Lotus Europa Community
Lotus Europa Forums => Garage => Topic started by: califkid_66 on Monday,July 01, 2024, 07:15:57 PM
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Went for a ride was ok then went on the highway higher rpm started having misfires felt like one cylinder on off then it got worst so I turned around made it home but was missing a lot and loss of power
Trying to figure out what it could be
I ordered new rotor distributor cap and new spark plug wires I didn’t check the plugs yet any idea what happened what could cause this
Thanks !
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Misfires only at higher RPM is less likely to be a bad coil in my experience, but still good to swap it for troubleshooting.
I've had that caused by partially clogged main jets recently - rapidly pumping the pedal would make things better via the accelerator pump.
Points or electronic ignition?
Running through the entire tune-up procedure from start to finish (static advance, dwell, idle tune, etc) is never a bad idea if it's been a while.
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Started missing at high rpm but now missing in all range not drivable feels like it’s running on 3 cylinders then 4 fourth starts up once in a while
Starting to think the coil is going bad
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Rather than replacing parts and hoping for the best, test what you have and eliminate things one at a time. You can test your ignition wires, coil and rotor (if it has a resistor) with an ohmmeter. Fuel pressure can be checked with an inexpensive gauge and flow can be checked with a small container. Ignition caps can be checked visually. If it is arcing, you can see the carbon tracks.
There are three things that are difficult to diagnose without specialized and rare test equipment: condenser, spark plugs (miss firing under load) and coil (internal short under load or when hot).
I always start with the basics:
- compression
- valve adjust (probably not required in this case)
- timing
- fuel pressure and volume
If everything checks out, then try new plugs (easy and cheap), condenser and coil, one at a time. Still no go? You didn't check things carefully enough!
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What do your spark plugs look like? Are they all firing?
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I didn’t have a chance to check yet but this morning I had to move the Europa and it started right up but seems to be running on three
I did not remove the spark plugs yet
I have electronic ignition I was thinking either bad spark plug wire bad plug
I’ll update when I start checking the components
Thanks again for your help
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An ignition test pen is your friend (https://www.ebay.com/itm/315379183161).
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I have one ! Just have to find it
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We've all been there!
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Ok just pulled the plugs out
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You are burning a lot of oil on that one cylinder. Fit a set of new plugs and see if that clears the running problem.
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Not yet JB !! Let start with a compression test
I didn’t open the carb just put my dad’s compression tester cranked a few times pretty happy with the readings
140 148 146 140
That’s a 5.4 percent difference between highest and lowest
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Unfortunately, compression and oil consumption are not related. You can have great compression and burn oil at a rate to make a Saudi Sheik grin with glee. You can also burn virtually no oil and have 0 compression. Fit the new plugs. Everything running fine? Good, cancel the new ignition parts and plan on pulling the head to see what is up.
Twice, my former boss built up engines with the rings installed upside down. Ran great. Lots of compression. Burned oil like crazy. Installed the rings properly and all good again.
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I changed the plugs adjusted the gap cleaned the idle jet and mixture screw adjusted the carb and idle it run great !
It was running to rich
Now I want to check the timing what would be the timing on Renault 821
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Disconnect the vacuum advance. Rev the engine up to 5k and set the timing to 36° - 38° BTDC. Now check the timing at idle and mark it down for next time.
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Ok thanks I will
I want to put the crossflow in it but I have to many projects for now
I’m gonna run it like this for this summer
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If you can figure out how long it takes for that plug to foul, you can just swap them about in half that time and you'll go a long ways.
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I’ll just remove it once in a while to check
I really like that engine it’s got lots of pep
and I checked I do about 32 mpg
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Well it didn’t last very long went for a ride on the way back loss of power overheating couldn’t make it up a hill car died at first I thought water pump belt but no now I’m sitting in the Europa on the side of the road waiting for it to cool down
I think maybe something that did not help is I usually put a special blend of oil not sure if it’s
20 w 50 or 20w 40
I got 10w30 in it and it’s really hot today and I’m not sure my fan turned on
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Oh no!
Hate it when things go awry. As long as the oil is moderately close to full, it wouldn't cause overheating.
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:I-agree: It doesn't appear to me that oil is your problem. Maybe your thermostat stuck closed. Were you getting misfires again? Could there be a water leak?
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I let it cool down a bit checked the coolant level was ok oil level is ok removed the cylinder 1 plug was a but sooty and dry
I have a ignition spark tester I tried on two cylinders I got spark but the spark was orange if I remember yesterday when I checked the spark in the tester it was white
It did start but barely idles and dies
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Heat related? Condenser? (If you're still rocking points).
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I have electronic ignition I ordered a distributor cap rotor and spark plug wires was supposed to arrive today but it’s going to be Monday I’m thinking could be coil but I have two and the numbers were the same
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I suspect my ignition coil is bad I have ne rotor distributor cap and spark plug wires
What kind of coil can I put can I buy one at Napa that would work I know absolutely nothing about coils but I read when they go bad they get weaker and I think this is my problem right now
So I’m looking to find one i can buy at an auto parts online takes a couple of days
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Pertronix requires a 3 ohm coil. Your electronic ignition, if it's from a different manufacturer may require something else.
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Blue Streak UC12X
NAPA Echlin UNI IC1600
PerTronix 40611 Flame-Thrower
Bosch "blue" coil
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I have petronix
Thanks for the list of coils
I recieved all my part but I’m gonna
Install the new coil before trying to start it
Thanks again
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Just tested the coil in the Europa and a spare , spare had the primary at 3.3 and secondary OL
I have 3.4 primary and secondary OL on the Europa
Does that mean they are both bad or am I doing something wrong
Thanks again!
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Uni ic1600 says use with external resistors
The coil I have says use without external resistors I tested uni ic1600
and had 1.1 primary and OL secondary
If I install the Uni ic1600 do I need to install a resistor
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If you have points or pertronix, you do not want to go below 3 ohms of primary resistance.
The resistance on the secondary circuit (between either of the primary terminal and the secondary terminal) should be very high but still measurable.
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I ordered one with internal resistance that fits Renault r16
While I was changing thé distributor cap I noticed the bushings in the distributor are worn out bad
I have the Petronix and it rubbed on the magnet The shaft as a lot of movement I have a distributor from r17 that I can probably take the bushings from or make my own on my lathe
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Bushings? I would expect bearings.
I should take a look at my Dist.
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I have a r17 distributor for my crossflow it as bushings so I imagine the distributor on the 831 is bushings to
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Ok so I’m using a Klein multimeter only one setting for resistance I was using it wrong so I tested primary and secondary and the coil is good
So I decided to start from the beginning and test everything I started with compression test again
and this is where I stopped !!!
My compression was good the first time changed the plugs ran great until I broke down no power overheating
Before breaking down 140 148 146 140
Testing compression now 111 97 145 146
I’m going to remove the valve cover to check valve clearance but im thinking I have a blown head gasket
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Just an idea... if your motor got really hot, you might have warped your head. When you take it off, you should check it.
Also, I prefer leakdown tests to compression tests. Doing that, you would have a better idea what the problem is.
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I’m not really sure what I’m going to do yet I have a crossflow sitting in the garage I could put it in
I could change the head gasket and put new valve stems but there’s more issues to that engine the crank seal as a leak I could do a quick fix and just put a new head gasket
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Bushings? I would expect bearings.
I should take a look at my Dist.
Sintered bronze bushings. There is no side load on the shaft; bushings are fine to locate the shaft properly.
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You wouldn’t happen to have the dimensions for the bushings
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Finally got to check the Europa
Got my starter rebuilt it had a hard time turning the engine over the brushes were barely touching
Got a new compression tester one that screws in adjusted my valves before then
Did a compression test 155 148 40 115
I put a tablespoon of oil in the cylinder that had 40 psi and it went up to 152
I guess that’s it I have to pull it out so that’s gonna be my winter project !!