peteretep Posted March 13, 2010 Share Posted March 13, 2010 I just got my escort started today but theres a couple of problems i have wired up the alternator on my escort so that there is one permanent 12v for sensing, one permanent big boy to the starter and one that has 12v supplied to it when the ignition is 'on', so when the car is 'on' but the engine is off all 3 wires are +12v, but the dash light is not turning on, when i measured the pins on the alternator, neither terminal is earthed when not running, whats the deal? Also, cylinder one isnt running, it appears to be the carb crapping out somehow, I checked compression, spark, and engine start which all came out ok, cylinder appeared to fire with the engine start, then opened up the carb, the jets werent clogged or anything, tommorrow i can take the carb apart again and blow it out with an air compressor, but otherwise im lost. When the other cylinders are running, cylinder one backfires sporadically also, was 80 psi in both 1 & 2, this is pretty shit? motor hasnt run in a long time ( 5 years), can I expect it to get any better? could be it as simple as re-doing the rings and/or valves? engine revs ok though, pretty choice only headers, been a long time since any motor has run in there sorry, motor is a 1600 ford xflow, bcf2 cam, R1 carbs, Leone distributor with a subaru justy alternator Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eke_zetec_RWD Posted March 13, 2010 Share Posted March 13, 2010 the power going to your alt from ign runs the light in that series. so when you turn ing on the light will turn on, then as you start car the alternator back feeds 12v up the wire back at the light. which turns it off. 80psi is very shit, but if your cam is radical it might read low. put a vacume meter on all the trumpets to compair them. is the brake booster leaking?? i remember that its running off number 1 clyinder....? good to see its going! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peteretep Posted March 13, 2010 Author Share Posted March 13, 2010 the power going to your alt from ign runs the light in that series. so when you turn ing on the light will turn on,then as you start car the alternator back feeds 12v up the wire back at the light. which turns it off. Yeah thats how I understand it to work, but when the car is off, that pin on the alternator is not earthing so the light doesnt turn on, but there is 12v at the light and the bulb works 80psi is very shit, but if your cam is radical it might read low. put a vacume meter on all the trumpets to compair them. is the brake booster leaking?? i remember that its running off number 1 clyinder....? good to see its going! yeah need to get a vacuum meter, i sucked on the booster and it didnt appear to leak. Although it is a long shot, i have heard of compression testers being inaccurate but i do feel that 80 is more likely correct Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eke_zetec_RWD Posted March 13, 2010 Share Posted March 13, 2010 throttle open while testing a?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peteretep Posted March 13, 2010 Author Share Posted March 13, 2010 no, this may affect results? i dont wanna get my hopes up but i'll give it a go, the carbs are off even so no restrictions Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eke_zetec_RWD Posted March 13, 2010 Share Posted March 13, 2010 yea do it again, and if they not even then that could be why you got real uneven readings. pay to do it as wide open throttle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peteretep Posted March 14, 2010 Author Share Posted March 14, 2010 screw you gaz, i lost my post just as you started playing around so i did a compression test without the carbs in, cyl 1 = 145 psi cyl 2 = 135 psi cyl 3 = 130 psi cyl 4 = 120 psi what else could be wrong that would make only a single cylinder not work? Even at full open throttle cyl one didnt get hot while all the other cylinders started burning the header paint instantly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kyteler Posted March 14, 2010 Share Posted March 14, 2010 Plug? Lead? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peteretep Posted March 14, 2010 Author Share Posted March 14, 2010 you know i didnt try swapping the plugs around which i can try tomorrow, but they should all be ok, minimal k's on the plugs, and new leads, cap, coil & rotor Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peteretep Posted July 13, 2010 Author Share Posted July 13, 2010 Thought id update this, I ended up getting all cylinders running, i still dont know why cylinder 1 began running, but it may still be part of the trouble im still having. The car will start from the key when warm/hot, but it wont start straight from the key when cold, if some petrol is poured down the carbs it will start. When trying to start the engine from cold, it doesnt even cough and splutter as if its trying to start which makes me think its electric related but the exhaust runners do get very slightly warm While the engine has been running, we set up the idle and timing, and it all appears/appeared to be ok, idle timing was set to around 12 degrees from memory. I bought an oil filled pressure gauge and tested the fuel supply pressure, which is what the r1 owners manual specifies as ~2.9psi I took a sparkplug out and it does spark when turning over but i think it looks fairly weak, although i dont know what a weak spark is and how a car may operate with a weak spark. I checked the coil and theres ~12.5v when not turning over, it is a non resisted coil so always full voltage supplied. is there anything else I need to change in the carbs, and/or what can i test in the ignition system, my spark plugs are champion N9YC with a 0.8mm gap with eagle 9mm leads, gt40 coil im lost, any ideas? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eke_zetec_RWD Posted July 13, 2010 Share Posted July 13, 2010 try a smaller gap, like 0.6mm or a better coil. like a standard p10 primera one or the like. do the carbs have a choke system? any cold engine requires more fuel than the same hot engine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peteretep Posted July 13, 2010 Author Share Posted July 13, 2010 yeah carbs have a choke system, which i operate when trying to start, i have also tried the gap at .6mm but but i will try again I thought a gt40 coil was pretty good? whats the best one i can buy? im going to get an engine earth strap to remove any doubt from my mind that its an earth problem(which it may still be) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unclejake Posted July 13, 2010 Share Posted July 13, 2010 What motor (Ford Kent?) and carbs? Standard mechanical fuel pump with the glass bowl/filter? What spark distribution system (points?) and is there a ballast resistor anywhere? Is the spark from the removed sparkplugs blue or white? (I want all of them out at the same time if possible) Giz a photo of the engine bay and don't buy another coil yet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raizer Posted July 13, 2010 Share Posted July 13, 2010 What motor (Ford Kent?) and carbs? Standard mechanical fuel pump with the glass bowl/filter?What spark distribution system (points?) and is there a ballast resistor anywhere? Is the spark from the removed sparkplugs blue or white? (I want all of them out at the same time if possible) Giz a photo of the engine bay and don't buy another coil yet viewtopic.php?f=17&t=3909&start=20 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fuel Posted July 13, 2010 Share Posted July 13, 2010 a non resister coil will have a pretty weak spark when cranking over, a resister coil is designed to run on around 7V while giving a just as good spark as a non resister 12V coil, but with the ballast resister and bypass circuit in for when you hit the starter the coil sees the full 12V when cranking (which in reality will be around 8-9V as the starter is turning). Whereas your non resister coil will see the same voltage at cranking when it's designed to give a good spark at 12-13V. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unclejake Posted July 14, 2010 Share Posted July 14, 2010 ^ If you run without a ballast resistor on points the points contact faces will be burnt in only a few minutes of running - making for very hard starting. Now, maybe the GT40 (as opposed the the GT40R) will run points all day at a full 12-14 volts, but that has not been my experience. Let's see if this thing has a strong and even spark while cranking and then look toward fuel back draining out of those carbs or a problem of too weak a mixture etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peteretep Posted July 14, 2010 Author Share Posted July 14, 2010 What motor (Ford Kent?yes) and carbs r1 carbs? Standard mechanical fuel pump with the glass bowl/filter? facet fuel pump with ford falcon filter before pump, tank is aobut half fullWhat spark distribution system (points?) and is there a ballast resistor anywhere? subaru electronic ignition and no ballast resistor as per using GT40 rather than gt40r Is the spark from the removed sparkplugs blue or white? (I want all of them out at the same time if possible) i'll try this but as I said I think it is a weak spark so it seems quite hard to tell, i would say white spark though at this stage Giz a photo of the engine bay and don't buy another coil yet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unclejake Posted July 14, 2010 Share Posted July 14, 2010 The Subaru dizzy will probably have one black wire and one yellow wire hanging out of it. On some of those distributors, if you have those wires around the wrong way you will have a weak spark, but other Subaru dizzys will not spark at all if the wires are wrong. The black wire goes to the positive terminal of the coil. Check that you have the polarity around the correct way as it could be affecting your spark. Apart from a crook dizzy cap, rotor, leads or plugs - your ignition system sounds really good. I think a NY9 is a good plug heat range to start with for this engine but we might have to check rotor phasing if you locked the vacuum advance out. Perhaps put a link to your build thread in your signature to assist old men with bad memorys? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KKtrips Posted July 14, 2010 Share Posted July 14, 2010 IIRC - if you have the magnet inside the distributor around the wrong way it causes a weak spark... UJ will remind my weak memory if it was that or was it just shit timing issues.....?? LOL edit - looks lke UJ has a bad memory too... dam.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unclejake Posted July 14, 2010 Share Posted July 14, 2010 ^ Almost KKK. The upside down magnet caused the spark to retard as the RPMs increased. Retep, your cold starting issues are probably fuel related but you need to get the ignition system spot on before there is much point in fettling idle mixtures etc./ put a normal carb on it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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