Lancia Beta Forum

Hi Everyone
I have been struggling to get my car (1979 2.0 spider with Bosch electronic ignition) started.
New cap, new leads and new plugs. New coil also
The issue is that I am not getting spark - have put spark plug onto ht lead and nothing.

What i have noticed today however is that when I turn key to position before last position (i.e where it cranks engine then I am getting a spark).  When I crank engine there is no spark.
I have a dodgy ignition switch , sometimes it cranks and sometimes it just clicks and you have to take key in and out and mess with it before the key will turn and fully crank engine.

I  need to change my ignition switch in any event.
Could this be the cause of car not starting?

Have also checked earth cables and cleaned up where they make contact on engine block and alternator.  - Have tested with multimeter and no drop in battery voltage when i check against body vs across battery.
Does anyone have a new ignition switch for sale at all? I saw that club is currently out of stock.

Any help or suggestions would be much appreciated.

Many thanks

Simon

Hi Simon.

Yes a dodgy ignition switch is very likely to be the issue, but also take the Distributor cap rotor and plastic shield off and check the condition of the wires to the ignition amplifier pickup.

Sorry I have no switches for sale. There are usually some on ebay.

Eric

Hi Simon, I had a replacement ignition switch from MidWest Bayless.

It's actually a Fiat 126 but with a wiring change.

I have details if you get stuck.

I had a total failure earlier this year where the engine was initially running
well, then started to misfire for about 5 minutes, then cut out completely.

After recovery to home, I found an open circuit on the rotor arm.

I read that you have seen a spark, but it's worth checking. There is a resistor inside
which I suspect can partially fail before total.

Nigel

Good point Nigel

A new distributor cap rotor, plugs and HT leads should be routine service work for a reliable car. If any of these are old and shabby they will take their revenge. This followed by checking ignition timing, changing filters, oil and belts and failing rubber hoses is how you get to enjoy the car not ride on flat beds. Note the ignition switches are poor and you should run the ignition via a relay to stop the contacts inside melting into the plastic over time. This is an early job on Montecarlos which fail the same way.

Eric   

Thanks everyone for the advice.
Have ordered the ignition switch from Bayless and will fit that to exclude the ignition switch as being an issue.
If there is still no joy then may just get distributor reconditioned and refit it as that is now the last untouched part and having changed everything else should help me get closer to the issue.
Happy new year all !

Simon

Check all the multiplugs at the base of the relay/fuse box.

We had a similar issue with the rally car. Occasionally it wouldnt start or worse it stopped when driving!. Traced it to some very dodgy wiring between the ignition switch and kill switch. Running perfectly since we replaced the bodge!.

I connected the wiring connector from new ignition switch without attaching it to the steering column and turned over the engine.
What is weird is that as i previously said sometimes the car will not crank engine on every fourth attempt. When i connected the new ignition switch then this is still happening.
On top of that now I am not getting the spark in the power only position from a spark plug on crankcase.
checked all of the connectors at the base of the fuse box and they all looked connected properly.

I am now stumped !

Is there anyone in the locality of the west midlands near west bromwich who fancies coming to try and help me identify this issue?
Thanks
Si

Check the wire where it enters the distributor, I had a similar problem with my Spyder and found the wire had "chaffed" on the body of the distributor causing a short.