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[drgoon]

I have a problem with my newly acquired 33. It started to run o 3 cylinders until applying a little throttle, then would run on all 4. I thought hmmm, must be a dying plug or ignition lead. I all changed plugs and leads. Now it wont start on anything but 2 cylinders, and is backfiring through the carbs. I think, ok - must have the leads around the wrong way, so I change them. It just gets worse....dum de dooo..what to do? I have tried just about every combination of lead sequence but cannot get the bugger to run #*%@^. (expletives). Being a kiwi I don't want ot take it to a garage, I want to learn about these things and fix it myself. I presume that the 2 leads on the front of the distributor go to the respective front cylinders or am I (duh) wrong. Can anyone help pls.

Thanks in advance.

PS I love this car, what a blast to drive hardout on windy roads.

[paulhide]

Check distributor cap and timing. Might be blocked jets in the carb - they unscrew out after taking the inlet head off (three 10mm screws). Off to Bristol for Christmas now so someone else will have to continue this thread. Good luck. Unlikely, but hope it's not head gasket.
_________________
Owner's Club 33 Registrar. Now from P4 & S2 1.7 QV
http://www.alfa-pages.co.uk/viewtopic.php?t=5188

[Ben_nz]

First you should make sure you have the leads around the right way.
The cylinders are numbered starting from the one closest to the front of the car (the front right one, if you're sitting inside). The one closest to the cabin (back left one) is number 4.

So that's:
radiator
......1
2....3
4
firewall

You have to connect the leads so that the firing order is 1,3,2,4. The distributor rotor rotates clockwise, so you could do:
3 o'clock position: cyl 1
6 o'clock position: cyl 3
9 o'clock position: cyl 2
12 o'clock position: cyl 4
Use this picture as a reference for where cylinders 1 and 3 should go, because I don't think other positionings will work:
http://www.axys.co.nz/ben/alfa33/BOXER1.JPG
Someone will discretely inform me if I'm incorrect! ("psst... you're talking s**t!")

Then once you've got the firing order correct, you should know carby boxers are sensitive to ignition issues and carb tuning! Tell yourself that's because you have an exotic and temperamental Italian sportscar, it'll help you feel better.
You should check the condition of the distributor cap (do the metal posts on the underside of the cap look eaten away? Is there corrosion on any of the metal parts?) and the distributor rotor (is the metal tip worn down from sparking?).
What kind of spark plugs did you install? The favourite plugs of a boxer engine on carbs are Golden Lodge 25HL I think, they're four-electrode jobbies. I'm running Bosch Super 4 four-electrode plugs with reasonable success.

After you've checked/replaced the distributor cap and rotor, if it's still sick you might get away with a dose of carburetor cleaning spray plus an Italian tune-up. I'm thinking of the kind of spray you squirt plenty of into the carb air intake once the engine's warmed up and not running, and the kind of Italian tune-up that involves giving the car a bit of a thrash.
If you spray in the carby cleaning spray, when it's time to restart the engine and rev it to clear the crap out, do it with the air filter box open (provided there's not dust/leaves etc around that might go in the motor). It sounds kickass!

But if the car still won't run right after that, you should get a mechanic to balance the carbs and blow out any crap from the jets or emulsion tubes (or wherever it lives, I never had to do that bit myself) with compressed air..
I had to get this done when I got my 33 and it saved me money in fuel and gained me a noticeable amount of power. Of course it might help the environment too, but money and power are more important!

Note that even once the car's running right it still might backfire during engine braking. This is part of the character and of the reason you bought the car.

[Ravi - not logged in]

Hi Ben

What a great post!

I’m actually having a rather bizarre ignition problem too.

On my old Alfetta, I used to drop the oil, change all the filters, plugs, leads etc myself and never had one problem.

It’s coming up to rego time for the old 33 (1985, 1.5ti, 130,000km, that has never ever given me any problems) so I thought I should give it a bit of a service (despite the fact it was running just fine).

Replaced all the plugs (NGK for NGK) put new leads on and now the car won’t start. None of the cylinders are firing. I didn’t even touch the distributor (apart from putting the leads on) so I can’t imagine what it would be??? And yes – I changed the leads one by one so as not to confuse which plug connected to where on the dizzy!

A contact I bumped loose somewhere maybe? The only other thing I can think of is that the old plugs were NGK BP6ES whereas the new ones are NGK BP7ES. However, the NGK manual seems to say I have the correct plugs and there is no gap difference or anything….

Cheers

Ravi

[Scott Sander]

[Ravi - not logged in]

Hi Scott

Thanks for the reply.

How do you know if you have a spark going? Just by looking in there or do i need a voltmeter or something?

R

[Ben_nz]

Check at the spark plugs first if that's easier.. Remove one plug from the engine, plug the spark plug lead back onto the plug, and hold the metal side/end of the plug against a metal part of the engine away from the empty spark plug hole.
Make sure you're only holding the insulated part of the lead and not the metal of the plug, then get someone to crank the engine over for a second or two. When the engine is cranking over you should be able to see the spark jumping at the end of the spark plug.

To check at the distributor, you could disconnect the main centre lead at the distributor end, try to expose the metal bit inside (without breaking it) and hold it close to the engine or its normal socket on the distributor. Again you're trying to see or hear any sparking as the engine is cranking over. Be sure to only hold onto the insulation of the plug lead though, and use rubber gloves or insulated pliers if you want because there's a chance you'll feel an electric shock if the spark likes you better than the engine!

It is easy enough to break spark plug leads by pulling on them the wrong way or bending them too sharply, and the breakage can be internal and not visible.

If anyone knows any less dodgy ways of checking for a spark, let Ravi know..

[Vecchio Alfisti]

There is a small tool that you can buy for a few dollars which you can hold agains the plug lead and a small neon will flash everytime a spark goes down. Mine is a handy thing which I use mostly with the lawn mower, but at least you know that the ignition is either firing or not. Mine is part of an ignition service kit and incorporates a gap setting tool a points file? and a gap measuring gauge. No name, the label came unstuck but it has printed on it "PLUG TOOL TESTER" Handy because you do not need to undo anything and you do not get a shock.
John
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Alfa 33 1.7 QF I think maybe now I m not so sure

[Ravi - not logged in]

Thanks for the replies guys.

I got the 33 started fine on the weekend. Basically, the problem was that the contact plugs on the coil were loose.

I remembered as I changed the leads, I saw what I thought was a loose connection and pushed it down further. What actually was the case is that when pushed down fully, the contact plug didn’t make a good connection with the coil. However, when you pull the plug off a little the connection is fine and the car runs like it always has!!

All is good and the 85 ti lives to run another year – mechanic passed the rego yesterday!!

Now all I need to learn how to do is tune carbs and I’ll be fine!

Cheers

Def