Unusual Engine Firing Problem

[Jules]

Had this car since the late 90's, its the GT so fitted with the 18RG 2 litre

TC engine, slight mods.

I wrote it off in 2000, ins write off but bought it back for a ton, damage

was cosmetic, new wing, bumper, light units etc.

hadnt been turned over in 3-4 years since the accident, popped some oil down

the holes ages ago, anyway she fired up after i cranked her without plugs

for a while to pump the oil pressure then popped the plugs back in.

When the plugs etc are in, it runs(needs a few revs but kept as low as poss

as found out this engine/carbs if stood for years has v bad tickover and

stalls)

The trouble is i need to keep the key fully turned so in effect engaging the

starter all the time, runs ok, the second i release the key back so where it

should continue to run it conks out, the tacho needle seems to fall quicker

than what it should do naturally if you just switched off.

Haynes didnt do a manual until the 78 model, which is a Gen 2 series, same

engine but thats about it.

The car ran fine until the accident, IIRC this problem arose at the time so

had to push the car into the lock up rather than under its own power.

Would anyone know the reason why? i cant see any loose wires(that were loose

before, many loose when she drove fine), but the previous owner was in the

process of a refitting so its a bosh job of wires and tatty engine bay and

interior but was the level i could afford.

thanks!

[Kelvyn]

Sounds like a crossed wire somewhere. It seems that the ignition is getting its feed from the cranking supply rather than a plain switched 12V supply. You'll probably find that the rev counter gets its impulse signal direct from the distributer so the dodgy wiring is probably affecting that too. If all else fails you could run your own low tension supply to the coil, just run it from something that is only live with the ignition in its normal on position.

[Jules]

thanks, IIRC it happened straight after a bang on the side of the car were the coil is, maybe its the coil or damaged wiring.

[Jules]

I put a live wire straight from the Battery to the coil and it stayed firing and running when i released the key, had to remove the wire when i had finnished as i wasnt sure if it would burn out the coil.

I have bypassed the origonal fault not sure it but thinking of putting a hidden switch in the wire to stop theives, i used to remove all the ht leads but some ****** put them all one when he found out the car would run and then stole it.

[daktari]

The fault might be in the plug at the back of the ignition switch or in the ignition switch itself. Try pulling the plug off and check the connections for corrosion or burnt contacts and squirt some wd40 down the ignition barrel and give it a good work out with the key.

Make sure the batterys disconnected when you do it tho. :D