> Date: Sun, 11 May 1997 22:42:42 -0400 (EDT)
> From: JWidell625@aol.com
> Subject: Intermittent starting
>
> Need a little advice. I have a 77 B which has a minor electrical anomaly
> (surprise).
> It will turn over fine on most occasions, then intermittently will just
> activate the starter relay. I've checked the grounds, replaced the relay,
> checked the ignition switch,etc. Several weeks back, someone spoke of diodes
> that may go bad. I've been doing a dianostic check through the Haynes manual
> and noticed these diodes on the schematic. There're in the relay circuit.
> Could these cause the intermittent starts? Also, the starter is fairly new.
> Could it still have a " dead spot"
>
One other thing to consider is the timing. I made this mistake
myself recently, and it produces symptoms similar to what you are
describing. My distributer came loose and slipped to a severly
retarded position. Not having a timing light handy, I turned it to
the right until the idle smoothed out, and tightened it down. I had
to start it few times in my errands for the day, and it would sound
like it was starting to turn, and then just lock up. Other times, it
would start just fine. Upon hooking up the timing light, I realized
that I had advanced the spark to about 35 degrees BTDC. (the marks
don't even go that high, so I'm estimating.) I suppose the plugs
were firing while the pistons were still travelling upwards,
temporarily locking the engine. I don't know why it started fine the
other times. I'm just lucky I didn't do any serious damage. Check
your timing, and make sure you're on spec.
Scott Gardner
gardner@lwcomm.com
www.lwcomm.com/~gardner
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