SIII petrol not firing

[canyonero]

Hello all,
1973 Series III EX-MOD battery died in the cold, got it running, battery is now ok, will crank, but not fire. After the jumpstart and subsequent charging of the battery, the firing was very slow and labored, but it ran. That was 3 days ago. Now, it will just try to start with no catch, no fire. Battery and plugs are 6 months old, I cleaned up the rotor arm, the inside of the cap looks clean, am I on the right track with timing/firing? There is fuel in the carb, along with the occasional shot of starter fluid just for good measure, it doesn't seem to be a grounding etc. issue as I have all the lights and decent cranking. Thoughts?
Thanks.

[LaneRover]

Any chance that the wire(s) to the coil have been dislodged?

One time I drove through a BIG puddle in my '65 109 and it died. I was able to coast to a side road and then walked home. Came back to get it started fiddling with the wires and one just 'came adrift' I am actually surprised it took a puddle and not just the breeze of the fan to eliminate any sort of electrical connection once I fixed that it started right up.

[cedryck]

thoughts, yes,
I once took off the dristibutor cap, and the tab that is at the top of the inside cap, fell out, did not notice to way later,
then,
I once took out the rotor, and did not replace it, just saying these are stupid things that seem to trip us up once in a while,
so,
look at everything that makes spark, coil, ignition wires, pull a plug, see if it sparks,
cheers.

[stomper]

Pop the coil wire off the center position of the distributor cap. Have someone crank the engine over while you hold the wire close to a grounder piece of metal. If it shows a strong spark, replace the wire, and then try the same with each of the plug wires.

This will help you rule out or determine where the electrical fault lies.

[SafeAirOne]

Are you sure the battery is still good? I'd take it somewhere and have it load tested. Just because it is only 6 months old doesn't necessarily make it a good battery. AND, 6 month old batteries shouldn't be dying because of the cold (presuming it's a suitable automotive battery)

When battery voltage drops below a certain voltage, it takes a good chunk of battery life with it.

Recharging a bad battery won't make it better. Once the battery is damaged, there's no hope for rejuvenating it, generally speaking.



One of many similar Battery State-of-Charge charts available on the internets. Note the wording in the red zone:

[canyonero]

Update: After enlisting the local Rover Guru, it was realized that the battery had almost no water in it, and the points were not opening at all. After a qt or so of water in the battery and proper gapping of the points, jumping the battery made it fire right up, quicker than ever. Battery charge went from 11.9ish to 12.6+, now running smoothly.
Thanks.

[SafeAirOne]

Glad you got it sorted out.

Why was the 6-month old battery almost dry? Check your alternator's output. A bad voltage regulator could allow the battery to overcharge, boiling out all the distilled water.