Anything and everything Spitfire.

Just an observation really but the car let me down on Wednesday in the pouring rain right at the entrance to the main Sleaford bypass roundabout, oh joy. First time ever! The engine would run when the starter was engaged but died when disengaged. Due to the trucks thundering 2 foot from the port wing I used the starter to clamber onto a grass island. Having read previous posts I was fairly sure it was the Rotor arm although this is the first time I have ever had a problem with it. Also thanks to previous posts I keep spares in the boot and was going again in no time. The ignition system was dry and sealed so water ingress was not an issue (bloody was for me tho'!)

In the dry I checked the old rotor arm and cap and came to the conclusion that, although there was no obvious wear or damage, clearly the contacts in the cap were coated with the bakalite/plastic of the cap where the rotor had been arcing across. The rotor arm itself seems fine. This would explain why the engine would fire on the starter (12 volts) but fail otherwise (6 volts) as the tiny coating was acting as an insulator. I have bought another arm and cap and intend to use a 'Dremel' type thing to remove the plastic next to the contacts at an angle so in theory it should not happen again. Anyone else had the same thoughts?