Ford Laser Misfiring, Power Loss

My daughter drives an old 1982 Laser which I have maintained for several
years. Recently it started suddenly developing a power loss and stalling. It
does not happen all the time, but when idling the engine hesitates
erratically. At least it does that all the time. I have replaced the spark
plugs and points, and adjusted timing. I have also replaced the air filter,
but not the fuel filter. I have also blown out the jets on the carburettor.
The only thing which looks unusual to me is a buildup of rust inside the
high voltage socket on the coil, and corrosion on the tip of the mating
igition lead.

There seem to be no vacuum leaks that I can see. I have ensured that all the
screws around the carburettor body are tight.

I know this is a silly question, as the problems could range from fuel,
through ignition to vacuum and compression, but what would you guys do as a
diagnostic procedure?

Any ideas much appreciated. Thanks.

Henry.

>My daughter drives an old 1982 Laser which I have maintained for several
>years. Recently it started suddenly developing a power loss and stalling.
It
>does not happen all the time, but when idling the engine hesitates
>erratically. At least it does that all the time. I have replaced the spark
>plugs and points, and adjusted timing. I have also replaced the air filter,
>but not the fuel filter. I have also blown out the jets on the carburettor.
>The only thing which looks unusual to me is a buildup of rust inside the
>high voltage socket on the coil, and corrosion on the tip of the mating
>igition lead.

>There seem to be no vacuum leaks that I can see. I have ensured that all
the
>screws around the carburettor body are tight.

>I know this is a silly question, as the problems could range from fuel,
>through ignition to vacuum and compression, but what would you guys do as a
>diagnostic procedure?

>Any ideas much appreciated. Thanks.

>Henry.

Not a silly question Henry.....sometimes people just don't know how to
solve things....its sounds like you found the problem, but just haven't
fixed it.... I would say that as long as you don't have any vacuum leaks,
and your compression is good, that you should replace the coil. First check
to see if you have a weak spark or a strong one. Chances are, it has
weakened. The only other thing I could think of is on the exhaust end....
how old is the muffler? The catalytic converter? Does the exhaust system
seem to be working properly? If your exhaust isn't working properly (ie it
may have been clogging up over the years), you may need to look here
too....oh.. one more thing.... and I am sure you've done this, but check to
make sure both the plugs AND point gap is correct and hasn't loosened up,
especially the points... they might cause a problem like that too.

Good Luck,

Fwed

Does it have mechanical or transistorized points in the distributor?
When the transistors start to go the ignition can become irratic at idle.
Some auto parts stores will test transistorized ignition modlues for free.

I put a description of the diagnosis and replacement of the ignition
module on my '89 Festiva on my webiste (see below) under "Cars".

A hand held vaccum guage will show if the exhaust is restricted.
A description of the engine poblems you can diagnose with a vaccum guage
is also on the website.

good luck.
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"hemyd" > wrote in message
u...
> My daughter drives an old 1982 Laser which I have maintained for several
> years. Recently it started suddenly developing a power loss and stalling.
It
> does not happen all the time, but when idling the engine hesitates
> erratically. At least it does that all the time. I have replaced the spark
> plugs and points, and adjusted timing. I have also replaced the air
filter,
> but not the fuel filter. I have also blown out the jets on the
carburettor.
> The only thing which looks unusual to me is a buildup of rust inside the
> high voltage socket on the coil, and corrosion on the tip of the mating
> igition lead.
>
> There seem to be no vacuum leaks that I can see. I have ensured that all
the
> screws around the carburettor body are tight.
>
> I know this is a silly question, as the problems could range from fuel,
> through ignition to vacuum and compression, but what would you guys do as
a
> diagnostic procedure?
>
> Any ideas much appreciated. Thanks.
>
> Henry.
>
>
Thank you Fwed, thank you William.

Just before I replaced the fuel filter, checked for manifold tightness and
for any vacuum leaks. I did a compression test, getting roughly 175 +/- 10
on all 4 cylinders (didn't do it properly - forgot to get the wife to open
up the throttle).

Then I went to replace the coil, and found something strange -

The high voltage lead from the coil was seized solid inside the distributor
cap socket. The end of the insulation had gone white. When after great
effort I managed to pull out the metal cable end which remained jammed in
the socket, I found that the entire inside of the distributor socket had
gone white with corrosion. I am not a motor mechanic, but have replaced
ignition components on about two dozen occasions, and have never seen
anything like that corrosion. Tomorrow I will get a new cap before fitting
the new leads, but I would really appreciate some ideas as to what could
have caused this corrosion and, more to the point, what it is that may still
be faulty and cause this to recur.

Thank you once again.

Henry.

"hemyd" ) writes:

> I would really appreciate some ideas as to what could
> have caused this corrosion and, more to the point, what it is that may still
> be faulty and cause this to recur.

My guess would be moisture from humidity and condensation. A new set of
ignition wires will have a small tube of silicone sealant to put on the
cap where the rubber seal goes before installing the new wires. A larger
tube of dielectric silicone sealant can be purchased at the auto parts
store.

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