J J

Thanks Clive, are these switches repairable?

Ive cleaned the contacts and there’s permanent 12v on the purple with 12v switched on the brown/red but no flash!

Thanks Kevin I’ll look at that in the morning

I think I’ve answered my own question as it should be a live unswitched feed from the fusebox

Thanks I’ll check. Does the purple wire need a permanent 12v?

Thanks Clive, it is the same switch with a flash connection i thought the purple wire was the unswitched wire for the flash but as I’ve got it connected it doesn’t work

Yes

Thanks, I’ve used the triumph schematic and have connected purple to brown blue/ white x2 to blue/white red/blue to red/blue brown/red to brown/red lights work fine on the switch but no flash, however the main beam warning light comes on when in the main beam position, so I was wondering if I’ve done something daft

Morning after checking my steering column I need to reconnect my column light switch (didn’t think of taking a pic before I disconnected it) there are four wires from the column switch blue/white - brown - brown/red - blue there are five wires from the loom purple - brown/red - blue/red - blue/white - blue-white could anyone please tell me which wires to connect please many thanks

Thanks Paul, i checked them when you mentioned them before, I was able to tighten them a little but with no effect

Thank you that’s really interesting. When it starts it revs high before spluttering and stopping, I guess that sounds like a carb issue as the throttle screws are backed off the plastic grommets that connect the bowls to the carbs were perished so I replaced them yesterday I bought a set of refurbished twin SUs a few years ago and have done very few miles since, I’ve been running E5 with additive since then

Plug leads are in the right positions, thank you the only parts not changed are the plugs and coil, there is a spark but if looks weak to me

hello all sadly the saga of my non starting spitfire rumbles on! after a lot of effort it will start but coughs, splutters and blows loudly from the first carburettor then dies distributor is new (same with the points dizzy) new plug leads pistons 1 and 4 are at the top of their stroke with timing marks lined up and rotor arm pointing to no1 post new balance grommets on carbs there is fuel and a spark Am I missing something really dumb here? I worry about timing but it seems right, I also worry about tappet adjustments but they also seem right any ideas?

You’re right the dizzy gear hasn’t been out, I was going to check the drive just in case I put the electronic dizzy back in and it started, revved very high, spluttered and died powerspark are sending a replacement electronic module and I’ve bought some new silicon leads….not sure if it will help i took a look at the carbs and noticed that the float chamber adapters are split and very worn, not sure if they’re significant losing the will to live now! julian

Thank you so much for explaining this so simply, a job for tomorrow

Thanks Paul with the lead attached the arcing stopped, however it still won’t start and I’m losing the will to live! there is a spark albeit quite weak, same non start result with both distributors, 125 bar compression on all cylinders and there’s good fuel supply tappets are adjusted (hopefully correctly) the electronic distributor will only fit into the drive one way and I installed it with the No1 piston at the top and the arm pointing to no1 post could the weak spark be the problem? any thoughts? julian

Thanks Paul that made perfect sense and the job is now done however now it won’t start but I noticed that the coil centre connection is arcing to either the +ve or -ve terminals when I turn the distributor which I’m guessing is stopping it starting, could this be a coil problem? it reads 3.5 ohms across the terminals best Julian

I meant to add that I took the rocker cover off to check and the pushrod on No2 valve was loose and the valve was stuck down, I managed to free it and it popped up I set do that no1 and no8 were rocking which I think is right

I bought a new distributor from powerspark with electronic ingition. I’ve fitted it without changing any other components. The engine starts but eventually coughs, splitters, backfires a bit then blows off the crankcase breather valve i was able to set the timing with a strobe so that seems ok unless it’s 180deg out any thoughts anyone? best Julian

thank you both, your comments make perfect sense, perhaps there is a problem with the clamp. I first noticed the problem when I was setting the static timing with a 12v lamp, the movement in the distributor body made setting the on and off point tricky, even when it was clamped im in Spain but am itching to get back to fix this and get back on the road Saw a TR6 here at the beach yesterday, who’d have thought! julian

Yes I’ve got the Triumph green workshop manual. Sorry for being unclear, the distributor body itself has a distinct movement if I pull and push against it when it’s clamped up the clamp itself is tight and seems to be in good order

I’ve pulled the distributor and noticed that the O ring at the bottom of the pedestal is very sloppy do you know if this could be contributing to the pedestal wobbling when clamped up, I’m working on the assumption that the wobble isn’t helping here? spoke to Accuspark who weren’t really sure whether the wobble or worn shaft would affect an electronic conversion, also spoke to H & H who will refurbish my distributor on points for circa £175 thanks everyone for your help here

Thank you I’ll call them, was it cost effective?

Unfortunately Accuspark don’t have any electronic Delco replacements in stock and won’t have any for about six months. All they can offer now is the kit to fit into the existing body

Thank you everyone accuspark sell an electronic conversion kit that fits into the existing Delco dizzy body for about £60 do you know if the existing dizzy needs to be in good working order (and not wobble) to fit this or should I go for the kit that includes the new dizzy body? thanks Julian