Afternoon all, got a maddening problem with a mini at the moment. It's a 1971 model with a 998cc engine. I bought it as a light restoration project, and it has been running ok trundling in and out of the garage for various bits of bodywork to be repaired etc. However, today i've gone out and it refuses to start, not even the slightest hint of even firing.
So, i've spent the last 4 hours fiddling around and it still refuses to play ball. I've replaced the plugs, rotor arm and distributor cap, and checked every plug is sparking ok, which they are. Fuel supply is ok, and i keep taking the plugs out after a good bout of churning it over, and they are wet with fuel. So, i have a spark and i have fuel, but they don't seem to want to get together and fire!!!! GRRRRR
Last thing i done was checked the timing statically, and set it so the points open at TDC (as recommended in the manual for static setting). Still no joy. So, i've given it a good kick and packed up to come and write this email. So, anyone out there got any clues???? Please help, before i chop it up and put it in the wheely-bin!!
Jonathan...
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Things I used to do in the 70s included:
Removing the air filter.
Heating the plugs on the cooker and putting them in hot.
Check the distrubutor cap for a crack - even hairline.
If its wet spray it all over with WD 40
Double the spark gap and the points gap from waht it said in teh book
Real mechanics can call me a prat and a waster but I was only a kid and it workd for me.
Gee a dead 70 s mini - happy days - there are things you can do unlike the modern beasts
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If your Mini has been off the road for some time, how old is the fuel in the tank?
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Ponts open at TDC? I recall 11 degress before TDC. Check.
Replace fuel. Check distribtor cap pick up point .
Is there a spark at plugs? Test by turning engine over with 1 lead disconnected and touch lead to plug - careful use rubber gloves/insulated pliars as high voltage.
madf
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Would agree with madf.I always set them to approx 10 BTDC.TDC is a bit late.Also what colour is the spark.Condensor failure was cause of a lot of problems
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Steve
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thanks for those pointers guys. I've just rechecked the manual and it says 5 degrees BTDC for static and 8 degrees for stroboscopic, so i got that wrong for a start! Although that still doesn't explain why it was fine last week and flat refused to do anything this week!
The condenser failure is interesting, the spark i'm getting is white in colour, so perhaps if the condenser has packed up the spark isn't strong enough to ignite the fuel.
I'll have another play tomorrow (between angle grinding the front wings off) and see if i can sort it. Perhaps a night in the warm garage will have helped too! I''ve booted the Lotus out onto the drive and pushed the mini in, so the Lotus will probably get the hump now and not want to start!!
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How good is the battery ?
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I had a similar problem on a Morris 1000 lately. The car would run for a bit and then stop and fail to restart. I replaced just about everything (points, condensor, leads, etc etc) and nothing made much improvement. Then I undid every electrical connection from the starter solenoid on, cleaned them all to bright metal, replaced and lo! problem solved. I suppose a bit of corrosion on each connector caused a bit of resistance until there wasn't enough to fire her up. All now liberally coated with petroleum jelly.
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Weird
Just spent a couple of hours tracing similar fault with 803cc A series in a Minor. Eventually traced to faulty rotor arm, with not a sign of a crack or failure.
First check supply to coil with a test lamp rather than multimeter to check good supply without fault/high resistance. Than take off distributor cap and turn engine over until points (ahh, points. Sorry, nostalgia overload) are closed. Take king lead out of distributor and hold/jam 6-8 mm from block. Flick point open, and spark (usually blue) should jump to block, without a flash at points. If a flash, check condenser.
Replace distributor cap and lead, and try the same with a plug lead and spare plug. Spark should be obvious.
If spark OK, it should start no matter how inaccurate the timing.
There should be a small section of finely woven lead linking the 2 sections of plate under the points, and if this breaks you can have an intermittent failure.
I assume the coil is OK, and you haven't swopped the connections around?
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.>> WeirdJust spent a couple of hours tracing similar fault with 803cc A series in a Minor. Eventually traced to faulty rotor arm, with not a sign of a crack or failure.
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According to one of the recent "Minor matters" Minor 1000 club magazines, there is a bad batch of new rotor arms out there which fail unexpectedly.
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Hi,
It sounds like you have an adequate spark at the plugs - even if the timing were set at TDC it would still fire but run very badly. My thoughts would be to drain the existing fuel and refill with fresh. Petrol today does not last long standing and makes life hell with starting. You think you've got a good supply of fuel but in fact it's useless and won't fire up.
For the cost of a gallon ofpetrol its worth a try.
Hope this helps
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These are the views of Robin the Technician with 35 years in the trade. I fix, therefore I am...
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