Volvo RWD 140-160 Forum

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High Output Coil 140-160

posted by kevin_l on Tue Mar 15 05:25 CST 2005
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Hello,
This winter the three 140 series cars that my family is running all have a problem with a "soot like substance" on the plugs and coming out the exaust. I cant get them to run any leaner ( two with SU's one Weber)? All of them get to the point that they run extreamly rough and have sporatic missing symptoms, and wont run properly until I clean the plugs. It has been a cold winter up here in London Ontario, but I have been running these cars for a number of years without this problem. Is it possible that a high output coil might help remedy this situation?

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High Output Coil 140-160

posted by undrtw on Tue Mar 15 07:39 CST 2005
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last visit: Sat Apr 3 17:37 CST 2010

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Do they have points distributors. I'm guessing you've already checked them and they're ok and the dwell/timing is set properly. Just an idea.

much respect
curtis m. white

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Maybe it's the gas... 140-160

posted by uniberp on Tue Mar 15 07:12 CST 2005
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last visit: Mon Jan 31 07:08 CST 2011

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Odd that the same problem would occur on all three cars with different carb setups. Maybe a seasonal tuning for MBTE or whatever additives they put in (or take out of) the gas up there.
--
MPergiel, Elmhurst, IL '74 145e T-5 'Orange Alert'

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Maybe it's the gas... 140-160

posted by Phil S. on Tue Mar 15 07:34 CST 2005
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last visit: Fri Oct 24 13:18 CST 2014

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That was my thought too... no way are three coils going to go bad at once. The stock coils are perfectly adequate, so something else must be in play.

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Maybe it's the gas... 140-160

posted by someone claiming to be Niel on Tue Mar 15 20:19 CST 2005 [RELATED]

One of my friend got a tank full of water from the local (old) Mobil fuel station. His new BMW died (non-fatal) within a short distance. Old underground fuel starage tanks can leak, even new ones can leak, and perhaps that's what happened to all 3 your cars at once.

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High Output Coil 140-160

posted by walrus3 on Tue Mar 15 06:19 CST 2005
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last visit: Mon Dec 2 14:20 CST 2013

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If you are getting soot (not slime) on the plugs the mixture IS too rich.
The SUs could be suffering from leaks around the throttle shafts which
makes you tune them too rich at running speed to get a tractable idle.

I don't think a hotter coil will help but hotter spark plugs might.
You might try some BP5HS NGK plugs. They are a notch hotter than
the normal BP6HS.
--
George Downs Bartlesville, Heart of the USA!

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High Output Coil 140-160

posted by kevin_l on Thu Mar 17 15:22 CST 2005
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I will get myself a set of the recomended hotter plugs and see what happens on the worst one of the lot. Thanks

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High Output Coil 140-160

posted by yogui on Tue Mar 15 10:16 CST 2005
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last visit: Tue Apr 30 15:41 CST 2013

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Also, you can add a MSD5 ignition module (no more carbon - dry sooty - deposits on spark plugs, compatible with points, easy installation). I made it on my 121.

(you can see a photo of my setup on http://www.brickboard.com/GALLERY/images/4396.jpg )

Happy volving

--
Joaquin / Rojo 121 / Lima, Peru

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High Output Coil 140-160

posted by KLR142 on Tue Mar 15 05:57 CST 2005
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last visit: Mon May 9 12:44 CST 2011

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What coil are you using? Usually the coils on these cars are pretty darn adequate, with people only using hotter coils on some of the hotter motors. And what's your plug gap? And then I'll let more experienced people take over. It does sound just like a tuning problem with the carbs(well, the weber could just be the weber...), but you say you've been running them for years without this problem, so I don't know. Good luck!
--

142 Details

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High Output Coil 140-160

posted by kevin_l on Tue Mar 15 08:37 CST 2005
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I have been gapping at about .030 on the plugs. I have been attempting to lean the SU's on the worst one of the lot, which is a 73 144 with the later version SU's that dont have any discernable throttle shaft wear to no avail. I have also swapped out the complete carb set on this vehicle once. The other part of the story is, two nights ago I swapped the coil for an Accell High output that was laying around the shop to see what happened. The idle picked up, it seemed to perk up a bit but as I found out later, burned the points out within a half an hour. As a concequence of this I changed back again and put a new set of points in. My original thought was that if there was a coil out there that may help to mitigate against this soot problem until I can find out if the gas has changed then I would try it!

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High Output Coil 140-160

posted by walrus3 on Tue Mar 15 10:33 CST 2005
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last visit: Mon Dec 2 14:20 CST 2013

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I say again, it is NOT a problem with your coil. It is indeed a mixture
problem. Are you sure you know how to tune your carbs?
And have you tried hotter plugs? Carbon will NOT stick to a surface at
over 700�F. Hotter plugs will not foul as quickly!
--
George Downs Bartlesville, Heart of the USA!

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High Output Coil 140-160

posted by Phil S. on Tue Mar 15 12:36 CST 2005
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last visit: Fri Oct 24 13:18 CST 2014

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George, I agree with all that... but I must point out that there shouldn't be a problem with the *right* plugs. Something else is wrong, and hotter plugs are just a band-aid. Of course, if that's what it takes to keep the cars running, okay.

The odd thing is that all three cars are affected, which suggests something environmental rather than mechanical. But what?!

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High Output Coil 140-160

posted by walrus3 on Tue Mar 15 13:45 CST 2005
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last visit: Mon Dec 2 14:20 CST 2013

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Wonder if they have been using an alcohol mix gas and now they are getting
it straight.... If the mixture was set to burn alcohol it would be too
rich on gasoline.
--
George Downs Bartlesville, Heart of the USA!

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