2nd attempt to start the Disco was unsuccessful

[jimwilly]

I put a can of Seafoam fuel treatment in the tank along with 5 gals of Sunoco premium. I then pulled all 8 plugs and cleaned them up good, installed the battery and opened and closed the doors with the key 8 or 9 times. reset the inertia switch on the firewall and tried to start it. (I also sprayed some ether in the manifold) I got the same result strong crank with a brief catch then just cranking.
I pulled off a spark plug wire, inserted the screwdriver and put it close to ground and had my buddy crank it. In the 4-5 second crank cycle I got only 1 spark to that plug, and it was a very weak yellow spark. I reconnected wire and then pulled it off at the distributor end and cranked. Again, same result, this time no spark at all. I then pulled the front 4 plugs again (two on each side) and they were wet fouled. Cleaned them and tried once more, same result. There is no spark to the plugs or the distributor for that matter. (plugs cap, rotor and wires are all new). I checked the the previous maintainer once again, and he now tells me that the last time he started the Disco was around Halloween (he originally told me it was Christmas)
I was going to pull the coil, and take it to Autozone for testing/replacement, but it began pouring, and I was soaked, so I called it a day.
Is there a way to tell if it is the coil or the ignition module? Where is the ignition module?
Any advice would be appreciated.

Jim

 

[joey]

Jim, it would help to either stay in the same tread, or at least repost info on the vehicle.... had to run back to the other tread to get year....

on the '94 I would start with a Genuine LR Distributor cap and rotor button. New plugs (cheap champions), if that doesn't work, then you may have a bad coil. I would bet on the Dizzy cap though... if I were a gambling man.

 

[jimwilly]

Joey,
sorry about that, on the other forums I post on, the guys get furious if you keep bringing up the old thread. =)
The plugs are NGK R's, and aside from some light carbon residue, they look fine. the cap and rotor are new, with almost no arcing on the contacts inside the cap. I will try a new cap and rotor, as well as a new coil.
Is there anyplace online to order one, the best price that I have is $88 from the PartsPlus auto store that I used to work for.
Also, is there a way to rule out the distributor module, or any other potential problem?

 

[joey]

call Nathan http://www.discountbritishparts.com/
or https://www.roverparts.com/

I would still get the cheap champions... (trust me)

Also read through this https://www.roverparts.com/TechTips/#discovery

 

[jimwilly]

How about the Lucas Tune up kit. It includes the Lucas Cap and rotor, with the new Chanmpion plugs. is the Lucas of comparable quality to the Genuine LR cap and rotor?

 

[Moose]

It's probably the exact same thing. Lucas provided all the electrical junk on Rovers for many a year...

 

[jimwilly]

Great! I ordered the tune up kit from roverparts.com. I will give it a shot this week.

 

[jimwilly]

Well, the third attempt was unsuccessful as well.
I changed the cap and rotor, put in the new champions, and still no spark. I had bought a new coil, so I put it in anyway. Still nothing. The engine will still wet foul the plugs within 5 seconds of cranking, still no spark.
I'm having it towed this week to a LR repair shop, hopefully they can get it running well for me.

 

[joey]

Ouch, sorry to hear that things have not gone well... At this point I would have looked at the ignition module or the alarm ECU, I would have also check to make sure that there was not corrosion on any contacts going to the coil or the Distributor.

I hope that it doesn't cost a fortune to get it fixed.

 

[jimwilly]

Yea, I was thinking about the module as well. the only problem is the car is 50 miles from my house (and my tools) I can't possibly bring enough tools with me to pull everything that I think could be wrong, and I don't have the time to take random days to keep playing with it.
Hopefully, it'll be something minor.