[Big D]

Gidday all,

I have another wee issue with the carrier I recently bought. I’m not sure whether I am confused about how the ignition system should actually work and be set up, or whether something isn’t quite right.

I’ve noted that it was a bit of a hard starter since I had it. I put it down to the technique I was using and perhaps also the change in location. The previous owners always found it a good reliable starter.

One thing I did notice was that when it was stubborn in starting, the spark at the plug seemed really weak, almost as if there was a kill switch somewhere. By chance I found if I turned on the inspection lamp switch, the carrier would often start (dependent on whether I’d flooded it or not I think). Once it was running though, if I turned off the inspection lamp switch, it would make the engine stall.

From what I remember, turning this switch on wasn’t part of the startup procedure when I first looked at the carrier, but I’ve sent the previous owners a message to confirm this.

I did some more checking on the electrics. The coil appears to be an original type Ford 4.2 volt coil. I got my voltmeter out and found that with just the ignition switch on, the voltage at the coil was 1.97 volts. When I switched the inspection lamp switch on, the voltage rises to 4.2 volts at the coil.

I pulled out the control panel for a closer look and I’ve attached a photograph which might hopefully show the wiring a bit better.

The white wire on the ignition resistor is coming from the ignition switch. The blue wire from the resistor goes to the coil.

I’ve noted that there is a connecting wire (the thin red wire in the picture) running from the coil side of the ignition resistor to the inspection lamp switch (the non-live side). The other side of the inspection lamp switch is a ‘live’ line coming from the fuse box.

When the inspection lamp switch is turned on, this effectively puts 6 volts to the coil side of the ignition resistor.

I can’t find a reference to the ignition resistor in the spare parts manual but this one measures 2 ohms. Presumably if that 6 volts is going to the coil when the inspection lamp switch is turned on, it is still being 'stepped-down' somewhere before it hits the coil?

Have I missed something here? Should the inspection lamp switch be part of the ignition system?

Was this setup just part of a cunning move by the previous owner when he did the ignition?

Is there any reason why there would be a feed between the inspection lamp switch and the ignition resistor?

I guess I could just leave it as is and have the inspection lamp switch on all the time, but I'd like to know I have things right.

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Thanks.

Cheers

Darryl