Thanks Jonathan,

It is a good reminder for me to get new plug wires;  that is one part that I
often overlook thinking that not much could go wrong with these.

Roland

On Mon, Feb 14, 2011 at 6:37 PM, Jonathan Poole <jfpoolio@gmail.com> wrote:

> Howdy list,
>
> Recently my van wouldn't start when wet.  After a few days of rain the van
> would turn over but not start.  When I checked, spark was present from the
> coil wire but was a bit weak.  All suggestions pointed to the plug wires.
>  I
> ordered replacement parts for much of my ignition system and then
> experimented by installing the new parts in phases.  It looks like the two
> biggest contributers to the problem were the plug wires and the spark
> plugs.  After replacing the wires, distributor cap and rotor the van ran
> better (idle jumped up a bit, started more quickly than usual etc.) then
> after cleaning and regapping the plugs it ran better still. The old plug
> gap
> had opened up just beyond specs and I also cleaned the porcelain on the
> spark plug.  On cleaning the outside of the plug I figure that if residue
> in
> the distributor cap can cause misfiring then it can on the individual spark
> plugs too and maybe even more easily.
>
> After these changes the problem seems to be solved and the van ran a lot
> better.  I then replaced the points with a pertronix kit and replaced the
> original coil (which now goes into the spares cupboard).  These changes
> didn't make a noticeable difference but at least I won't have to set the
> points and reset the timing regularly like I used to.
>
> Beyond resolving the wet starting issue and making the van run noticeably
> better two other changes occurred that I didn't expect.
>
> First the van had developed a real growl when accelerating at high rpms. I
> figured my muffler was starting to open up or something like that.  This
> was
> very noticeable if I pushed the van above 3500 rpm in 3rd gear but now it
> doesn't get any louder at all running up to 4k.  I sort of miss the sound
> but now that it is gone I'm guessing that it was being caused by the larger
> plug gaps/bad wires/worn cap and rotor since this type of ignition system
> puts out less spark as rpms increase.  I think I was getting the same
> problem up around 3500 and higher rpms that I was getting when it was wet
> out.
>
> Second, since I have had this van/engine it has had a tendency to buck and
> jerk when cruising around at low rpm.  Like the times when I slow down but
> leave it in a high gear and the engine is turning something like 1k or a
> bit
> higher rpms.  I had assumed this was being caused by the afm but today I
> couldn't get this to happen no matter what I tried.  It has been a constant
> (if minor) annoyance always forcing me to upshift even when I'm pretty much
> coasting along.  I'm not sure if this is the result of the ignition system
> changes since I also cleaned all of the electrical connections/sockets in
> the engine compartment that I could find and also cleaned up any ground
> that
> I could see in there.  For this I used an electrical cleaner spray and a
> brass brush then followed up with dialectric grease.
>
> I was only trying to solve the wet starting problem but it was nice to fix
> these other items as well and I look forward to doing some driving soon.
>
> I've got a few more starting/cranking upgrades to apply and then I'll be
> tempted to visit Canada before Spring just to do some cold starting.  Maybe
> I should head to the desert to get some hot starts in after that.  I'm
> pretty excited at the prospect of avoiding the walk out to my van on some
> rainy night just to find it won't start and also avoiding pulling over some
> hot summer day to find myself stuck with a non-starting hot van!
>
> Thanks again for the suggestions and help,
>
> Jonathan Poole
>