Thread: to spark or not to spark.... disco 1 v8

What are the symptoms when it breaks down.

well it just dies like lack of fuel. i thought it may be a fuel pump . but its not, also then i though it had a a blocked fuel filter. so i changed it, old fuel filter was filthy,

now today went for small drive all good,then when to go out again but went to start , no go.
then it started and stalled , now wont start. again i can hear fuel pump pressuring(is thats a word) but i think it has no sprk as i took of lead to coil and tryied to earth it(while missus turning it over) ,had no spark at all,

my disco fails to proceed now and again, and i have found that it will reset whatever goes wrong by turning it off and restarting.
yours sounds like it has got itself tied in knots also.
try disconnecting the battery and reconnecting - i know this sounds ridiculous, but sometimes it works.
i have also had the no spark thing happen five doors from home and tried everything to no avail, suddenly it changed its mind, still don't know what happened.
one time it was running badly and i banished it to ricks - he replaced a temp sensor and it was perfect.

but i should be getting spark. but not. its been playing up last few days .
so how do i test coil. should it have spark while cranking and earthing the lead???????????????

coil should be sparking, can you beg, borrow or steal another coil from someone to test. If not Supercheap may be worth a visit. A new coil isnt much from memory around $50. I havent looked at replacing one in years though.
Just as another thought. Disconnect battery and clean all contacts and earths with wire brush. Just to be sure. Is the battery OK, cells havent collapsed etc.
Are there white powder looking marks on any of the HT leads? This would indicate arcing to an earth.

ok ill try that. i know the bat is ok. but yeah i do think its the coil no getting one spark at all.

if i ran 2 wires from bat to coil and then earthed the lead should thi make it spark? just trying to test coil
the coil looks old

whats the general life span of a coil. ?

years, but they are like coil packs. When they go they go. Heat isnt particularly good for them. Its not the leads is it. Maybe the HT lead is cactus.

well funny u say heat is no good for them. i have had some over heating problems recently also. this wouldnt have helped. ill buy a new coil tomoorow . and try that. do i need a particular coil for a v8 landie or just any 1?

i just want to get it back to my house. its 1klm away. not safe leaving it where it is .

ty for ur help.