Santana SJ413 1989 Ignition problem

[erky32]

Hello,
I'm new on here, and I've just aquired a 1989 Santana SJ413 Sumaria (I think thats its full title!)
Generally it is clean and runs well, usually starts within a 1/4 turn.
BUT....
on some occasions it hasnt tried to start - ie turn key, ign light on - but no solenoid click.
Other times , I will be on the road, - the engine just cuts out, ign light comes on but it wont ignite. Sometimes while its rolling it will "jump" back into operation and get me home.
I've cleaned all the main earthing contacts, chassis, solenoid, battery, - chased that 12v are sitting at the coil. If I disconnect & clean/reconn the spades around the coil (yellow & black leads etc) sometimes it springs to life. I'm a bit lost for ideas.
It has a "igniter" style distributor which I'm always a bit dubious of - I bought the 413 to get back to "old-school" - but this is a modern feature, expensive & not maintainable - is it possible to exchange this distributor and replace it with an older contact-breaker unit ?
I look forward to any glimmer of help on this annoying problem.

[rockinsuzuki58]

check both the spade connecters on the starter motor and clean them with emery paper also ceck the ignition fuse in the fuse box right hand side under the dash i had the same problem and the cutting out was a dirty fuse hope this helps i live in cyorus please reply tony [good luck but i think this is the problem]

[erky32]

Hi Tony, thanks for the reply, I appreciate your ideas - I've cleaned , emery'd the surrounding spades, squirted with cleaner, checked the fuse in & out, - I must admit it does point to a bad contact/spade somewhere. It usually starts well & runs well, - but then unsuspectingly just cuts out. I fiddle with the connectors around the coil area & then it often restarts but I'm struggling to find the specific problem & fix!

[rockinsuzuki58]

thanks for the reply does your anus have a ballast resister on the coil? have you tried replacing the lead from the coil to the distributor? my coil lead went and i had the same problem it keep stopping and when i moved the lead it started i think it was 5 euros worth a try let me know tony in cyprus

[rockinsuzuki58]

my biggest problem was the ignition fuse hard to find i just sprayed wd40 in the fuse box and changed the fuse it cured everything just check it again tony

[erky32]

Cheers Tony, - thats 2 good plans, I've got some contact cleaner so I'll spray that in the fuse-box, and then I'll buy a new HT lead. Thanks for your thoughts!
Out of interest, have you ever looked into the idea of swapping out the "igniter" distributor for a Contact-Breaker distributor. Theyre a fraction of the price of the electronic loaded one. That electronic thing seems to work very well, she starts in a flash - but the moment that electronic unit ever packs in will be a real show stopper I guess!

[ScottieJ]

You quite often find that the old wires break inside the insulation just before the spade terminals, especially in the engine bay, might be worth cutting the connectors off and crimping new ones on at the coil and on the trigger wire for the starter. If cleaning the connectors here helps it could be a sign that that there are broken strands inside the insulation.

Trust me after many years of SJ ownership you will have a lot more issues with a contact-breaker style distributor, The electronic distributors rarely fail, I don't miss the days of driving around with a screwdriver, feeler gauges, some points and a condenser in the glove box. It would be a downgrade going back to points.

I would also look at the ignition switch itself, it might be worth trying to strip it an clean the contacts internally.

The coil could also be a suspect.

Unfortunately the Spanish wiring loom isn't the best, the PCB style fuse board really lets it down, they get hot, easily corrode and generally cause issues. I've just cut one out and fitted an aftermarket fuse box into a friends Spanish built samurai for him for this exact reason.

[erky32]

Thanks for the advice
I've just ordered 4m of HT lead & terminals, and some new spade connectors.
Today when it stalled on me - I tried wriggling the HY lead dist-coil and it restarted , so maybe this is the fault source!

[erky32]

that should have spelt HT

[rockinsuzuki58]

hi mate the lead sounds like the problem i have had it with 4 jeeps now i just changed the coil lead and everything was fine let me know tony in 44degrees cyprus