37714

I'm having trouble with my 1981 Fiesta Mk1. It's been sat in a garage for a number of years and only recently put back on the road.

I've been having trouble with the car stalling while idling and then not restarting without use of the choke.

The problems only seem to occur after the car has been running for a while, and is hot. Today, after running fine for about 20 minutes, i was unable to restart.

I checked the plugs for a spark - Nothing. As the points were recently changed, and considering all the symptoms it sounds to me that i have a problem with the coil.

Has anyone else had similar problems to this, and are there any easy fixes without requiring me to get a new coil?

Thanks in advance for your help,

37714.

Fordtech.

Did the condensor get changed at the same time as the points? This is normal practice as it causes the points to burn out and can fail altogether and cause no spark. Also check the points gap has been set correctly and the timing is right.
Having to use choke is a sign of weakness in the carb, when you get it running again you need to set the CO on a gas analyser. If it's been stood for a while the float may be stuck in the carb and restricting the amount of fuel available, may need a strip and clean-out.

37714

I changed the points when i first got the car started, back last year. They've been changed again and yes the condensor was done at the same time.

I checked the points gap, they were fine. I've stripped the carb and rebuilt it, everything seems to be fine, enough fuel etc.

The coil is producing 6.5kv, to me this sounds a little low, is this right?

As far as i can tell, mechanically the car is fine, i know nothing about electronics, and this sounds like an electrical fault to me.

Cheers,

37714

Fordtech.

6.5 KV is more than enough to fire a Valencia spark plug up, although the reading is at the bottom of the range; your vehicle may well have a ballast resistor fitted which reduces volts to the coil on turnover. If you say you have no spark to the plugs then check the leads/rotor arm/distributor cap. Plugs may also be fouled due to the use of the choke when hot. Low spark plug output would tend to make the mixture run rich, not lean- the CO will still need to be checked, also the O2 content for any air leaks.