No spark?

[Jezza]

Once again R1041has let me down the day before a pre-booked event (Coventry Motofair) we were due to attend. Having just got it back a few weeks ago following a complete engine rebuild at SMMC at a cost of nearly £3K now it is refusing to start. No spark at the plugs, checked module with a spare so not that, checked coil with a new one so not that. Spent 4 hours fiddling andchecking and eventually at 9pm gave up and towed it to the nearest garage -suspect problem may be distributor but not sure - heartily fed up.......

[an old original]

I have found the quality of rotor arms and distributor caps (along with countless other replacement bits) very poor. A quick rub with some fine wet&dry every 2-3 months is required and a new one every 6 months (about 4,000 miles) tends to keep it rolling

[Jezza]

Still struggling with starting issues with my ERA. After the no spark issue and two visits to two different garages I now have a car that will not even turn over on the starter motor, no clicking, nothing. New battery which appears to be holding charge and I can't see any obvious wiring problems. It will bump start and runs OK once it is going but will not even turn over on the starter. Once again it seems the summer is passing me by while the car is either in my garage not starting or in various other garages costing me money....

[robr1006]

I had a similar problem on a newly purchased Mini which had been looked at by a garage. They decided that the problem was the positive battery feed which runs the length of the car and terminates on the starter motor. The cable that they fitted was of a heavier gauge and capable of handling higher current draw.

HOWEVER

They failed to clean or renew the earth in the boot which was in very poor condition or to clean the only earth to the engine which runs from the engine stabiliser bracket to the clutch housing. I have renewed this cable and cleaned the bracket to ensure a good contact, and most importantly - fitted an additional earth that links on the bolt where the other cable terminates and runs to a new earthing point on the inner wing under the washer bottle - spins over really well now!

I have heard of cases where the engine earth is so poor that the engine earths back through the choke cable outer casing!

You can check if this is the case if you have a long jump lead by running it from the negative battery terminal to a clean earth on the engine.

As your engine has been out recently all your earths will have been disturbed.

Almost forgot to mention you should ensure that your battery terminals are clean and that the battery leads are properly attached.

Good luck! Looking forward to seeing you later in the year.