Some times it pays to look at what you were doing before the problem started. You say you were working under the dashboard on your fuel guage wiring.

Have you checked the voltage regulator connections to the back of the tacho. Poor connection leads to an intermitant fault. Bad connection means the car won't start.

Just another thing to double check, before needlessly taking stuff to bits.

Kind regards,
John.

John

Many thanks for suggestions etc.

I am in London during the week and have been mentally reversing what I did at the weekend. The engine starts fine and all the electrics work (except the horn).

Regards
Mike

Hi Mike.

Strange one!

The connections on the coil should be marked +ve and -ve, or perhaps SW and CB. Your car is negative earth? If so, the -ve and the CB (contact breaker) should be the same; similarly for +ve and SW (switch).

Basically, the ignition switch provides a live supply to the +ve (SW) of the coil when on, and the -ve (CB) of the coil goes to the contact breaker points - with the other end of the points going to earth.

What's being suggested in the post above is to take a live feed directly to the +ve of the coil, and your engine should fire up when cranked. If it keeps on running beyond 30 seconds, you can guess the fault is electrical and to do with the switched supply to the coil. (Bare in mind the car WON'T stop when the key is subsequently turned off - you'll have to disconnect your new wire!)

A fuel fault CAN sometimes cause the engine to stop 'dead'. Usually it doesn't, as fuel faults are usually partial - eg: a reduced flow, but if the bowl completely runs dry, your engine will stop dead! You say you have an electric fuel pump? You can check it by disconnecting the pipe to the carb, and placing it in a container and turning on the ignition to see if the flow is solid, and whether it stops/slows down after 30 seconds. I obviously don't have to tell you to be careful when doing this kind of task...

Something to try: you say that the car won't fire up again until after 30 seconds sitting after having conked out? Can you whip off a plug lead IMMEDIATELY the car stalls and crank it over to see if there's a spark during this time (just stick a nail down the plug cover, and place it near an earth point - but not touching). If no spark until 30 seconds later, you have an electrical fault.

Does your car have a ballast resistor feeding the coil? Has this been by-passed? This could cause the coil to overheat - tho' I CAN'T see it happening in only 30 seconds (just scrabbling for ideas, here!).

On balance, I don't know of any relays that are used in the ignition system, so can't see how that could be the problem. Conking out consistently after 30, or so, seconds, does sound more fuelish, I think.

(The elec stuff above is based on my old Ford-based Marlin. Obviously check it applies to your car too, please...)

Oh, you don't have an alarm system/immobiliser fitted, do you?! They can cause STRANGE problems if they go faulty...

Hi Mike. The connections on the coil would not cause your problem, If the connections are reversed it would just mean that the spark will jump from the outside of the plug to the centre. The car would run but not as well as when the spark goes thhe other way. When you were fiddling with the fuel gauge did you have the ignition swith on. With points ignition if the ignition is left on and the points have stopped in the closed condition then the coil will overheat and the internal insulation can break down. The coil is made to work with a pulse supply and not constant DC. I would suggest that possibly the coil is damged and therefore small amount of temperature will affect it's operation. Try borrowing a coil known to be good to substitute the original. Hope this helps

Hi
I am going to look at a NGTCRV8 with a possible prchase in mind and was wondering if any of you guys could give me any tips on what to look out for.
Thanks in advance.
Rob

You can actually drive it, the pedal area is small, so big feet and shoes are out, at least they are in mine.
I have a narrow pair of trainers I wear for driving my car.
Engine and gearbox for rattles and oil leaks.
Oil pressure, I am assuming it is a rover V8. Oil pressure is low in these engines, but should reach 20-30 when warm.
Suspension wise, if MGB based, all parts are easily obtainable.
Other than that, if it doesn't feel right, walk away.
Out of interest, is it the blue one that was on Ebay recently?
You may also want to start this thread again as a new one.
Hope this helps.

Martin

Thanks Martin,
Yes it is the blue one on e-bay,rover 3.5 haven't owned one before so all is new to me,will bear in mind what you've advised.
Thanks again.