ... they are made to a price but not tested ...

Old one didnt work , battery has now died due to me trying too hard. If snow has gone in morning ill try another battery, ill get back to you, thanks

If it is the battery and I have to buy a new one ( I gave my spare away 2 weeks ago to someone I hardly know as they were in a fix with no money!) does anyone have any recommendations ,im not wanting to spend over £50 , ive always been aware of the theory that modern batteries are better than batteries from 35 years ago and in theory I could use any battery as long as it fits in the tray. Any thoughts on this ? Also theres always the scarp yard , they have batteries for £15

neilc75 said:

If it is the battery and I have to buy a new one ( I gave my spare away 2 weeks ago to someone I hardly know as they were in a fix with no money!) does anyone have any recommendations ,im not wanting to spend over £50 , ive always been aware of the theory that modern batteries are better than batteries from 35 years ago and in theory I could use any battery as long as it fits in the tray. Any thoughts on this ? Also theres always the scarp yard , they have batteries for £15

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Can you not borrow it back as a test ?

Then give them the duff one ....

neilc75 said:

theres always the scarp yard , they have batteries for £15

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They are in the scrap yard for a reason.

Dippypud said:

Can you not borrow it back as a test ?

Then give them the duff one ....

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That wouldnt be very christian would it !........... However it would be nice to be on the receiving end of charity every now and then!!

neilc75 said:

That wouldnt be very christian would it !........... However it would be nice to be on the receiving end of charity every now and then!!

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A test would help, either that or play with jump leads to try the earth integrity ...

You can test the resistance on a coil to see if its working .... heres a good explanation
http://www.series123.com/UKhomepages/index101/index.html

Ive put another battery on and it didnt start but im not sure the battery was 100% , so ill charge original battery to confirm that that is the problem and if it is ill replace it , RAC gave me this battery for free approx 3 years ago , it was brand new however wasnt an exact match so they said they couldnt charge me for it , gave the bloke a fiver for his trouble , so ive not lost anything on it.

Make sure the LT side is working as well ...

I'm a bit tight when it comes to spending money but I learnt long ago that when it comes to car batteries, you need to buy the biggest and the best that will fit.

Col

Colthebrummie said:

I'm a bit tight when it comes to spending money but I learnt long ago that when it comes to car batteries, you need to buy the biggest and the best that will fit.

Col

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Col , from a fellow Longbridge brummie I appreciate the advice

Ok fully charged battery did nothing, pulled plugs , they were black and wet , poss fuel , cleaned them up , no difference , no idea what the green crap is on one of the plugs ?

How can I check power spark electric ignition ? The dizzy is turning does that mean that it is working ?

neilc75 said:

How can I check power spark electric ignition ? The dizzy is turning does that mean that it is working ?

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Take plug out ...attach lead ...earth plug against somewhere on engine ...turn key as to start engine and if plug sparks dizzy works...doesnt mean timing is right or commpresion just that dizzy works...no spark work back from plug checking one thing at a time..

Modern batteries aren’t made to last like a lot of things. I think you’ve got an ignition problem but I’m not familiar with electric ignition. Have you double checked the way the coil is connected and the other connections? If you’ve got wet plugs then there’s no problem with the carb.

Ok , update , I was mistaken , there is power to coil , so I have power to coil but no power to distributor , It is an electric power spark ignition kit that replaced points , I installed it about 12 months ago, I understand that it has a 3 year guarantee , has anyone had any similar issues ?

neilc75 said:

Ok , update , I was mistaken , there is power to coil , so I have power to coil but no power to distributor , It is an electric power spark ignition kit that replaced points , I installed it about 12 months ago, I understand that it has a 3 year guarantee , has anyone had any similar issues ?

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Yes (kind of) but i have a 123 system, the dizzy needs to be earthing properly (actually also for a normal points system), however could this be as simple as the cables to the dizzy system?