ignition problems developed

[cococola]

Well I drove Morris on friday and thew car was running rough and misfiring so I went back home,looked under the bonnet and saw a spark at the top of my ignition coil. I have since tried to start the car with no joy and further investigation shows no spark at the plugs as well as a crack on the coil top which was seeping oil.
I have replaced the coil with a good spare that I had and still no spark,My car has Accuspark electronic ignition (fitted 4 years ago) and I wonder if this is burnt out/failed as a result of the faulty coil please?
Im not sure weather to order a replacement Accuspark coil and replacement electronic kit maybe?

[kevin s]

Are the coils the same impedance? some electronic systems have a special low impedance coil and won't produce a spark with a standard one.

If you want the new one to last it might be worth moving it to the body, they don't seem to last on the engine.

[cococola]

I've moved the coil to the inner wing previously so the option is probably a replacement coil,matching to a new electronic ignition unit.

[MCYorks]

further investigation shows no spark at the plugs as well as a crack on the coil top which was seeping oil.
I have replaced the coil with a good spare that I had and still no spark,My car has Accuspark electronic ignition (fitted 4 years ago) and I wonder if this is burnt out/failed as a result of the faulty coil please?

Take extra care if the coil is older than the mid 1980's and it's seeping oil, because they can contain PCBs, which are toxic.
If the coil has failed then it could well have taken the Accuspark electronic ignition with it. First of all, you could try double checking the wiring on your spare coil and to the Accuspark module, for any loose or poor connections.
Reading previous forum posts, it appears that some of the modern replacement coils seem to be of dubious quality. However, it's important to fit the correct coil for the system you have installed.
I suppose if you order a replacement Accuspark electronic module and their recommended coil, then they should at least come with a warranty.

[oliver90owner]

Reading the thread, if there was an ignition spark from the first coil, the electronic bits were OK - at that point.

What may be wrong since is anyone’s guess. I suspect the replacement coil fitted was a duff one, but it’s not me doing the job. I would have checked the coil before connecting to the electronics.

[geoberni]

My Accuspark Coil failed, not with a crack & leak, it just stopped working due to a broken solder joint inside, but I replaced it with a standard modern Lucas Coil without any problems.
So don't have any concern about the Accuspark being something special/different.

I would question the 'good spare', check for broken cables/connections etc

This quote concerns me....

...saw a spark at the top of my ignition coil.

What?
Where was this spark jumping between?

[paul 300358]

What may be wrong since is anyone’s guess. I suspect the replacement coil fitted was a duff one, but it’s not me doing the job. I would have checked the coil before connecting to the electronics.

I was under the impression that Mr Cococola has two vehicles, very easy to test the coil on the other car. It will work or it wont.

If it's ok, check that you have 12 volts at the coil and the check the continuity of the low tension lead to the distributor. All easy tests to do.

[cococola]

Yes Ive tried the coil from my other Minor and it is still the same so Ive ordered a coil and electronic kit from Accuspark as I feel that this is probably needed now after carrying out the tests.I will report back once fitted.
Many thanks

[cococola]

Well I've now replaced the coil and electronic ignition with new Accuspark parts and still no spark.
I've also swapped from my running Traveller the Dizzy cap and leads, rotor arm new spark plugs and I'm at a dead end again

[geoberni]

Have you actually done any circuit testing, looking for 12 v (and cable continuity) in the right places?

Everything you've written here has been swapping bits around without mentioning doing the basics first.

As paul said earlier...

check that you have 12 volts at the coil and check the continuity of the low tension lead to the distributor.

[oliver90owner]

Do remember, checking voltage with no current can be very misleading. But it is better than not checking anything at all.

[geoberni]

Do remember, checking voltage with no current can be very misleading. But it is better than not checking anything at all.

I agree on both points (no pun intended)....
But even irrespective of whether the car is +ve or -ve earth, if everything is connected, then there should be 12v at the White Cable coming from the 'Accessory' supply, it will just Pos or Neg .
If the 'Points' (literal or electronic) are closed then it will read the Volts drop across the primary of the Coil, so perhaps drop to reading 11v.

All figures approximate depending on actual batter voltage, value of coil winding etc.

[cococola]

Sorry I've Checked 12v at coil and continuity on Lt lead.
Today I've followed on by checked wiring from ignition switch to coil and there apears to be a break in the wiring because when I wiggle the wires, I get an intermittent reading on my multimeter.
I've run a new wire from the switch to the coil and bingo! we have a running Morris.
Thank you all so much for advice, I'm still a learner even at my age and I really appreciate everybody's help.

[geoberni]

Good, I'm very glad you found it.
You have been a good example of why the best fault finding is a methodical approach and not scatter gun.

Have a good look at the terminations on the original wire, you might find they are the problem, being corroded inside.

[cococola]

I love the electrical side if things on cars and it is something that interests me greatly.
I will certainly check the other wires as a matter of course because we sometimes forget how old our cars are I think.