stuntmanmike
Car wotsit & stuff
- Joined
- Jun 13, 2009
- Messages
- 83
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- Location
- At home on planet earth...
- Members Ride
- VP 3.8 V6 Auto / VS BT1 5.0 / VY SV8
G'day fellow JC'ers.
We've been having a few problems with the BT1 and thought we'd share some of the learnings.
Firstly we found the car would not start at all and it turned out that the ignition module needed to be replaced. Did that and replaced the ignition coil too for good measure (and relocated it).
A few weeks back, the car was reliable and then started to show signs similar to the faulty ignition module. Had spark, started when fuel was squirted down the TB, and it just wouldn't start normally. Bridged pins 5 & 6 and indicated a code 46 (Hall Effect Sensor signal not detecting). Took it to a local auto sparky who was commissioned to change out the distributor. Now the fun starts (not!)...
After they did the work I drove it back home and found it sluggish. Started to think it was something with the LPG system so deicide to check that. Nothing much here. Gave the keys to the Missus and she let me know the car wasn't running so good and would occasionally backfire or stall. Ok. I had a look. The air box was blown apart and broken. Great! Just great.
1st step: Checked the ignition timing on idle. 4 degrees A (wtf?)
2nd step: checked spark plug gap and set at 8mm for LPG. Ok.
3rd step: found no.4 spark plug lead broken at the spark plug connection (wtf? who did this?)
4th step: had to change the spark plug leads and found that the distributor cap had only one clip holding it down (aarrggh! wtf? bluddy sparky)
Did all that with 9mm leads. Still backfiring and stalling. Low on power too. Bit better than before though.
5th step: timing light, bridge pins 5 & 6, check timing: 10 degrees ATDC (Grrrr! wtf?). I set the base timing at 10 degrees BTDC (A) and wow! Moved it further to 14 degrees BTDC and now we're cooking!!!! Took it for a spin and it ran better than ever. Missus is happy and my temper is aimed at the auto sparky that took our hard earned and stuffed up the job.
This is what I worked out: the dumfek auto-sparky didn't check what was done before handing me the keys. They didn't clip the distributor cap down with both spring clips and set the timing 10 degrees the wrong way. I called them to let them know what I had found and I managed to stay calm and collective during my explanation. The manager (?) of the shop told me that the spring clips come off by themselves and offered to replace the airbox. He's a dolt! There is no way I'm letting these useless dolts get near any of my cars or even sniff my wallet ever again. And to think I was going to commission my race car for them to wire up...
Anyway, I work full-time and don't like spending evenings or weekends getting greasy. Trouble is I hardly have the time. I've learnt how to loosen and set the distributor for accurate base timing, change the spark plug leads and a few other things that I haven't done before on an injected EFI motor. Easy as. I'll think twice before going to some local approved shop.
Distributor bolt: 14mm or 9/16" ring spanner (the shorter the better). Get to it from the side of the rear firewall on the drivers side. Not too hard - just be careful on your back.
8mm gap on the spark plugs is good for LPG.
14 degrees base timing is good for LPG and be sure to run 95 octane fuel in the petrol tank or you can experience the dreaded pinging (pre-detonation).
Each increment on the timing marks near the harmonic balancer is 2 degrees with the long lines marking 10 degrees.
A = advanced which means the spark is earlier than top dead centre (TDC)
R = retarded which means the spark is "delayed" after TDC
Factory base timing is 10 degrees BTDC = 10 A on the harmonic balancer with pins 5 & 6 bridged and a good timing light.
I hope that no one else experiences the pain of dealing with shoddy "experts". I know they won't be getting any business soon from my word of mouth. At least he didn't advise for me to check the head light fluid and bring it in to tune the radio...
We've been having a few problems with the BT1 and thought we'd share some of the learnings.
Firstly we found the car would not start at all and it turned out that the ignition module needed to be replaced. Did that and replaced the ignition coil too for good measure (and relocated it).
A few weeks back, the car was reliable and then started to show signs similar to the faulty ignition module. Had spark, started when fuel was squirted down the TB, and it just wouldn't start normally. Bridged pins 5 & 6 and indicated a code 46 (Hall Effect Sensor signal not detecting). Took it to a local auto sparky who was commissioned to change out the distributor. Now the fun starts (not!)...
After they did the work I drove it back home and found it sluggish. Started to think it was something with the LPG system so deicide to check that. Nothing much here. Gave the keys to the Missus and she let me know the car wasn't running so good and would occasionally backfire or stall. Ok. I had a look. The air box was blown apart and broken. Great! Just great.
1st step: Checked the ignition timing on idle. 4 degrees A (wtf?)
2nd step: checked spark plug gap and set at 8mm for LPG. Ok.
3rd step: found no.4 spark plug lead broken at the spark plug connection (wtf? who did this?)
4th step: had to change the spark plug leads and found that the distributor cap had only one clip holding it down (aarrggh! wtf? bluddy sparky)
Did all that with 9mm leads. Still backfiring and stalling. Low on power too. Bit better than before though.
5th step: timing light, bridge pins 5 & 6, check timing: 10 degrees ATDC (Grrrr! wtf?). I set the base timing at 10 degrees BTDC (A) and wow! Moved it further to 14 degrees BTDC and now we're cooking!!!! Took it for a spin and it ran better than ever. Missus is happy and my temper is aimed at the auto sparky that took our hard earned and stuffed up the job.
This is what I worked out: the dumfek auto-sparky didn't check what was done before handing me the keys. They didn't clip the distributor cap down with both spring clips and set the timing 10 degrees the wrong way. I called them to let them know what I had found and I managed to stay calm and collective during my explanation. The manager (?) of the shop told me that the spring clips come off by themselves and offered to replace the airbox. He's a dolt! There is no way I'm letting these useless dolts get near any of my cars or even sniff my wallet ever again. And to think I was going to commission my race car for them to wire up...
Anyway, I work full-time and don't like spending evenings or weekends getting greasy. Trouble is I hardly have the time. I've learnt how to loosen and set the distributor for accurate base timing, change the spark plug leads and a few other things that I haven't done before on an injected EFI motor. Easy as. I'll think twice before going to some local approved shop.
Distributor bolt: 14mm or 9/16" ring spanner (the shorter the better). Get to it from the side of the rear firewall on the drivers side. Not too hard - just be careful on your back.
8mm gap on the spark plugs is good for LPG.
14 degrees base timing is good for LPG and be sure to run 95 octane fuel in the petrol tank or you can experience the dreaded pinging (pre-detonation).
Each increment on the timing marks near the harmonic balancer is 2 degrees with the long lines marking 10 degrees.
A = advanced which means the spark is earlier than top dead centre (TDC)
R = retarded which means the spark is "delayed" after TDC
Factory base timing is 10 degrees BTDC = 10 A on the harmonic balancer with pins 5 & 6 bridged and a good timing light.
I hope that no one else experiences the pain of dealing with shoddy "experts". I know they won't be getting any business soon from my word of mouth. At least he didn't advise for me to check the head light fluid and bring it in to tune the radio...
