help rover 216

[blackbob]

we got a rover 216 that wont go
 got petrol and got a spark going into the dist cap but nothing at the leads coming out
 tried the rotor arm against the cap post and got a spark at the lead but nothing when the cap is in place
checked the cam belt timing and its ok
took the rocker cover off and checked the cam aint broke
checked the rotor arm is pointing at plug lead num 1 and it is
but cant get a spark coming out  at all
HELP
as recovery cant come till 2nd jan and we need to get the ferry on the 7 and need to leave bulgaria on the 3rd of jan

[Freelander1980]

sounds silly but i would be inclinded to say the cap is the problem, have you tried a ht lead with a spark plug in it against rocker cover and if so did it spark.

[Freelander1980]

was there any scorch marks or anything on the old dizzy cap and how does the current rotor arm look i ask as i had something similar with my old v8 and thats due badly fitted rotor arm

[eugene]

my mums rover 216 was like that put new plugs in started straight away althought dizzy cap and r.arm just gave them a scrap ok for six months now had to do r.arm and dizzy cap hope you get it going

[imspanners]

You don't say how old it is, but if it's the Honda engine with coil inside the dizzy, then check the connections onto the coil itself. If they're okay the coil is breaking down under load, capable of producing a spark but it looses its power travelling through the leads to the plugs.  

(a quick visual check for the ignition amplifier, whilst turning the ignition on, watch the rev counter, it should flick once)  :D

If it's the Rover engine, with coil down the back of the engine, check the king lead first, they go hard and waste most of the spark passing through the lead. If that's ok it needs a new coil.

[rollazuki]

Check the inside of the rotor arm with a BRIGHT light. Look for scorches or cracks that guids the sparck to the rotor shaft, thru the plastic of the arm itself.

[SWEETY]

what age is your 216? if it's the earlier one with the honda engine the distributors are very prone to packing in IIRC it's a resistor inside them which causes the prob & a good auto sparky should be able to repair it but it'll only last a couple of years before it goes again :roll: