08-05-2022, 08:51 PM
Tickover and rough running - solved!
Total mileage is up to 325 or so and this weekend, we took the car on it's first club run, to west Dorset, near Bridport. The car was incredibly poor at ticking over and when it got hot, the engine would not run below 1500 rpm, evident after ascending some quite steep hills. We made it to Montacute House on Friday but expired in the car park.
Returned home today and decided to change the spark plugs on a whim. They were a new set, fitted to the car when I bought it, so I used them after the engine rebuild. When I checked them, they turned out to be Champion RD16's, not D16's. Apparently, the "R" denotes a built in resistor, to act as a suppressor but these plugs are not recommended for Magneto ignition ( Are suppressors and resistor sparking plugs OK to use with magnetos? (brightsparkmagnetos.com) )
Lo and behold! Changing the plugs to D16's instantaneously fixed the problems! 20% more power and smooth tickover, no stalling!
Really happy that the Top Hat is finally running as it should. Note to everyone - Do not use Champion RD16 plugs on Magneto cars!
However, it has to be said that the car is a bit of a greenhouse in this weather, so the Chummy may well be used for the North Devon event in a few weeks time.....
Total mileage is up to 325 or so and this weekend, we took the car on it's first club run, to west Dorset, near Bridport. The car was incredibly poor at ticking over and when it got hot, the engine would not run below 1500 rpm, evident after ascending some quite steep hills. We made it to Montacute House on Friday but expired in the car park.
Returned home today and decided to change the spark plugs on a whim. They were a new set, fitted to the car when I bought it, so I used them after the engine rebuild. When I checked them, they turned out to be Champion RD16's, not D16's. Apparently, the "R" denotes a built in resistor, to act as a suppressor but these plugs are not recommended for Magneto ignition ( Are suppressors and resistor sparking plugs OK to use with magnetos? (brightsparkmagnetos.com) )
Lo and behold! Changing the plugs to D16's instantaneously fixed the problems! 20% more power and smooth tickover, no stalling!
Really happy that the Top Hat is finally running as it should. Note to everyone - Do not use Champion RD16 plugs on Magneto cars!
However, it has to be said that the car is a bit of a greenhouse in this weather, so the Chummy may well be used for the North Devon event in a few weeks time.....