Pickup restoration part three

[davidmiles]

so, with no other alternative open to me I double checked the wiring behind the clock, and lo and behold, where's the red and white ignition switch wire that goes into the back of the switch, the connector is there...[frame][/frame]

What on earth is it doing plugged into the panel lights, the Autopic's mechanic was last in here, won't be taking it there in future.[frame][/frame]

[Neil MG]

Hang on David the ignition wire is white with a red stripe not red with white!

The panel light switch is correct.

[mogbob]

Dave
Bingo !!... put it back, in it's rightful place, on the ignition switch (Terminal 1) with a fresh female connector solder / crimped on.Battery off, whilst you are doing it. *** noting Neil MG's comments.Check the the Red/ white or White Red goes to the stater solenoid by checking continuity ,everything disconnected.
The trained mechanic obviously missed the sessions on auto electrics.Probably thought the White / Red on the ignition ought to go with his two mates Red/ whites, feeding the two panels lights !!
I'd clean up the alternator holding nuts/bolts and adjuster clamp nut /bolt, to make sure the Alternator is getting a good earth.
Maybe the orginal alternator was fine and didn't need checking out.You might be able to get a refund on the new one or a credit note ?
I'd also be having a word with Autopics, based on your photographic evidence, they appear to have not consulted a wiring diagram when moving the wire.
Bob

[davidmiles]

yes guys, they had wired up the ignition switch incorrectly, the panel light switches are not, as Neil says, involved, I took out the clock and ignition switch and consulted your earlier advice Bob re- wire positions and as you say Bingo. Ignition started, red and orange lights went on for a second then went out, and my panel lights work too...[frame][/frame]
and a good strong charge going into the battery, job done. I'll have a gentle word with Autopics, just so they don't do that to anyone else's minor, might get a free tune into the bargain, on second thoughts, I'm going to tune it myself. Garages are out of the picture for the time being.[frame][/frame]

[davidmiles]

Spare alternator, as Bob suggested, re-fit and get a refund on the new one, well, In the next 18 months I'll be looking for a new project, it might come in handy, having a spare isn't a burden, though I could imagine collecting a garage full of parts just in case.lol[frame][/frame]
I'll give it a clean up and place it in the workshop bottom draw.

[drivewasher]

David,
Don't leave those two on their own in a darkened box! Otherwise you'll end up with a baby window winder motor

[davidmiles]

Hi Steve, I'll wrap one up in rubber.

[mogbob]

Dave
Things working as they should and the voltmeter confirms the Alternator is pumping out 13.62 volts

and breathe.......... well done.
Bob

[davidmiles]

ok, she's charging, but my early morning run to work was fraught with misfires and mild backfires, being a Morris Minor officianado I felt I was letting the side down a bit, holding up the traffic at the lights till I could gradually climb up to 30mph.
so where's my problem? could it be timing or mixture?[frame][/frame]

grey means a weak petrol to air mixture while deep black means a too rich a mixture of petrol, well I seem to have both, that figures as I've run these plugs with the old and new carb, but the grey looks to be on top of the black.[frame][/frame]

[MarkyB]

What grade plugs are they?
If one cylinder isn't firing all the time for whatever reason it will look like it's running rich as unburned mixture gets left behind.
Have a look at the running engine in the dark and see if sparks are going astray.

[mogbob]

Dave
Supplementary question to MarkyB's...what gap do you have on the plugs ? They are looking a little " tight " to me in the picture.
0.025 " ?
Bob

[kevin s]

What are the colours cylinder by cylinder, if it is a pair which are grey (1&2 or 3&4) you could have a inlet manifold air leak.

kevin

[Neil MG]

What make are the plugs? It seems Champion have a reputation for failing prematurely (and even straight out of the box). I had exactly the same problem recently on another car cured by fitting new (NGK) plugs.

[horologiumwatches]

Really? Me and my dad have used Champion N9YC plugs for years and years and I've never had one fail, still I do tend to change them at quite a low service interval, so perhaps I'm not asking much of them.

[davidmiles]

Bob, the gap is 0.60mm as that is the closest I have to 0.025inch, the plugs all look the same Kev, and Neil they are Champion spark plugs. Ive not been able to do another timing check, Ive been listening keenly to engines of a different type today, celebrated Armed Forces day at Tankfest in Bovington, now time for a beer or two to toast all those in Afghan.[frame][/frame][frame][/frame]
Happy armed forces day everyone

[mogbob]

Dave
With Electronic ignition and a brand new carb it shouldn't take long to lick it into shape.

Run through the basics before tweeking the carb.
Eliminate or check that there aren't any air leaks.Manifold inlet and exhaust bolts tight, carb to manifold bolts tight.
Air filter not clogged or needing replacing.
Spark plugs, I'd clean them up now... so the change in carburettor and it's settings, can be observed ( with existing colouring on the plugs you won't notice the effect of your changes ).Soft brass brush and meths and an old paint brush to wash away the crud.
The plugs and the gap should be OK for your purposes.
Cables, levers etc. free to move and lightly oiled for ease of operation.

Earlier comments on a duff plug / HT lead may still be a possibility.Ensuring that the plugs are all burning the same colour ( Kevin's Point ) is essential to establish a. you haven't got a manifold leak and b.you've got the mixture right.

Mixture.
Symptoms of a weak mixture are ( but don't have to include all of them !! and assumes everything else has been eliminated )

A "lumpy" and irregular idle
Flat spot when accelerating
lack of power
"popping- back" in the carb, due to late burning charge igniting the fresh mixture
overheating
If the mixture is too weak, it may not burn at all, especially if the engine is cold
( source The Auto Expert,Simple Engine Tuning by Rodney Jacques, T.Eng.(CEI,MIRTE

So I would get the cleaned up plugs back in, check everything done up tight, all electrical stuff pushed back on securely and adjust the carb for a slightly richer mixture.Get engine up to working temperature.
You want the Jet adjuster turned down, which looking down ..on top of the bar is a clockwise twist on the spanner.
As ever record the moves.. how many flat sides of the adjuster nut you've moved ( either richer or weaker / up or down whatever you prefer).Wait ten seconds or so for the change to register.
As before, blip the accelerator every now and again to clear any unburnt fuel.Using the lift pin on the side of the carb you want the revs to increase, momentarily and then settle back to a regular tickover / idle.
When you lift the pin ,if revs stay high 'i.e don't drop back again, mixture is too rich.If the engine struggles to keep going or dies/ stops... it's too weak.
Bob

[davidmiles]

thanks Bob, I'll go through that advice step by step, struggled to start this morning, then as I drove down a quiet side road nearby, no acceleration, misfires, flats spots, no power. It's could be weak mixture, but I'm not sure yet.

[davidmiles]

yes things are improving, more power, less kangarooing, still some flat spots that I think I can flatten out if I carry on with the adjustments. Replaced the HT leads with my spare set and wound the needle nut to the jet in the carburettor clockwise when viewed from above, seems it was a weak mixture causing all the trouble. Improvement with each turn of a flat. Ive marked the nut on one flat with a blue marker, helps with the counting. Lets see how smooth I can get her to run.

[davidmiles]

running smoothly on idle, still can't go above 30mph, some kangarooing, so the weights in the distributer could need a drop of engine oil to free them, just a drop on the spindle under the rotor arm applied with a q-tip.[frame][/frame]

then a test run and a loud noise became more prominent, a hiss of escaping gas, no Idea where it was coming from, then I remembered Bob's advice re the checks, I placed my finger tip near the manifold away from the influence of the fan, I could feel gas escaping from the joint between the exhaust and manifold. A tell tale sooty deposit in the joint spelled it out loud and clear. I've had trouble here before...[frame][/frame]

[davidmiles]

so off it all came, and I noticed that the exhaust was offering resistance when held in the correct position, even with wood wedges holding the exhaust in position there was a tendency to spring back out of position.[frame][/frame]

checking positioning further down, I noticed the mid way exhaust clamp was leaning toward the front, so I loosened the bolts and let it sit in it's natural position. This let the exhaust to manifold join lay together without the springing out of alignment.[frame][/frame][frame][/frame]
you can just make out the witness marks where the exhaust was held. All it needed was a few millimetres.