missing spark!

[ANDYIOW]

Hi there, I am new to this forum and have just purchased a Holden EK ( Cameo Beige Special, Hydra-matic) over here in the UK.
On Saturday she stopped dead a short way from home. She would turn over but without firing at all and no sign of a spark from end of plug leads or at the points. I got her towed home and investigated. Every now and then if left she would fire up and run for 5-10 second then stop. At this point when tested the spark had gone again. I tried a second hand coil (not tested) with similar results. I remade the wires to and from the coil. I finally removed the condensor then refitted . still no solid joy just short bursts of engine running then no spark. This morning however I went out to give her a go, she started first time and will run for as long as I leave her, this evening was the same. I am now stumped as what was the original cause. I have no spare electrical parts so am reluctant to test drive her on the road. Everything on the car seams original, the dizzy is to the far rear on the left hand side of the motor, she still runs a dynamo. Any help would be gratefully accepted
Andy

[fbvan]

Andy
Have you checked the battery leads. It sounds like something simple. A loose connection is my bet.
While you are there remember we love pictures.
It must be rare to see one of these over there, where did you find it?

Regards

[parisian62]

Welcome to the Forum Andy. You must take the trophy for the most distant member?

I'm not much help with tracking down the problem but you're certainly in the right place.

Love to see and hear more about the history of your Cameo and how it ended up in the UK.

Stewart

[MeFB]

Certainly sounds like something simple. I know you said you re-made the coil connections, but did this include the HT lead to the dizzy cap and the 12V wire going from the -'ve on the coil to the dizzy? I've had problems with the 12V -'ve wire before (when driving across the Nullabor from Sydney to Perth in an EK ute). Best to change the wire out as it can be broken / corroded within the insulated portion.

We'd all love to see some pics of the car and hear its story

You'll probably find that the ignition parts are available in the UK as it's Bosch. For example, here's a dizzy cap on UK ebay that replaces the GB74:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/For-BMW-2500- ... 1e5e01f98d

I'm sure most forum members would be happy to help source parts for you.

[Blacky]

Welcome to the forum mate , I was a bit hesitant activating your account as I thought you might be a spammer .
Cant throw any more light on your problem but you have certainly come to the right place to help get it sorted

[ANDYIOW]

Thanks for your help guys, the car was recently for sale in a small Classic dealers near Gatwick airport, I fell in love as I have lived in Oz before and always admired the FB/EKs. I don't really have any history with the car, it was imported over here in 2000. she is pretty much original, no mods to the engine, has a Smiths heater fitted along with sun visor and the larger bonnet mascot. When I can get her out I will take a few photos ( its raining here now) I did remake the cables to and from the coil so maybe that has cured the problem. If anyone can direct me to any more electrical uk parts ie coil, points and condenser that would be great, the Vauxhall sites over here seem pretty useless.
cheers Andy

[MeFB]

Bosch part numbers are:

Plugs – WR10FC
Points – GB504 (see comment below)
Rotor – GB73
Distributor cap – GB74
Condenser – GB61
Coil – SU12 or GT40

You have to be a bit careful with the points. Somewhere they changed from a two-piece design, that came in two halves and had to be fitted over a pivot post and retained with a small R clip, to a single piece unit that already had the pivot pre-assembled. Unfortunately they have exactly the same part number but aren't interchangeable.

To check, take off your dizzy cap. If you see a small R clip on top of the post that the points pivot on, then you have the earlier two-piece design.

These guys carry the dizzy cap, condenser, points (two-piece) and rotors. I'm sure they'll ship to the UK.

http://www.rarespares.net.au/rarespares ... ELECTRICAL

[ANDYIOW]

cheers Alan,
my EK still has the early type points with the r clip, I wonder if we have them over here ?

[WayneXG95]

Andy
You can buy electronic ignition for grays on ebay
Never need points again.