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MK2 Escort - Cranking and Firing, but dies straight away


L_Burmie

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Issue: Ford Escort Mk2 1600 kent crossflow will crank and fire, and run when the key is in position 3: Crank, but will die upon releasing of the key to position 2: run.

Have checked the system with a probe test light at the four points highlight, three of which light up when the key is sitting in position 2. The final point (coil negative) does not light up in Position 2, but flickers when in Position 3: Crank.

What else can it be, as it seems like the ignition switch operators correctly and the ballast resistor doesn't appear to be at fault (otherwise I shouldn't be able to get probe light indicators at both ends should i)? Could the coil be stuffed, even though the ohms seem okay? Or could it relate to rev counter/tacho?

Finally, should there not be an extra wire from the ignition switch which does directly onto the coil for cranking? It appears the only feed onto the coil is from the ballast resistor?

Escort Coil Diagram..PNG

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If it is wired up like that you are missing at least one wire, there should be a 12v wire to the positive terminal of the coil that bypasses the ballast resistor on cranking, and this should only get 12v when cranking.  My bet is that you are only getting power on cranking, hence why it dies when in run. What you should do is get a volt meter and hook it up to the positive terminal, you should see 6-7v  when the key is in position 2 and 12v when the key is in position 3. If this isn't the case you need to sort out the wiring.

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escorts have the ballast wire in the wiring loom. shit of an idea. 

sounds like you have an extra one wired in? would mean full voltage when cranking (ballast bypass), and drop down to less than what is needed when running.

bypass the external resistor and see what happens. it should run. then check voltages.

 

cheers.

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So this is how I imagine the ignition loom is set up...

Escort 2.jpg

The car has run perfectly fine for 4 or so months in this configuration - i.e. with an external Ballast Resistor prior to the ignition coil, and a single wire to the positive terminal of the ignition coil.

The coil itself is a 6V ignition coil, and specifies that a resistor must be used with it.

Putting a multimeter onto the Ballast Resistor terminals and the ignition coil terminals, I get the following voltages:

  • Ballast Resistor Postive : 10V when cranking, and 8V on run
  • Ballast Resistor Negative: 10V when cranking, and 3.9V on run
  • Ignition Coil: 10V when cranking, and 3.8V on run

Surely the ballast resistor positive should be receiving a constant 12V feed at all times.  And 3.8V on the ignition coil seems way too low.

I am getting spark off the HT Lead from the coil to the distributor.  Tried to bypass the ignition switch last night by removing the the ignition feed onto the coil, and running a cable directly from the battery positive but could not get the car to start.

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On another note, how does the ballast resistor determine when to allow full voltage through for cranking/starting, and determine when to only allow 6V through when running.

I would have assumed that there should be two wires feeding the ignition coil positive (one for crank, and one for run which goes via the ballast resistor).  So how does this system operate on only one wire feed from the ballast resistor and provide differing voltages?

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Seems odd, but you should definiely sort out the 10v issue before you go any further, you should see battery voltage on the positive side of the resistor, also flick your voltameter to resistance and measure whe the ballast is sitting at.

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as mentioned above, escorts have the ballast wire INSIDE the wiring loom, usually a pink wire that looks out of place. that is why you have 10v.

put an ohm meter between the battery "+" and the feed to the external ballast resistor. probably be around 1  -  1.5 ohms. (with the key on)  if so, you have an internal ballast wire.

this can be checked with the battery "-" removed, to save flattening the battery. you are just checking resistance, not voltage.

now turn the key to start, and the resistance should drop to nothing. or close to it. that means your bypass is working.

hook everything back up.

when the key is turned,  battery voltage (not always 12v..) is applied to the end of this wire usually from the starter solenoid or the key. thats what the extra small terminal on the solenoid is, hence" ballast bypass" 

how many volts at the battery terminals when cranking? probably around 10.  should be a bit more, battery is probably down a bit from cranking over a lot.

just because it went before, dose not mean it was right.

charge the battery,

remove/bypass the external extra ballast resistor,

and it will be sweet.

put a jug on it...

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  • 2 weeks later...

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