Help please Mk2 Escort Electrikery.

[Mally]

My Rickman kit car, basically Escort with 2.0 Pinto.

When I bought it, would always start as you dropped the key. Never bothered me but now its cold it doesn't want to go.

There is no feed from the ignition switch to coil when cranking. Some are made this way it seems.

I know they take a feed from the solenoid to the coil +ve to feed when cranking, so I fitted a link wire.

It now starts instantly, but stops when I drop the key.

Some how the solenoid link kills the spark. Do I need a diode? What have I done wrong?

All ideas welcome please. I am not at my best with electrics.

Its a 12v coil with 12v direct feed. Electronic dizzy with black box.

Wiring is difficult to follow and would benefit from redoing, but I'd still have the problem I feel.

[scaryoldcortina]

Sounds like your ignition switch has given up. Try running a hotwire from coil + to battery + and see if it stays running like that.

 

Then get a new switch.

[Pete-M]

Has the coil got a ballast resistor?

[Mally]

Sounds like your ignition switch has given up. Try running a hotwire from coil + to battery + and see if it stays running like that.

 

Then get a new switch.

 

 

Some escort ignition switches are designed like that. Kill the ign feed on start, more power to the starter. Shorter wire solenoid to coil for direct feed.

Think thats the theory anyway but they did some like that.

Have fed it direct through a switch and it works, but I forget to switch the switch off, so when I switch off the ign its still running.

So decided to do it like Ford, but it won't work for me.

[Mally]

Has the coil got a ballast resistor?

 

No, it's a 12v coil fed direct from ign switch with 12v, no pink resistor wire.

[scaryoldcortina]

Some escort ignition switches are designed like that. Kill the ign feed on start, more power to the starter. Shorter wire solenoid to coil for direct feed.

Think thats the theory anyway but they did some like that.

Have fed it direct through a switch and it works, but I forget to switch the switch off, so when I switch off the ign its still running.

So decided to do it like Ford, but it won't work for me.

 

Sorry, but no they don't. All spark engines need an ignition feed while cranking or they wouldn't start. The switch you are talking about is for a ballast type coil that takes 12v direct from the solenoid while cranking but a 9v ballast resistor feed while running.

 

Do the dash lights come on when you have the ignition switch in position II?

[richardthestag]

one wire that goes from ignition switch directly to the coil +ive should have 12v when the ignition is on. i.e. key in position #2

one wire that goes from started solenoid to coil +ive - not sure you need this if you have an unballasted 12v coil

 

so suggest the first wire is bust.

 

should be easy to fix

[Mally]

Sorry, but no they don't. All spark engines need an ignition feed while cranking or they wouldn't start. The switch you are talking about is for a ballast type coil that takes 12v direct from the solenoid while cranking but a 9v ballast resistor feed while running.

 

Do the dash lights come on when you have the ignition switch in position II?

 

Your explanation is correct.

Ignition switch is from a ballast type car but no longer has the resistor wire in the loom.

The ignition lights remain on in all positions except off obviously. I would have expected them to go out on cranking though.

Will try again tomorrow, plenty of spare time at the moment.

Thanks for you help.

[Mally]

Thinking about it. If I get a new switch with a feed when cranking it will work.

My switch, or how its wired causes the coil feed to disconnect when cranking.

There does not seem to be any other terminals on the switch with a constant feed when cranking, but ignition light is on so there must be.

 

Scrub the first line, have just checked the price.

I have an MGB switch, might have to stick that in the dash and take the escort one off, no ones going to steal it.

[scaryoldcortina]

It needs to be a physical switch, you can't do it with just wiring or it would back feed from the solenoid to the ignition circuit. The wire you have there now that gives sparks while cranking is probably putting the ignition lights on when it's in position III.

 

How it normally works is that the ignition switch connects two terminals at a time - aux and ign or ign and start and when it fails it only does one.

 

Looks a bit like this -

 

 

edit - on re-reading your post I now see what you mean by "started when you drop the key" - it wasn't sparking while cranking and fired as the key went back to II because the engine has inertia and was still turning. Now you've got a situation where it sparks when cranking but dies when released instead.

 

Kit car wiring can be an absoute headache to sort, what I'd do in this situation is to connect the position II live wire to the coil + terminal and the position III wire to the start solenoid terminal and make sure neither of them connect to anything else. Feed the ign amplifier and other equipment straight from coil +

 

Also check that both ign and start terminals on the ignition switch are live when in position III, because it sounds to me like it's been faulty all along.

[Mally]

Just read your edit scary, that is exactly it. Was wired wrong when I got it, but always caught as I let the key go.

I feel your advice will solve it, but before I read your edit I went down another path...........

 

There is a spare relay from when I junked the spotlights.

I have fed the relay direct from batt +ve on a fused link, other side of relay to coil +ve.

Trigger wire from solenoid..........It works.

Solenoid feed to relay starts it when cranking, then it runs on ign switch feed.

Have disconnected -ve at batt and checked with test light, no drain.

So I figure as long as the relay works it will start. Might leave it like that until Summer. Bit of a bodge though.

What do you reckon? 

[groovylee]

Mally, can't help too much right now as at work.  but, i do know the whereabouts of an ignition switch removed from a rickman ranger if you need it. oh, and welcome from a fellow rickman ranger owner

 

Lee

[AMC Rebel]

I have most of the wiring loom from a MK2 Essy estate in the garage - I knew it would come in handy

[Mally]

Mally, can't help too much right now as at work.  but, i do know the whereabouts of an ignition switch removed from a rickman ranger if you need it. oh, and welcome from a fellow rickman ranger owner

 

Lee

 

Hi Lee, knew I'd find you eventually. I may of course be interested in the switch. If you don't need it, pm me with a price.

[Mally]

I have most of the wiring loom from a MK2 Essy estate in the garage - I knew it would come in handy

 

Thanks for the offer. I am probably OK with my present mk2 loom I think.

The problem is it seems, with the way they have spliced their new electronic module/dizzy wires into the escort loom.

 

I have a spare electronic loom/ign module that we keep for the stock car, we just plug the dizzy wires in, earth and live feed and it goes.

When I get round to it I'll strip the old one out and splice mine in.

At the moment it starts OK, although I've overcome the problem rather than cured it.