It takes ten pumps of the pedal to start

[Healey3000]

SUCCESS!!

 

I had to rotate the bimetal housing almost fifteen degrees counter-clockwise (as viewed standing over the exhaust side).  I went by feel, making sure the choke flaps were closed positively, but not too aggressively.  Of course, I first had to exercise the throttle pedal to get the choke to engage.

 

Engine fired up instantly and ran a tad fast, around 2000 RPM.  I turned back the fast idle screw to drop it to 1500 RPM.  It ran well enough, but that misfire I have at idle was also there.  Took the car our for a quick spin and the RPM's came down as expected as things warmed up.  Adjusted the warm idle a little and all seems nominal.

 

Except for the other nagging issue that has plagued this car - rough idle.  Idle RPM is steady but there is clearly a misfire.  On Zinz's suggestion, I tried to advance the timing but it did not help.  The timing I had seemed to be optimum.  I can't find any vacuum leaks and I have replaced all ignition components except for the coil and the Crane ignition module.  I'm stumped but determined to cure it.  Idle mixture screw at around 2.5 to 2.75 turns seems smoothest (running CD's jet prescription).  I'll probably start a separate thread for this.

 

Thanks to everyone who helped me with this starting puzzle!!

 

 

[Moto Carlo]

Yahooo! Congrats!

 

[Simeon]

The cams get worn so some times they don’t always catch on the choke closed position. I find that a slow and steady push rather than a quick pump works better in setting the choke. 

[Schnellvintage]

Yay..!!  Congratulations..!!  The fruits of your efforts...Now enjoy!!!

[Dudeland]

7 hours ago, Healey3000 said:

SUCCESS!!

 

I had to rotate the bimetal housing almost fifteen degrees counter-clockwise (as viewed standing over the exhaust side).  I went by feel, making sure the choke flaps were closed positively, but not too aggressively.  Of course, I first had to exercise the throttle pedal to get the choke to engage.

 

Engine fired up instantly and ran a tad fast, around 2000 RPM.  I turned back the fast idle screw to drop it to 1500 RPM.  It ran well enough, but that misfire I have at idle was also there.  Took the car our for a quick spin and the RPM's came down as expected as things warmed up.  Adjusted the warm idle a little and all seems nominal.

 

Except for the other nagging issue that has plagued this car - rough idle.  Idle RPM is steady but there is clearly a misfire.  On Zinz's suggestion, I tried to advance the timing but it did not help.  The timing I had seemed to be optimum.  I can't find any vacuum leaks and I have replaced all ignition components except for the coil and the Crane ignition module.  I'm stumped but determined to cure it.  Idle mixture screw at around 2.5 to 2.75 turns seems smoothest (running CD's jet prescription).  I'll probably start a separate thread for this.

 

Thanks to everyone who helped me with this starting puzzle!!

 

 

We need to fix the misfire. Have you checked the voltage at the coil? These cars have all sorts of resistors et al that reduce the voltage to save the coil from boiling etcc.. Maybe something with a stronger spark? Crane wants you to use a fireball. 

 

[Healey3000]

58 minutes ago, Dudeland said:

We need to fix the misfire. Have you checked the voltage at the coil? These cars have all sorts of resistors et al that reduce the voltage to save the coil from boiling etcc.. Maybe something with a stronger spark? Crane wants you to use a fireball. 

 

Yes, we definitely need to fix the misfire.  I have not begun the debug process on this chain.  I have removed the ballast wire that was still in place, given that it's a high-impedance coil.  All of that got cleaned up when I pulled off the smog harness.  Coil is being fed directly from fuse #12 by a wire that I added so I know that connection is solid.

 

Earlier today I yanked the dizzy to inspect the Crane optical module.  I noticed a lot of axial play in the shaft but I don't think that is affecting things because the optical module is insensitive to that.  Crane wiring to the coil and grounding seem fine, with screwed-on eyelet connectors everywhere (I don't trust push-on spades).

 

Coil may be a place to upgrade but I'm reluctant to get too deep into this because the plan is to go with Megasquirt.  LS2 coils per cylinder running wasted spark at first, till I make a cam sensor.

 

Thanks.