[DML] Re: 911, engine running on 3 cylinders MORE INFO

["twinenginedmc12" <twinenginedmc12@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hello.

Sorry to hear about your wacky ignition.  It sounds like my bike. 
Here are some questions.  


Are you really sure the leads are plugged in?
Is the distributor cap installed slightly crooked? 
Is the rotor installed correctly? 
Can the distributor cap be moved around while installed?  (Don't 
electrocute yourself moving the distributor cap around with the car 
running) 

It sounds very much like the rotor is off center in the distributor 
cap, perhaps closer to one side (the side that fires) than the other 
side (the side that doesn't) or misaligned in some way that nobody 
can visualize, though it's hard to imagine how that could happen.

That's the most plausible explanation I can come up with for THREE 
adjacent leads (on the distributor cap) not firing.  If it were only 
1 lead, I'd think different.

How good is the ignition coil itself?  Ignition coils are cheap, so 
I'd buy a known good new one just to troubleshoot.  Perhaps there is 
a very slight off-centerness in the rotor/cap assembly that's just 
enough to deplete the spark energy from a weak coil, in a way that 
wouldn't happen with a strong coil.

It's not likely to be a grounding problem with the block.  It's tens 
of thousands of volts (unless your coil is bad).  Speaking of which, 
it's probably best not to run the car continuously for long periods 
until you sort this out.  The spark energy that's not making it to 
the plugs is probably being dissipated in the coil.

Good luck.  You'll get it.  It's pretty cool that it runs so well on 
half its cylinders.  Imagine how good it will run will all of them, 
though it's probably going to backfire really terrible on all that 
unburnt gas for a few revolutions.



Rick Gendreau.


> ANYONE WHO HAS ANY IDEA WHY EVEN 1 LEAD/PLUG WOULDNT FIRE PLEASE 
> HELP!
> 
> stupid things i have checked include;
> is only half the engine earthed!
> pulse coil tests 550
> spark leads test 300 (approx)
> cap is on correctly. could the cap "be bad"? there are no 
> cracks/fractures/chips on it. all contacts are equally shiny.
> coil is wired up correctly, but i havent replaced it since i bought 
> the car. i dont remember the part # but it is bosch, black, and 
> has "oil filled coil" stamped on the side.
> 
> if you wanted to make your engine do this, how could you?
> could the aluminium block insulate somehow?
> 
> 
> --- In dmcnews@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx, Steve Stankiewicz 
> <protodelorean@xxxx> wrote:
> >
> > Hi Andy.  I too was surprised that the thing even runs
> > on 3 cylinders, but your removing all three plug wires
> > at once seems pretty conclusive.  Assuming that the
> > wires are on correctly, I'm wondering if you don't
> > have an "even-fire" distributor cap.  Here's how to
> > check:  the original cap for the Delorean was an
> > "odd-fire" one such that if you look straight down on
> > the top of the cap, it should look like three groups
> > of two towers, not 6 evenly spaced.  An even-fire cap
> > will be 6 evenly-spaced towers.  If you can't tell
> > with it installed, it might be easier to just swap the
> > old cap back on as a test.
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > Steve
> > 
> > VIN 2650 ("Project Delorean")
> > www.projectdelorean.com
> > 
> > 
> > 		
> > __________________________________ 
> > Start your day with Yahoo! - Make it your home page! 
> > http://www.yahoo.com/r/hs
> >
>









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