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My 850 4l isn't starting....

pepper

Pepper The One and Only!
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Hmm my little 4l is being a non starter, it has been getting more and more difficult to start in the morning, and when it does fire, it splutters and misfires until it clears then once even slightly warm will be fine for the rest of the day.

Tonight it won't even start like that, it has spluttered a few times, and that's all. Plugs are wet. Have checked there's a spark which there is although the coil is very hot. Gap is fine on the points.

Before I splurge the parts canon at the ignition system, anyone got any pointers?

I am looking at buying replacement ignition parts, so where's the best place to get them from?

Thanks in advance.
 
First of all replace the condenser. Have a look at the points, too, for pitting or burning. A very hot coil signs that something is wrong on the low tension side.
 
First of all replace the condenser. Have a look at the points, too, for pitting or burning. A very hot coil signs that something is wrong on the low tension side.

+1 on that! Another way to check if the condenser's on the way out is to switch the ignition on and turn the engine so the points are closed. Then, using something PLASTIC, open the points. If you see an appreciable flash or hear a clearly audible click, the condenser has probably died, since all the current is flowing through the points. When the condenser is functioning properly on opening the points the flash is hardly visible & the sound no more than a small tick. Unfortunately visual examination of a condenser won't show anything!
 
I bought a job lot of nos points & condensers recently so replaced mine..one tip I found useful is to wipe clean the new points faces with alcohol, also to set the dwell with a meter as I found they close up every time I tightened the screw to fix them in place & a dwell reading made a huge difference to me getting my timing spot on.
 
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