nick 3 Posted October 16, 2007 The ignition on my 8v keeps cutting out. It is totally random, it does it when it's cold, hot, high revs, tickover, smooth roads and bumpy roads. When it does it, it is like some has flicked a switch off on the ignition, all the lights and radio are unaffected but the rev counter drops straight to zero. There is no missfiring or ill running, just a complete ignition failure. Sometimes it will start straight away again (or will just cut back in if I'm moving reasonably fast) other times it will not restart for about ten minutes. I have put a known good coil on it this morning with no change and it had a new battery at the weekend. The imobiliser doesn't seem to be the problem as it will still turn over when it dies (which the imobiliser won't allow) I have left it ticking over for about ten minutes and pull and prodded all the ignition wires and components to try to make it do it without success (then I get in and drive it and it will cut out a mile down the road!!) Any ideas?? Cheers, Nick Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
j_turnell 137 3 Cars Posted October 16, 2007 You checked the condition of the dizzy fly lead? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
boldy205 75 Posted October 16, 2007 ignition amp possabaly, or crappy wires, they tend to go hard over time and crack/break. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nick 3 Posted October 16, 2007 The leads all look fine (not that old) but I have a set off the Mi that I can try. I'll swap the amp and see what happens. Is an Mi amp the same as an 8v? It has got me home from work (7 miles) and then another couple of miles tonight without missing a beat, and then has cut out three times in less than a mile when I've just popped out to the petrol station. Nick Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
pug_ham 244 3 Cars Posted October 16, 2007 Sounds like a bad electrical connection or something that is occasionally breaking down. Odd one but is the earth lead tight on the gearbox or battery? A loose earth lead can cause a very similar problem when it breaks connection with the stud. Graham. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nick 3 Posted October 17, 2007 I'll have a look at that tonight Graham, all looks fine in that dept though. This is getting rediculous...... I left it ticking over for 20 minutes (going through three heat cycles) this morning trying to get it to do it..... nothing.... I then went through ten minutes of stop start driving in town......nothing.... I then did five minutes of mixed driving, full throttle, cruising, hard braking etc..... nothing, I get within two miles of work and it dies, 5th gear, 1.5k revs, I pull up and wait ten seconds, the try it....nothing.... same again...nothing, on about the fifth try it starts on the button and sits there ticking over as nothing has happened. 100 yards down the road it stops again with the same scenario as above, same again half mile later....... it finally gets me to work and sits ticking over again as though nothing has happened...... This is really doing my head in now, I just can't do anything to make it do it, ticking over, full throttle, hard braking/cornering to get the engine moving about doesn't affect it, it is just completely random. Thanks for the suggestions anyway guys, keep 'em coming. Nick Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nick 3 Posted October 18, 2007 (edited) I hardly dare say this...... I think it's fixed..! I swapped the ignition amp for my Mi one and it hasn't cut out once this morning. A strange one really as I thought the amp usually caused a missfire when hot as opposed to a complete cut in power at any revs/temp' Ah well, live and learn! Cheers, Nick Edited October 18, 2007 by nick Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nick 3 Posted October 19, 2007 Yep, I'm calling this one busted. Two days running now without a problem, so ignition amp it is! I did notice one strange thing, in that the Mi used to have an irregular "miss" on tickover (like it just missed one spark every few seconds) it was never a problem and didn't affect the idle. This has now transfered itself onto the 8v, so it's probably time to buy a brand new amp. Nick Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rob_the_Sparky 9 Posted October 19, 2007 That doesn't surprise me, I've had similar with both a coil and amp... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
