[BostonRover7]

Hi,

1995 SWB with the 3.9 here. This weekend in rainy stop & go traffic, the engine died. My buddy and I did some preliminary checks: we have fuel at the rail, and battery voltage is good (cranks fine). Still no start though. Had to get a tow home.

Checked a few cylinders with my spark plug tester: no spark at the plugs. We then followed the testing procedure in the manual. Very strong spark when holding the coil lead next to the engine block (ouch!). Proceeded to step 6, and found strong spark between the coil lead and the rotor arm (also ouch- still arced to my palm). Step 7 was not helpful: it suggested visually inspecting the circuits for breaks in continuity. Nothing looks out of place.

What could have gone wrong between the rotor arm and the plugs themselves? Any suggestions for what to investigate now?

Thanks!

 

[JohnnoK]

Dead rotor arm or possibly the distributor cover has cracked.

 

[Mikieman]

Just go get another rotor and cap
I get mine at auto zone
They last a few years

 

[BostonRover7]

Thank you all! Will test the new rotor arm + cap and will report back.

 

[95classiclwb]

convert to distributor less ignition and be done with distributor woes, I'm performing said task on my 95 due to a worn out dizzy and multiple similar failures, towing gets expensive and the adventure wears out after the second one.

 

[Lockettc]

convert to distributor less ignition and be done with distributor woes, I'm performing said task on my 95 due to a worn out dizzy and multiple similar failures, towing gets expensive and the adventure wears out after the second one.

Would you please post a thread detailing the process/steps? I have the front plate and many of the P38 components.

I apologize in advance for the silly question; however, would this require a flex plate swap to accommodate the CPS?

 

[JohnnoK]

I apologize in advance for the silly question; however, would this require a flex plate swap to accommodate the CPS?

You can get the gubbins to replace the innards of the distributor with electronics,

or if you want to go more advanced, you can fit something like Megajolt whch will use a toothed wheel that you can fit on the crank pulley,

so no need to pull the motor or drop the box etc.

 

[95classiclwb]

You can get the gubbins to replace the innards of the distributor with electronics,

or if you want to go more advanced, you can fit something like Megajolt whch will use a toothed wheel that you can fit on the crank pulley,

so no need to pull the motor or drop the box etc.

exactly what I'm doing with mine, I purchased my kit from trigger wheels in the uk. less than $500.00 to my door step.

 

[RRLondon]

If it's the cap then you usually get some running with popping and banging as the HT tries to track round the cap material.

If absolutely no firing, it's normally the rotor arm tracking down to the centre spindle of the distributor.

I keep a spare rotor arm under the driver's seat, along with a fuel pump relay. There if you need them but the "voodoo" will stop the original failure in the first place. ;-)

 

[95classiclwb]

Would you please post a thread detailing the process/steps? I have the front plate and many of the P38 components.

I apologize in advance for the silly question; however, would this require a flex plate swap to accommodate the CPS?

you don't need any of the rover engine electronics to convert to EDIS, it uses a trigger wheel mounted to the harmonic balancer, a ckp sensor to read the wheel, a ford EDIS 8 module and harness, coil pack (this can be rover) and an EDIS management unit.

rather than sourcing all of these components from a number of suppliers or varius visits to junkyards I decided to order the whole kit from trigger wheels. it comes with instructions, fuel maps, tuning software, brackets, etc. excellent support as well.

there have been many people whom have done rover v8 EDIS conversions but no one has documented, I plan on doing so.

My daily driver truck is under going a trans overhaul thus I have not been able to start the conversion on my classic, as soon as the first truck is back on the road I will begin the install of the EDIS and report.

 

[Lockettc]

you don't need any of the rover engine electronics to convert to EDIS, it uses a trigger wheel mounted to the harmonic balancer, a ckp sensor to read the wheel, a ford EDIS 8 module and harness, coil pack (this can be rover) and an EDIS management unit.

rather than sourcing all of these components from a number of suppliers or varius visits to junkyards I decided to order the whole kit from trigger wheels. it comes with instructions, fuel maps, tuning software, brackets, etc. excellent support as well.

there have been many people whom have done rover v8 EDIS conversions but no one has documented, I plan on doing so.

My daily driver truck is under going a trans overhaul thus I have not been able to start the conversion on my classic, as soon as the first truck is back on the road I will begin the install of the EDIS and report.

Perfect - Thank you!!

 

[BostonRover7]

Hi all,

An update to the earlier thread: new rotor arm and distributor cap fixed the problem. It started right up on the first crank.

Thank you!
Tom

 

[Mikieman]

Nice and
Simple

 

[RABarrett]

Heads up. Typically, a burned rotor is the result of excessive voltages required to fire worn plugs, or defective plug wires. Ray