taffy1967
1783 posts
Joined: 27/09/2006 18:58:07
Location: Rhondda-Cynon-Taff United Kingdom (Excluding channel Islands)
Re:
I've heard that fitting covers can cause the coil to overheat?
Posted: May 19, 2009 02:30 AM
Stocky
9 posts
Joined: 02/06/2010 20:09:22
Location: Colchester United Kingdom (Excluding channel Islands)
Mini 1000 wont start after distributor cover installed
basically i bought a rubber distriutor cover for my 1970 mini 1000, i took all the leads of including the coil lead and then fittted the cover and put them back in the same order ( i think) i then turned it over and nothing, i then cheched the coil lead (to distributor) by holding it about 5mm away from earth and then tapping the points together, it arked and sparked fine, (so do the points btw) but when i connect any of the leads to a spare spark plug it wont spark at all, it cant be all the leads surely, also can someone tell me the order because my hanes bok was completely different to how it was on there when it ran :S, it used to run fine, any help would be appreciated
Posted: Jun 07, 2010 09:50 PM
Eric
222 posts
Joined: 21/06/2007 10:12:29
Location: Cranbrook United Kingdom (Excluding channel Islands)
ignition problems...(damn rain)
After I lost power the other day, I noticed that the coil support was loose and the coil had rotated round, so it was no longer covered by the plastic shield. Without thinking, I rotated it back and covered it. I drove home tonight, leaving early as it was raining hard, and I was keen not to break down in the dark when it was raining too. There was standing water, so everything got a good soaking. I drove home with no problems at all.
I'll get a cover for my coil (plastic bag before it arrives) and make sure it is also covered by the shield. That and a big can of WD40, and it'll only take the rest of the winter without breaking down again to restore my confidence.
Posted: Jan 10, 2008 04:44 PM
Winter Driving??
The top link (coil cover) looks good and is a nice price, but I think I'd have problems getting it to fit right on my Mini, because there's at least 4 spade connectors running off it and the suppressor wiring too.
Posted: Oct 16, 2007 01:02 AM
Iain
11 posts
Joined: 08/11/2004 15:02:50
Location: Stone United Kingdom (Excluding channel Islands)
Mini's in the wet
I have seen an item on ebay that might be of interest. Its a moulded neoprene cover for both the dizzy and coil. Cant remeber the link but they were a good price.
Posted: Feb 11, 2005 12:39 PM
Peter Lester
7 posts
Joined: 02/02/2008 17:53:51
Location: Orpington United Kingdom (Excluding channel Islands)
Keeping my dizzy dry.
Hi all, my '92 British Open has of late suffered with a wet distributor in bad weather. I hate the thick plastic shield supplied by Rover. Awkward bloody thing. I made a perspex panel up which I affixed to the inside of the grill with screw's which work's up to a point but I was wondering if there's perhap's a cover similar to the one that fit's over the coil to fit over the dizzy?
Posted: Apr 07, 2013 04:36 PM
The kit is quite good for less than a tenner. Trust the german's! I've fitted the coil cover but my plug leads have angled cap's where they meet the dizzy and they are made on, so I'm buying some new lead's in kit form to make it easier to get access through the plastic cover. Hope this sound's understandable! The hole's through the cap's where the lead's exit, by the way, are a reasonably tight fit so should be water tight. When I,ve finished I'll get back on.
Posted: Apr 21, 2013 02:55 PM
Keith
173 posts
Joined: 13/09/2004 07:56:05
Location: United Kingdom (Excluding channel Islands)
coils
High resistance coils are necessary for points-fired dizzies - its how the voltage is dropped to the required amount (7-9volts). Sports coils are Ok as longa sthe right one is used. If points burn out with a decent coil - the points are usually at fault - as in cheapy after0-market stuff. I will only fit Lucas or Unipart points. Lucas Gold coil works well. But treally the best thing to do is fit a proper electronic ignition. Check out the April 2004 issue of Mini magazine wheer I am covering this very subject. KC
Posted: Feb 13, 2006 08:54 PM
Splinter
28 posts
Joined: 21/02/2005 20:16:53
Location: Grantham United Kingdom (Excluding channel Islands)
Road Trip
First off, all the best for your trip! Re spares, a couple of mates n myself are off to Germany later in the year and the list of spares could go on for ever!! So we deceided on:- Plugs n leads, points, and a spare coil. THE MOST important thing i am taking is AA europe breakdown cover and a credit card!!!!! Obviously a damm good service to include brakes is a must. Re cigarette lighter its quite possible to fit and a kit is available at most motorist shops (halfords etc) including fitting instructions. It is easy to fit as long as you have somewhere to mount it (dashboard?) if not, i put mine in the top dash rail very close to the ashtray!
Posted: Mar 02, 2006 08:39 PM
RIchk
76 posts
Joined: 09/11/2007 13:11:20
Location: Edinburgh United Kingdom (Excluding channel Islands)
i found a can of "damp start" in halfords. it coats the electrics in a waterproof sealant. its only a couple of quid aswell. i have had a coil cover (rubber) but it wasnt that good...
Posted: Jan 11, 2008 11:46 AM
Fat Kev
58 posts
Joined: 19/04/2005 18:16:21
Location: Newmilns United Kingdom (Excluding channel Islands)
Fuel Coolers
After having read one of the articles, on this very website, by Keith Calver, that briefly covered fuel coolers, Ive decided to look into making\fitting one into my project 1380 weekend warrior and occasional track day car. However, as stated, the subject of fuel coolers was briefly covered and I was wondering if anyone had any experience with them? Any tips\instructions on building and fitting one? Anyone know any good websites covering this topic in more detail? It sounds simple in theory (doesnt everything?) but I doubt my hill-billy idea of a modded washer fluid bottle full of coolant and coiled copper fuel pipe mounted in the passenger side of the dash or footwell is an ideal\safe solution! Thanks in advance Kevin
Posted: May 16, 2005 05:20 PM
Fitzgerald
31 posts
Joined: 11/10/2006 11:33:50
Location: Hertfordshire United Kingdom (Excluding channel Islands)
Steam Cleaning Engine and Bay
Hi, I did this last week and this is how I did it.Covered the points and coil using rubber gloves cutting holes in the fingers for the HT leads. Covered the fuse box and area where the flasher box is.Then I sprayed "Cilit Bang grime and lime" all over the engine bay left it for around 10mins. Previously i have used a more powerful grime remover and it started to eat paint so i found Cilit to be a good middle ground. then I used a power hose to wash it off. This worked a treat for me I got a bit close with the hose on the rocker and it stripped a bit of paint off but I am changing that anyway.A word of warning: Power Hose by definition is POWERFULL so can strip paint so don’t get to close.Another word of warning: apparently a power hose is powerful enough to seep thru gaskets if you are not careful.I don’t know if this is the BEST method but with care it worked for me. p.s does anyone know where to get cheap (in cost not quality) rocker covers?
Michael
Posted: Mar 02, 2007 08:39 AM
Barry Brown
511 posts
Joined: 23/06/2008 12:08:31
Location: New Barn United Kingdom (Excluding channel Islands)
that actually looks like quite a nice kit. Peter - if you do try it then let us know how it fits as I could probably do with one on my moggy minor, which has a 'top entry' D25.
our 850 mini has the D25 dizzy with the 'side entry' leads. There is a rubber cover available for that model but not the 'top entry' D25, D45 or D59. the old school way of fixing this problem before the plastic shield was supplied was........a marigold glove over the dizzy with the leads coming out the finger tips and a condom over the ignition coil. it looked stupid but not as stupid as being on the hard shoulder in the rain.
Posted: Apr 08, 2013 01:55 PM
Posted: Apr 08, 2013 02:01 PM
Alex
129 posts
Joined: 20/10/2004 23:06:00
Location: York United Kingdom (Excluding channel Islands)
Jet wash
1. Did you have the engine running when You jetted it. I would seriouslty recommend this as it will dry a large portion on the water before it does out nasty. 2. Go to autoplus on norton rd get some silicone spray and use the full tin all over the dizzy ht leads coil ! this should stop any water getting in ! you also need to buy some gunk or jizer which is a real good engine degreaser again you can buy this from autoplus Happy cleaning Quote from prious post of yours jon - Seems not to work eh?!?! LOL 3. I will Again Ask the Question - What were you trying to achive by covering a petrol engine in water? IF you want it to look pretty.- Dont buy a mini cos a mini engine is supposed to be greeasy and dirty they work better liker that. failing that get a cloth, some white spirit and some elbow grease and do it by hand I hope youve learnt your lesson!!
Posted: Jul 04, 2005 12:43 PM
Apart from the cover where the leads come out the sides, I can't see a rubber distributor cover on this site - can you post a link?
However, I did find this - http://www.minispares.com/Product.aspx?pid=33225. They say they were produced prior to the large plastic cover - I wonder if they point to the coil being the main vulnerability, rather than the distributor? I think I might be tempted to get a couple on my next order from this site - and in the meanwhile maybe cover it with a sealed plastic bag.....
Posted: Jan 10, 2008 03:30 PM
Not starting & Misfiring through throttle body - SPI
bulb test for static timing.
open the timing plate cover to see the timing marks on the flywheel or using the tag on the timing chain cover. with the engine off put the car in gear and bring the timing mark to the correct alignment as specified in the handbook. select hanbrake & neutral again. now slacken off the distributor pinch bolt so it lightly grips the housing. remove the coil lead. connect a spare indicator bulb between the black/white LT ignition cable and the lead for the condenser. Now turn the ignition on but don't crank it over. If the timing is correct the bulb will light up. If it isn't then rotate the dizzie body until it does. This is static timing and gives you a rough 'starting position' when rebuilding the engine and ignition. It's also good if you forget to do the dizzie bolt up and knock it out of alignment (whoops)
You can then use the strobe light to set the timing more accurately as per normal tuning.
Posted: Mar 11, 2011 02:59 PM
Roger
17 posts
Joined: 07/02/2006 13:05:05
Location: March United Kingdom (Excluding channel Islands)
WD40 is the curse of mankind. Without doubt causes more problems than it cures. I've been a maintenance electrician for the past 30+ years, doing the job WD40 free and hate the stuff, you can't beat a good dry rag. carry one in the boot.
Now for the problem.
I fitted an home made plastic shield several years ago in front of the dizzy, if you make it big enough it will also cover the terminals on the starter. I've got standard everything, it's still there and works a treat. also, make sure the rubber seal is fitted on the bonnet to seal between the bonnet and the grill. The gap there is straight in line with the coil. Winter before last, thought I was a submarine, drove through what I thought to be a puddle until the water came up over the headlights, oops, plenty of revs into bottom and not a problem, just got wet feet where the water came in the vent to the heater.
Posted: Mar 31, 2008 05:49 PM
distributor problem
Hi, I think what Tim refers to is "have you rewired the coil correctly?" You should have a plain white wire from the ignition protected feed to the fuse box (terminal 1) that goes to the "+ve" terminal of the coil. The "-ve" terminal should have a white wire with black tracer going to the flying lead on the points. (the second white/black should go to the rev counter module)
It is not unusual to new components to be faulty these days, especially condensors and rotor arms. I've had several bad condensors that only last a few miles so I always keep the old ones as emergency spares if they are known to be working. Black rotor arms these days are made with carbon to make them black, which is self defeating as they then conduct electricity rather than insulate and can cause the problem. I've started using the red variety of rotor arm but apparently the Chinese have begun counterfeiting those with poor quality imitations as well.
I'd put all the original parts back on and then as Tim says, use a mulitmeter to work out what is live and what isn't. Be careful checking the coil output though to the distributor cap as that will be fatal to the mulitmeter if you have the wrong setting.
Don't forget to check the small earth strap inside the distributor as the metal strands can snap inside the fabric cover and although they will work at low revs, when you open the throttle and the vacuum advance moves it the contact may open and you will lose the circuit.
Posted: Jan 06, 2015 04:34 PM
Crashnburn1981
158 posts
Joined: 04/12/2004 16:50:02
Location: glastonbury United Kingdom (Excluding channel Islands)
cylinder head
Hi,
You can tell if your head is 9 / 11 stud as the bulk of mini heads are 9 stud, and have i beleive 5 studs along the front of the engine (coil bracket usually mounted on one), and four under the rocker cover (could be four and five respectively), the 11 stud heads have additional studs at either end of the head, I beleive that your block can be drilled to accept a 11 stud head, but then depends where you want to go with it, you may already have 11.
Cheers
Nick
Posted: May 22, 2006 10:51 PM