After the car had been last fettled with nothing had been done, but it started up no bother and the headlights worked (though nothing else electrical other than the ignition appeared to). I fully expected it to fire up no bother today, which it did, but as the day progressed we dropped a cylinder and then two cylinders. The car will fire and run reliably on two cylinders but won't pick up four.
Static timing and ignition timing is good and as per the book.
Plugs are in good health and gapped correctly.
Plug leads are delivering a healthy spark to each plug as they ought.
Fuel is reaching the cylinders with no overflow or starvation issues and no visible air bubbles.
Battery and alternator are in good health, as is the alternator belt.
Tried two distributor caps with the same result from both.
Tried two sets of plug leads with the same result from both.
No oil to water contamination.
No untoward knocks or other noises.
After much scratching of heads we think it might be a failing condensor or a damaged distributor cap as the problem gets worse the hotter the engine becomes. The two cylinders that are dropping are not always the same two and it doesn't appear to make a difference which plugs and leads are attached to which cylinder.
Does anyone have a different notion as to what this might be for us to check? When it does run on four cylinders it runs really rather nicely.
Vulgalour's Vehicles - 10/03 Ignition Switch Woe
Re: '80 & '81 Austin Morris Princess and a '75 Renault 6TL
My first thought would be bad fuel from it having been sitting.
Dirty carb meaning it is running on a random number of cylinders.
Plugs will behave differently in the open air compared to under combustion conditions (lower pressure and resistance). As plugs are cheap I always have a spare set kicking about for testing. I would suggest trying all the cheap ignition components as the next thing after fresh fuel. If you still have points and condenser ignition you should conceder upgrading to electronic but if your points are clean and correctly gapped a condenser is incredibly cheap to swap out.
Going up the cost
Failed bearings in the distributor itself.
or more seriously, failed head gasket or other head issues.
Dirty carb meaning it is running on a random number of cylinders.
Plugs will behave differently in the open air compared to under combustion conditions (lower pressure and resistance). As plugs are cheap I always have a spare set kicking about for testing. I would suggest trying all the cheap ignition components as the next thing after fresh fuel. If you still have points and condenser ignition you should conceder upgrading to electronic but if your points are clean and correctly gapped a condenser is incredibly cheap to swap out.
Going up the cost
Failed bearings in the distributor itself.
or more seriously, failed head gasket or other head issues.
Understeer: when you hit the wall with the front of the car.
Oversteer: when you hit the wall with the back of the car.
Horsepower: how fast you hit the wall.
Torque: how far you take the wall with you.
Oversteer: when you hit the wall with the back of the car.
Horsepower: how fast you hit the wall.
Torque: how far you take the wall with you.
Re: '80 & '81 Austin Morris Princess and a '75 Renault 6TL
Good thoughts, here's some answers on those for you:
Bad fuel- there was some but it's now running on lovely clean fuel.
Dirty carb - it was, but it's been stripped and rebuilt a couple of times and is nice and clean now. New needle valve and seat too as the old ones were knackered.
Failed head gasket or other head issues - It came to me with a failed head. This has since been resolved, the head rebuild and everything put back together so that when it's running on four (which it has since doing this) it's lovely but it's since dropped to a random two. Doesn't seem like a repeated head failure as there's no cross contamination or other usual symptoms.
Failed bearings in the distributor itself - possible. I've a spare second hand one I haven't tried fitting but hand-turning the engine hasn't highlighted any untoward movement in the rotor arm.
Ignition components - We did fit new points as the ones in were broken, if memory serves. Plugs haven't been replaced and condenser hasn't been replaced either. Not too fussed about going onto electronic ignition, it seems just as unreliable as points and condenser from what I've read of other build threads so I don't see the advantage to spending more on it.
I've had another suggestion that it could be a failing coil. So far it seems that ignition components are the main culprit here.
Bad fuel- there was some but it's now running on lovely clean fuel.
Dirty carb - it was, but it's been stripped and rebuilt a couple of times and is nice and clean now. New needle valve and seat too as the old ones were knackered.
Failed head gasket or other head issues - It came to me with a failed head. This has since been resolved, the head rebuild and everything put back together so that when it's running on four (which it has since doing this) it's lovely but it's since dropped to a random two. Doesn't seem like a repeated head failure as there's no cross contamination or other usual symptoms.
Failed bearings in the distributor itself - possible. I've a spare second hand one I haven't tried fitting but hand-turning the engine hasn't highlighted any untoward movement in the rotor arm.
Ignition components - We did fit new points as the ones in were broken, if memory serves. Plugs haven't been replaced and condenser hasn't been replaced either. Not too fussed about going onto electronic ignition, it seems just as unreliable as points and condenser from what I've read of other build threads so I don't see the advantage to spending more on it.
I've had another suggestion that it could be a failing coil. So far it seems that ignition components are the main culprit here.
Re: '80 & '81 Austin Morris Princess and a '75 Renault 6TL
I would agree however don't discount other items because they were OK before a layup.
The main advantage with electronic ignition is that it doesn't need maintenance. The electronic ignition in my range rover has done 185,000 miles without issue. Most people you see complaining about it will have neglected to install a heatsync (supplied in most kits) so they burn out.
The main advantage with electronic ignition is that it doesn't need maintenance. The electronic ignition in my range rover has done 185,000 miles without issue. Most people you see complaining about it will have neglected to install a heatsync (supplied in most kits) so they burn out.
Understeer: when you hit the wall with the front of the car.
Oversteer: when you hit the wall with the back of the car.
Horsepower: how fast you hit the wall.
Torque: how far you take the wall with you.
Oversteer: when you hit the wall with the back of the car.
Horsepower: how fast you hit the wall.
Torque: how far you take the wall with you.
Re: '80 & '81 Austin Morris Princess and a '75 Renault 6TL
Picked up a set of points on my way home. They didn't have rotor arm or condenser in stock for the first time ever so I've got to get those on order if the spares I've got turn out to be duff. We'll have another tinker at it when I'm not so busy with work.
Re: '80 & '81 Austin Morris Princess and a '75 Renault 6TL
The Princess is running on FOUR cylinders now. That is the optimum number of cylinders for this car. After ordering a new condenser and rotor arm which won't arrive until tomorrow, we pulled the distributor and swapped it with the one from the Orange car. This highlighted that the condenser was indeed knackered and the bearings had gone in the red car's distributor.
I'm not cancelling my order, a spare condenser and rotor arm is still a useful thing to have.
That meant that this could happen.
Marvel at the fact it is now facing the opposite direction and it got there all by itself. To try and solve the mystery of the sticking clutch we decided to bleed it... which was the opposite of nice.
New clutch fluid in and the clutch works much, much better though the gear lever may need a little adjustment as it now feels a little sloppier than even a Princess gear lever ought to. We'd also flushed the water through which was brown and manky and full of horribleness but is now lovely and clean. Engine bay shows the signs of where we've been.
The fuel gauge, temperature gauge and ammeter now work. Speedometer works. Clock still doesn't.
The jobs that we know are left to do are quite minimal now:
Suspension pump
Brake bleed - handbrake quite good, as is the foot-brake amazingly
Earth chasing to resolve lights issue
Throttle cable to replace, existing one now sticking
Exhaust blow to resolve, might just be a dry joint
Swap good tyres on
Mixture to adjust as running very rich
Power steering pipe leak to resolve
Rebound straps to reattach/check/replace
Check starter motor which has become lazy, possible earth issue
Renew thermostat and overflow bottle caps
I'm not cancelling my order, a spare condenser and rotor arm is still a useful thing to have.
That meant that this could happen.
Marvel at the fact it is now facing the opposite direction and it got there all by itself. To try and solve the mystery of the sticking clutch we decided to bleed it... which was the opposite of nice.
New clutch fluid in and the clutch works much, much better though the gear lever may need a little adjustment as it now feels a little sloppier than even a Princess gear lever ought to. We'd also flushed the water through which was brown and manky and full of horribleness but is now lovely and clean. Engine bay shows the signs of where we've been.
The fuel gauge, temperature gauge and ammeter now work. Speedometer works. Clock still doesn't.
The jobs that we know are left to do are quite minimal now:
Suspension pump
Brake bleed - handbrake quite good, as is the foot-brake amazingly
Earth chasing to resolve lights issue
Throttle cable to replace, existing one now sticking
Exhaust blow to resolve, might just be a dry joint
Swap good tyres on
Mixture to adjust as running very rich
Power steering pipe leak to resolve
Rebound straps to reattach/check/replace
Check starter motor which has become lazy, possible earth issue
Renew thermostat and overflow bottle caps
Re: '80 & '81 Austin Morris Princess and a '75 Renault 6TL
Sounds like a very good days work 
At this rate it won't be long before you are out and about in it.
At this rate it won't be long before you are out and about in it.Understeer: when you hit the wall with the front of the car.
Oversteer: when you hit the wall with the back of the car.
Horsepower: how fast you hit the wall.
Torque: how far you take the wall with you.
Oversteer: when you hit the wall with the back of the car.
Horsepower: how fast you hit the wall.
Torque: how far you take the wall with you.
Re: '80 & '81 Austin Morris Princess and a '75 Renault 6TL
We have this notion of being really mean and booking both Princesses in for the same day at the same MoT station, one after the other, so my brother and I can drive them over together.
Re: '80 & '81 Austin Morris Princess and a '75 Renault 6TL
Do this!vulgalour wrote:We have this notion of being really mean and booking both Princesses in for the same day at the same MoT station, one after the other, so my brother and I can drive them over together.
But do it wearing matching 1970s suits with the flared breeks, wide lapels, kipper ties, etc. 
Jason King wigs optional.J
"Home is where you park it", so the saying goes. That may yet come true..
"Home is where you park it", so the saying goes. That may yet come true..
Re: '80 & '81 Austin Morris Princess and a '75 Renault 6TL
John Shuttleworth might revere the Ambassador, but I revere Mr King's sartorial choices.