Austin wont start

[andrew34ruby]

Hi, just checked and 6 plus volts between the open points and the base screws are tight. I did try a new complete electronic distributor unit but still had the same issue. I have just tried setting the car up correctly with no start and unscrewing each and moving them 1 place clockwise  (keeping the 1342) around the distributor .The car did start after two moves but was the same. High revs (with the idle screw fully out ) and on turning the distributor clockwise the revs increased and anti clockwise the car spluttered before stopping. I haver noticed that at the high revs point I can remove the mixture screw completely without it stalling ?

Wonderful, the engine started. This tells you without doubt that the plug leads are on correctly (don't change them again!). And it started, so the ignition timing must be somewhere near to the correct position.

[Colin Wilks]

There is quite a lot of advance if the photo of the flywheel ties in with the points just opening on no. 1 cylinder. The rotor arm appears to me to be pointing straight at or a little after no 1 plug lead (with the blob of white paint) and the 1342 sequence appears correct, so either you are still 180° out (which seemed possible given you swapped 1 and 4 and it started!) or you have too much static advance.

Assuming you've sorted getting TDC on the compression stroke and are not now 180° out I would set it up bang on TDC (1/4 on the flywheel at 12:00 o'clock) and give it a go. You can tweek the static advance once it's running by twisting the distributor in its bracket, which I assume is still loose.

Small point. I'm sure you've measured it with a gauge, but the points gap looks a little bit wider than .012", but it may be the photo.

[pendragon374]

RIGHT !. Dismantled the manifold, new studs and gasket. Rebuilt the card and re did the wiring including bathing the ignition switch. Re built the whole thing with the correct firing order and nothing. Checked the coil and no fed. Put a wire from the battery to the coil and it fired!!!!!. Not the best as far as running but ran and with a bit of distributor moving around it revved up. So on the right path. Can anyone advise where I might get a replacement ignition switch from as even the lights do not work. A big thankyou to everyone that has tried and advised me. I am hoping with a bit more fettling the thing might run a bit better.

[John Cornforth]

Hi

If you have the normal Lucas PLC type switch, it contains three separate sections: Charge rate switch, Lighting switch and Ignition switch.

The only things driven by the Ignition switch section are the Ignition, The Ignition Warning Lamp, The Petrol Gauge, the Stop Lamp and the Trafficators

It seems unlikely to me that there is a simultaneous fault in more than one section which would cause the lights to be inoperative, though anything is possible. The ignition section is internally less "chunky" than the other two and therefore less reliable after 80 years. I suggest you carefully check the wiring before condemning the switch.

[Tiger]

I have followed this post with interest glad to see you making progress well done.
I have had problems with the plc 2 switch.
To resolve this I removed the switch and examined the various connections made in
different positions the best way to do this is with a simple multimeter
John Cornforth posted a excellent diagram which fully explained the switch which is
available on the forum.
Best Regards
Tim

[Ivor Hawkins]

I too had similar switch problems and after careful cleaning everything worked fine, however, the key part of the switch was badly worn and I simply wired parallel with a good quality flick switch so I can use either the switch or the key...problem solved.

Ps. that was after a lot of helpful guidance from John Cornforth, I hasten to add!

[Reckless Rat]

If you haven't already tried, then DON'T take the PLC switch apart without putting it inside a plastic bag first. Otherwise you may well lose something. Like Ivor, I have by-passed the ignition switch part of the Lucas control switch, and have a flick switch mounted elsewhere to control ignition on/off

[Alan]

Very off topic but I’m reminded that another forum member and I have an interest in decent cameras. A long time ago he sent me instructions for servicing my Leica 111c. They began “first, pitch your tent on the lawn”

[Austin Nippy]

If you haven't already tried, then DON'T take the PLC switch apart without putting it inside a plastic bag first.

I couldn't agree more - it's surprising how far everything flies (not in the same direction either!) - if only I had been advised before I tried to fix mine many years ago...

Fortunately, I managed to find all the bits and pieces of my Nippy switch eventually and managed to get things working again without really knowing what had come from where. Whether I did it right or not I don't know but it's done what it's meant to do for about 30 years in its current state so will leave well alone.

[John Mason]

May I add my own comments on the plc switch. Don’t take it apart. Somewhere in my garage is a bag with a switch in pieces therein After many attempts at reassembly I just gave up as I found out that I had only two hands and that was not enough. Luckily I had a spare.

John Mason,