> I have had a condenser on a 1934 Morris fail suddenly so that the engine
> simply stopped there and then and would'nt restart. I have also
> experienced
> more than once the same problem with my TR but due to instant
> failure of the
> rotor arm, don't know the US term for that but I mean the bakelite bit in
> the distributor!
"Rotor arm" will do, even here in the US.
If you do find a bad rotor, best to examine the rest of the high tension
system as well. One of our local club members had a rotor fail completely
(engine stopped running) less than 200 miles after he replaced it.
Root cause turned out to be a bad plug wire, which was letting the engine
run but putting extra stress on all the high tension components. The rotor
was just the weakest link. Apparently it had formed a carbon track inside
the rotor, connecting the brass conductor on top with the distributor shaft.
Even knowing the carbon track had to be there, I couldn't see it, except as
a tiny spot that was ever so slightly less shiny than the rest of the
surface, inside the cavity.
Plug wires that look perfectly good may have problems, especially the
"carbon core" wires. Best check, IMO, is to measure the resistance while
pulling gently on each end. Anything over 10K ohms is suspect. Carbon core
wires should especially not be used with the stock dizzy cap on TR2-4A, as
the carbon will burn away from the piercing point in the cap.
Randall
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