1990 CE2 Digifant 8v not starting

Hi Tristan,

Thanks. I have this week tried three different TCI-h ignition amplifier, one was new from Heritage.

Rubjonny has queried if the rev counter jiggled during this breakdown and two years ago when it last broke down so I'm afraid I dropped the ball on that one, I'm no car mechanic!!! I tied myself in noughts with troubleshooting with what I had to hand.

Bad grounds is a good shout I guess.

I will see if the Coil and TCI-h is getting 12 volts during cranking, if not, I guess I could just run a wire to battery positive. I did notice the black 15 12 volt wire on coil had a nic in the wire near plug, perhaps water has got into the copper strands and turned it green so I could also link direct from coil to TCI-h to replace that link, it could be enough to make a voltage drop on that wire under load, I did confirm that there is 12 volts at TCI with ignition on but the circuit would not be sucking amps at that time.

Thanks.

 

Can't see the ignition switch being the problem all that does is energize the starter motor. I could be wrong though.

 

Hi Jonny,

thanks for the info. Today I confirmed the Black 15 circuit is supplying 12volts at IGN ON and Cranking.

I tried the new ignition switch, same.

I tried to power ECU permanently by bypassing relay 30-87.

Fuel pump primes as it should, stops, then runs during cranking.

I jumped it from my other running car, it occasionally attempts to start (including rev counter jiggling). My Alfa supplies 14.4 volts, during cranking the battery read 12.3 volts on golf.

Tried bump start, nothing.

WEIRD: The spark circuit (Hall/TCI-h/Coil/King/Dissy/rotor arm/HT leads) all work including rev counter jiggling when the IGN ON and distributor is spun by hand.
The spark circuit is therefore good, on cranking however, the spark circuit is only occasionally working as the rev counter needle doesn't move, then the car tries to run, rev counter at a few hundred rpm, then dies including the rev counter.

Had a plug out during cranking, no spark.

The hall sender feeds into ECU then out of ECU to TCI-h chip, so i tried 3 differnet ECUs - no change.

I'm struggling.

Also tried a different air flow meter, no change.

Thanks.

 

Hi Stephen,

Ignition switch indeed sends juice to starter solenoid during cranking.

Also;
Ignition switch leaves the 15 circuit live during IGN ON and Cranking. It directly supplies ISV, ECU relay, Coil.

It also has a wire for parking lights circuit.

Another wire that informs fuseboard of key in ignition (i think that means radios wouldn't turn off until key removed).

Yellow/Black i think goes to x-over relay to shut down non-essentials during cranking.

Its a complex switch and prone to failure.

 

Hi Tristan,

thanks for replying.

I had ordered a new TCI-h ignition amplifier as they were cheap enough and thought a handy thing to have in boot of car anyway. Tried the new one, tried two old ones on other ECUs I have.

I'm going to try earthing the engine to battery using a jump lead.

ECU voltage during cranking is tricky to test. I did test red/black from ignition switch to ECU pin 1 and to starter motor solenoid so that cable is good.

 

To check voltage of stuff in the engine bay, while cranking, can be difficult on your own..

So you can get the plugs to spark while turning the distributor by hand, but not when the engine is turning over?

Is the dizzy definitely turning when installed?

 

Distributor rotar arm does turn, a good shout though, worth checking.

I went from hall sender to ECU to TCI-h to coil pin 1 with test light during cranking, at every point the test light was pulsing which is what I need during cranking.

Decided to change coil, and king lead, I had good sparks today after putting my new coil back on. My concern remains that the rev counter doesn't jiggle about during cranking.

Battery was down to 9.5 volts and spark was orange, so the battery is on charge now.

This is the most promising since the last two weeks. I'm excited, as I had started to think about selling as a non runner or engine swap.

New rotor arm and cap coming tomorrow, then I will replace that plus HT leads and spark plugs. Also change out the contaminated engine oil... if it starts that is.

Thanks to everyone who has offered advice.

 

So coil is the problem?

 

Hi Tristan,

its a TBC at the moment. Although I charged my battery it only cranked over last night (without rev counter jiggle which is what I cannot pinpoint), i'm going to hook up my other car for a jump start as that has produced intermittent firing earlier this week.

If it runs, it will get new sparks, HT leads, rotor arm and cap today once arrived. Then the spark system will be renewed until the TCI-h (I will keep my new one in boot).

Thanks for all the help.

 

If your current plugs have been badly flooded, they may not fire.

 

It's running, just had it running, out buying oil and filter now.

Many thanks for all your help.

 

Nice one Garry - epic levels of ball ache but you got there.

 

Hi Jonny,

Seems it was the coil. I have a new king lead but never fitted it yet, an awkward area to fit (also trying to be more methodical - ie, changing one thing at a time).

Also, the mpg and distance functions now work on my MFA as per your original suggestion to replace hall sender on speedometer.

Thanks for all your time.

Regards
Garry

 

You got a lot of help from the forum, might want to consider becoming a paid member.

https://clubgti.com/wordpress/product/membership1yr/

 

The above details would still be useful, help to build up a better picture for future reference / other members having similar issues.

 

Excellent update.

 

Hi Zender,

Indeed I received invaluable information from here, I will also do the ohms check.

I actually did join on the 18th April, Paid via PayPal so hopefully all is good. I made a slight error on my address, never added street name, number and postcode should be sufficient.

Regards
Garry