New Eclat to me but no spark!

[Lordsinclair]

Hi all, I've just bought a '79 Eclat. Trouble is it ran (badly) when it was delivered to me but now won't start at all. Fuel is pumping OK but there's no spark at the coil or the plugs. 

I have a few questions I hope someone with more knowledge than me can help with...

The Previous owner swapped the original 6v coil for a 12v one. Now I've installed Accuspark electronic ignition. Am I right in thinking the ballast resistor can now be bypassed?

The coil he replaced the original with is an INTERMOTOR BALLAST COIL INT11070. Is this a correct replacement? Does the name imply then that it IS to be used with a ballast resistor?

I connected the multimeter to the coil and the readings are as follows: Primary reading should be 1.385, mine measured 1.8. Secondary should be 9.07 KOhm, mine read 8.53. Is this low enough to suppose the coil is bad and should be replaced?

If there's anyone who can provide a dummie's guide to using a multimeter to check ignition wiring etc I'd be grateful. I've cleaned all the grounds thoroughly by the way. 

Thanks in advance. 

[rjwooll]

If you are now using a 12v coil you can bypass the ballast resistor. I seem to remember that one of the electronic ignitions required a 12v coil but don’t remember which it was.

Timing is the other factor - whether you replaced the points alone or the whole distributor it is difficult to set contactless ignition static timing. However bypass the ballast resistor first as that is likely to be the culprit imho.

Good luck, Richard

[TAR]

Has the car stopped running after you made a change or has it run and now stopped in its current configuration? Useful to know if it's related to work you've done. 🙂

[Lordsinclair]

Hi, thanks for the help. The car was running very badly and then it stopped and I haven't been able to start it since. No spark at coil or plugs. I think the coil was wired back to front, and although the coil is 12V apparently it does need a ballast resistor.

Now I'm learning that the pink wire in the loom is a resistor, so Richard you think I should bypass the ceramic one on the bulkhead and just attach the pink wire (along with the other wires) to the positive coil terminal. 

Not sure why I have both a pink resistor wire and a ceramic ballast resistor...

Any help much appreciated. 

 

[Clive59]

See Dunc's explanation on FB Frazer. The ballast came with the new coil? Or was it on the car already? In which case that could explain poor running previously. Remove ballast resistor, consign to junk box for another project, and use what is already installed as original Lotus spec. Then you can work out the timing. However, the accuspark won't allow for static timing(well, mine certainly didn't). So careful mechanical positioning and some guesswork will be needed, and a full battery. If you are lucky you will get it going before you run out of juice! Good luck, and ask more questions if you need to!

[black eclat]

I would suggest you go back a few steps. First check your coil setup. When the ignition key is on you should have 12v at the + connection of the coil. Connect a lead into the HT side of the coil and the other end to a grounded spark plug. Now with a wire connected to the - connection of the coil, every time you briefly earth this wire, you should get a spark. That is all that happens in the distributor in a firing sequence for the 4 cylinders.

The ballast is only required if you coil is rated for 6v. If it is and you have 12v on it, it will rapidly heat up and burn out. If there are 2 wires on the + connection, you can quickly determine which is required to give the spark as explained above.

You mention you installed Accuspark. Did you remove the distributor? You could have the distributor drive either 180degrees out or not engaged at all. Apologies on the presumption of your skills but it's better to say than assume.

Once your happy with the Coil and the Accuspark, then it's just a matter of timing. A rough guide to get you running is as follows: turn engine to tdc timing marks, lift cam cover to see cylinder 4, valves 'rocking" inlet closing and exhaust opening, now the engine should be firing on cylinder 1.

Simply check that the connection on the distributor that the rotor is pointing too, is connected to cylinder 1. Adjust distributor and or leads, to make it so. From this point, the firing order is 1,3,4,2 so set the leads in this order in the direction of rotor arm rotation.

Hope this makes some sense. 😀

Michael.

[Lordsinclair]

Hi Clive, Thanks. I'm not sure if the ceramic ballast resistor is original to the car or not. Trying to find out now. So you're saying remove it and rely on the pink resistor wire?

Michael, I have a feeling the coil was wired back to front so I've changed the wiring but need to be sure before I reconnect the battery and turn the key. Yes, I removed the distributor and marked it when I did etc. But you're right, could be 180 degrees out. Trouble is I had no spark before I swapped to electronic ignition. Thanks for the tips regarding the timing. For now though, all I want is a spark!

[rjwooll]

I don’t know about the ceramic device, but I’m pretty certain that the cars did use 6v coils with a 12v bypass feed activated during cranking. Therefore you’ll need a new 12v switched ignition feed to the coil as black Eclat says. The resistor wire only delivers around 7v, but you can soon check this.

Richard

[black eclat]

Get back to checking what volts is on the + connection on the coil first. I wouldn’t worry about ceramics or cable colours just yet. Switch on ignition and measure voltage. Most multimeters are auto ranging and auto voltage. So switch on multimeter to the V setting, black lead to earth and red lead to the + connection. (If there are 2 “V” settings on the meter, select the “V” setting with a flat line beside it.)

[Lordsinclair]

I now have 12V at the coil but I'm concerned that the positive wire from the distributor (from the new Accuspark electronic ignition) is going directly to the positive terminal of the coil. The Accuspark diagram says DO NOT CONNECT TO COIL when referring to the red wire, but to "Connect to the 12 Volt side of the resistor or wire." 

What's the 12 Volt side of the pink wire? What I'm asking is is it OK to connect the red/positive from the distributor, the pink resistor wire, and the yellow feed wire from the solenoid, all to the positive terminal of the coil?

I've bypassed the ceramic ballast resistor completely now. How do you wire in the pink wire? Here's a photo of the current wiring. 

[black eclat]

Can you post the Accspark connectio diagram.

And can you identify which connection of the coil is marked + in your photo,

[Lordsinclair]

4. Connecting AccuSpark

Existing distributor with AccuSpark Module /Full new AccuSpark Distributor

It is recommended that any radio suppressors are removed before fitting.
Your Distributor will now have a Red wire and a Black or Blue wire, it may be necessary to lengthen the red wire on some models, standard auto wire can be used and we would recommend 1.5 mm/15-amp wire as being suitable, good quality crimps or solder should be used

1. Connect the black wire to the existing low tension wire running to the negative side of the coil.
2 Connect the red wire to a 12 volt source as below

1. Standard ignitions: Connect to positive terminal on coil. See fig 1a

2. Ballast ignitions: Connect to the 12 Volt side of the resistor or wire (DO NOT

   CONNECT TO COIL). See fig 1b
   if the position of the resistor or wire is unknown connect to ignition key or the live side of the fuse box (not through a fuse). see fig 1b

   NOTE: If unsure of your ignition type connect as b.

[rjwooll]

I’ve looked up your coil and it does require a 6v supply - see http://www.ldparts.co.uk/shop/shop.php?c=viewproduct&pid=45&cat=3&maincat=1&start=0

So you should test your pink wire to ensure it is delivering 6-7v and connect it to the coil. Then use a 12v switched ignition power source to power the accuspark unit, as described in their documentation.

cheers, Richard 

 

[Lordsinclair]

Thanks Richard. I will test that pink wire.

 Unfortunately I managed to fry the new Accuspark  module so will order a new one alongside a 12V coil to do away with the ballast resistor. 

 

[TAR]

This is just because the resistor wire will only have 6volts coming from it and the AccuSpark requires a full 12V. 

4 hours ago, Lordsinclair said:

(DO NOT CONNECT TO COIL)