12 replies to this topic

[welsh mini driver]

Hi folks,

I am hopeing one of the many mini gurus here may be able to help. I have an ignition problem that has both me and my mechanic stumped.

Being new to Minis when I found my beloved mayfair which i had bought 3 weeks before was drinking oil and I bought a modified 1300 A+ engine and straight cut box from ebay (after hearing it running), and delivered it to a local garage.

It is now in and running beautifully until the engine is hot and you dip the clutch or pull up at a junction (you get the picture). It will cut out then turn over but not fire. After a short while it will again fire and run ok for a few minutes before dying again. When this happened to the mechanic he checked the spark at the plugs and it is about 1/2 of what it should be (and is when cold).

The ignition system was changed from ducellier (I believe 9.6v) to a Lucas type with electronic ignition (12v?). He has replaced most of the ingnition parts with know good substitites yet no luck.

I am really struggling now. Please help - any advice is appreciated.

I believe the ducellier system has a ballast ressistor in one of the cabels to the coil. Could this be the problem (but how would it account for the spark being normal when cold)?


Thanks

Leon

[Jammy]

Why was the coil changed? You need the correct coil for your wiring loom (ballast or non-ballast). This is very probably your problem. Have a search for ballast and you'll be able to find out how to check and what to do to correct it.

[welsh mini driver]

Thanks Jimmy - will double check this with him

[welsh mini driver]

Why was the coil changed? You need the correct coil for your wiring loom (ballast or non-ballast). This is very probably your problem. Have a search for ballast and you'll be able to find out how to check and what to do to correct it.

I can't get hold of him, but i seem to remember somthing about it being an older engine - would that make sense?

Edited by welsh mini driver, 16 October 2006 - 12:50 PM.

[Jammy]

Check the wiring to the coil. If you have a pink and white wire going to the coil you have ballasted ignition and you'll need a 9V coil, I believe.

If you want to know a bit more about the ballast ignition system, read this.

[welsh mini driver]

no pink and white - got a white and a white with a black trace, yet definatly a ducellier coil came off - he is putting the old one back on to check it now and will let me know later. thanks will keep you posted

[1984mini25]

Certain models were fitted with Ballasted ignition systems (I forget from which year) to improve performance when starting.
To determine if the vehicle if fitted is fitted with a Ballasted ignition system, check for the supplementary wiring harness incorporating a white/pink lead from the fuse box and coil.

The Ballasted ignition coil lead replaces the original coil feed. The original lead is colour coded white, and is retained in the harness to accommodate the other system, do not connect this white wire to the coil (should be taped up to the loom out the way), failure to do so will result in the coil overheating and melting the points and condenser and similar damage will accrue if a non Ballasted coil if connected up to a Ballasted system

Ballasted system – white / pink lead to coil
Non-ballasted system – white lead to coil

But you can quite easily swap from the ballast type to the normal 12v coil, by disconnecting the white/pink wire from the coil and the fuse box, and using the white wire that should be taped up to the loom some were in that area and conecting that up to a 12v coil.

[welsh mini driver]

what would happen if these were reveresed?

It seems that my old ducellier coild (should have been ballast) was wired using the white cable.

the problem is it cuts out when warm - could the coil be something to do with this even though we know the coil to have been good (from a working motor)

[1984mini25]

what would happen if these were reveresed?

as above....
will result in the coil overheating and melting the points and condenser and similar damage will accrue if a non Ballasted coil if connected up to a Ballasted system

There is also no such thing as a ducellier coil, it's a distributor, a very one at that as they were never designed to used on an a series in the first place, they were only fitted as there was a shortage of the proper Lucas ones.

If the coil has been connected up wrong, then there is a pretty good chance that is now unusable.

[Silicon Skum]

There is also no such thing as a ducellier coil, it's a distributor, a very one at that as they were never designed to used on an a series in the first place, they were only fitted as there was a shortage of the proper Lucas ones.

Actually there IS, I have a Ducellier coil on my 91 cooper, Ducellier is just a manufacturing company, not a specific type of dizzy. The Ducellier coil is the original factory fit item on my car (and until recently still had the austin rover sticker), so the DO exist.

SS

[1984mini25]

There is also no such thing as a ducellier coil, it's a distributor, a very one at that as they were never designed to used on an a series in the first place, they were only fitted as there was a shortage of the proper Lucas ones.

Actually there IS, I have a Ducellier coil on my 91 cooper, Ducellier is just a manufacturing company, not a specific type of dizzy. The Ducellier coil is the original factory fit item on my car (and until recently still had the austin rover sticker), so the DO exist.

SS

I stand corrected, although the distributors are .

[fikus01]

if ti stil persists cutting out it could be overly rich fuel mixture!! being too rich when cold will probably help with cold starts but once it gets hot it'll be flooding all the time!!

defo get the coil sorted first!! i dont know why they(at rover) thought the mini needed this ballasted system!! i never had a problem with the std 12v system, last january, car covered with snow!! minus 10 outside get in car, choke out VVRROOOM no troubles!!

[welsh mini driver]

Thanks guys i will pass all of this back