[TR] Electrical Gremlin

TERRY SMITH terryrs at comcast.net
Thu May 30 16:54:44 MDT 2019


Good suggestion, Keith.  Thanks.  Yep, did try that.  And Voltage to the coil checks at 12.3 volts.  

At this point, after the engine sits for about ten or so minutes, it'll start and rev quickly, then completely stall.  

I've run the new electric fuel pump for a time into a 5 gallon jug and got good pressure throughout, so concerns about an intermittent weak connection there are reduced.  And I can't see any circuit on that side of the fuse box that could drain all power from it.  I did check all the things Randall mentioned already, even swapped out the battery for another I had (marine for my dump trailer).  I did a complete tune-up...needed one anyway...with new plugs, wires, dizzy cap and rotor.  Tomorrow am going back to square one to check the Pertronix, swapping it back to points.  As some have experienced, I may have gotten a bad set when I replaced it.  I just can't figure what could allow it to start, rev, then die immediately other than, as Randall mentioned, Pertronix likes high voltage and something is robbing it once the engine starts firing. That's why I wonder if the starter or the generator control box might be the culprit.  (BTW, the control box is indeed wired for a generator; I forgot that some time ago I'd switched back to one from the alternator conversion I ran for a time.) 

Staying positive, I sense copious beer in my future once this thing finally fires up and runs!

Terry Smith, '59 TR3A  TS 58667
New Hampshire


> On May 30, 2019 at 3:37 PM Keith Richard Stewart <keithstewart at bell.net> wrote:
> 
> 
> TERRY SMITH wrote on May 29, 2019 9:37 PM
> ++++++++++
> 
> TR3 engine starts and runs, then flutters and, now, dies.  I've been through the fuel system completely, short of a magnet in the fuel tank, which I might try.  Completely disassembled the carbs again today.  Jets centered, float bowls have no gas in them, float valves perfectly adjusted, and the puff test shows they stop flow as they should.  Mixture and idle is right.  Not to mention I tried a complete swap out of these carbs (rebuilt by Quantum Mechanics some years back).  
> 
> I've tracked wiring through the system.  I thought a partial open (broken wires) at the lighting switch where it feeds the ignition switch would fix it.  Didn't.  Replaced the 60 year old ignition switch. Didn't fix it.  Double checked the fuse holder for solid and clean connections.  Not the issue.  When it does run, the voltmeter (not ammeter) shows just the 12 volts from the battery, and not a charge.  White wire from the fuse to the coil tests no short to ground, and bypassing it with another connecting wire doesn't cure the problem either.  
> ++++++++++
> Symptoms seem similar to a problem we had in my wife's TR6. Do you have a spare coil to swap in? That was her problem. Previous owner had an engine rebuild and the rebuilder put back in a 40+ year old coil. Replacement coil and tight connections were an easy fix.
> 
> 
> Keith Stewart
> keithstewart at bell.net
> 
> 
>


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