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Stalling in damp weather

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Old Jul 28th, 2020, 17:11   #1
JCM
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Default Stalling in damp weather

My '87 240 GL Auto saloon has been getting worse in failing to start or stalling in damp weather. Once stopped nothing will start it unless left for some hours. It starts on the button normally and even in very cold dry weather. New HT leads and king coil were installed two years ago, new exhaust and 'pulsair' system four years ago and a new distributor cap and arm eight years ago, the mileage now being 175k. Plugs are changed every two years. Apart from this irritating fault the car runs perfectly and can really keep up with modern machinery on the motorways. Any advice will be most welcome.
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Old Jul 28th, 2020, 18:49   #2
Clifford Pope
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The obvious cause is of course damp.
I had this problem about a year ago, and eventually I pinpointed the culprit as the main earthing point hidden at one end of the battery, down the slot next to the inner wing. There was corrosion at the bolt holding the battery earth strap, and several other leads. The solution was to undo the bolt, clean up the wing surface down to shiny metal, emery the terminal connectors, and refit using a new bolt smeared with special electrical grease.

The other prime suspect is the fuse box. Water can drip over it from a leaking windscreen seal, corrosion in the drainage channel or door pillar, or damaged paper seals behind the fuse board. It can also splash up from the drainage outlet under the bottom of the wing, if you have been through a puddle.

Try cleaning up all the fuses and using electrical grease. It's worth periodically twiddling the fuses just in case.

Does your car have a fuel pump relay behind the glove box? Damp from a corroded scuttle drain, leaking wiper seal, or windscreen seal can get into the relay and corrode the circuit board.
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Old Jul 29th, 2020, 07:30   #3
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Morning , remove & inspect your distributor cap and leads . Wipe away any moisture and dirt using brake cleaner , WD & similar works for short time but attracts dirt bringing fault back . Look inside & out of cap for what might be a crack or tracking mark causing misfire . clean rotor arm AND also clean the top of the coil between the turret & the low tension connectors . A worn dizzy cap could cause problems you describe , it may be time to spend a few sheckles on new bits

Anyone who owned a BL car or most British makes to be fair , in the 60's/ 70's & 80's would be subject to the issue regularly . Always start with simple to sort / assess parts & delve deeper as you go , the point you make of leaving it for some time & it starts again ,could indicate the moisture drying off with engine heat , temporarily " cured "
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Old Aug 2nd, 2020, 13:01   #4
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Dizzy cap and rotor 8 years ago I think you have answered your problem right there. You really had your money's worth out of them
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Old Aug 4th, 2020, 02:02   #5
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Dizzy cap and rotor 8 years ago I think you have answered your problem right there. You really had your money's worth out of them
Very sensible :-)
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Old Nov 18th, 2020, 14:46   #6
JCM
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Default Stalling in damp weather

The solution to the problem appears to have been bad corrosion on the central contact on top of the dizzy cap to the king coil ht lead. The contacts on the cap were made of an aluminium type metal and on the ht lead were brass, setting up what I imagine was a galvanic process resulting in a powdery corrosion. This had spread to the ht lead brass contact - the corrosion was no doubt sensitive to outside damp as well as restricting tight contact. Fitting a new dizzy cap with proper brass contacts (courtesy Classic Swede) and vigorous cleaning of the ht contact has restored instant starting in all weathers. Thanks to all especially dingov70's sage advice to start with the simplest remedy first. Nevertheless, the new parts fitted before finding the cause are an investment in future reliability and peace of mind when on a 'smart' motorway !
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Old Nov 18th, 2020, 15:49   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JCM View Post
The solution to the problem appears to have been bad corrosion on the central contact on top of the dizzy cap to the king coil ht lead. The contacts on the cap were made of an aluminium type metal and on the ht lead were brass, setting up what I imagine was a galvanic process resulting in a powdery corrosion. This had spread to the ht lead brass contact - the corrosion was no doubt sensitive to outside damp as well as restricting tight contact. Fitting a new dizzy cap with proper brass contacts (courtesy Classic Swede) and vigorous cleaning of the ht contact has restored instant starting in all weathers. Thanks to all especially dingov70's sage advice to start with the simplest remedy first. Nevertheless, the new parts fitted before finding the cause are an investment in future reliability and peace of mind when on a 'smart' motorway !
Thank you for reporting back with the solution - that helps everyone.

Alan
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Old Nov 22nd, 2020, 06:45   #8
AndrewBrown
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I use a dab of Dielectric Tune-Up Grease in the top terminals of the cap, coil and plug leads

search on ebay for "Dielectric Tune-Up Grease"
or Dielectric Grease

there's a few choices on there never had problems from corrosion in caps
since
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