mgs
[Top] [All Lists]

Re: Stumper

To: "Robert Alan Reisse" <rareisse@postoffice.worldnet.att.net>,
Subject: Re: Stumper
From: "Paul Hunt" <paul.hunt1@blueyonder.co.uk>
Date: Tue, 23 Nov 2004 13:38:49 -0000
Yes, they do go bad.  This shouldn't be frequent but like anything else
available these days there is some crap about.  Howe old was the old one?
You can't prevent it unless you replace them as a routine operation, but
then you are just as likely to introduce a faulty item as a replacement for
a perfectly good 'old' one.  There shouldn't be any wear on the rotor as it
only contacts the centre carbon contact and not the outer contacts on the
cap.  Caps can also go bad.  In 35 years I have had one cap fail, and a cap
or rotor (couldn't be bothered to diagnose which just replaced both), both
in the last 5 years or so.  I don't normally carry a cap and rotor as spares
like I do with a couple of plugs, points and condenser, although I haven't
had any of those fail on the road at all in 35 years.  Carry spares if it
makes you feel better, they don't take up much room after all.

A bad engine ground will affect cranking and charging far sooner than it
will affect the HT spark.  There are several alternative ground paths
(accelerator, choke, heater cables) available that will carry HT current
perfectly satisfactorily, less so cranking current.

The rotor problem was simply allowing the HT current to go directly to
ground much easier than it having to jump the gap in the cap and at the
plugs.

PaulH.

----- Original Message -----
From: "Robert Alan Reisse" <rareisse@postoffice.worldnet.att.net>
To: <mgs@Autox.Team.Net>
Cc: <mgs@Autox.Team.Net>
Sent: Monday, November 22, 2004 10:42 PM
Subject: Stumper


> So what happened?  Why did the rotors fail? How can I prevent this from
> happening again? Should I carry around spare rotors?  Points and Cap, yes,
> but I never really consider the rotor to go bad other than a little bit of
> wear.  Not total replacement.
>
> ...  So no bad engine ground.




<Prev in Thread] Current Thread [Next in Thread>
  • Stumper, Robert Alan Reisse
    • Re: Stumper, Paul Hunt <=
    • Re: Stumper, Charles & Peggy Robinson