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MG TD TF 1500 - 55 MGTF coil

Is a 55 XPEG Coil supposed to be ballasted or non-ballasted? And, for what reason? I'm not an electronics guru, so I depend on the experience of others in that department. PJ
PJ Jennings

Non-ballasted, just a regular coil.

I am using the InterMotor Sports Coil from Moss in my TF1500, I run 30 thou points gap on Tom Lange’s recommendation.

Peter
P G Gilvarry

Thanks Peter, just what I wanted to know! PJ
PJ Jennings

The TF1500 Coil was originally an LA12 not the Q12 of the TF 1250. Also the bracket hold down of a 1500
has scalloped ends.

Cheers
Rob Grantham
Rob Grantham

30 thou points gap?!? Do you mean spark plug gap?
Steve Simmons

Just be aware that some sellers get themselves confused with ballast resistors listing coils as
" resistor coil"
That can be read as needing a resistor or- has internal resistor
You need a coil that measures around 3 ohms across the primary terminals (2 1/2--3 1/2)
willy
William Revit

Yes Steve, 30 thou gap on the plugs to reap the benefit of the sports coil.
P G Gilvarry

My coil is an L12 and the bracket has scalloped ends. How can I get this coil checked to see if it is still in top condition? I don't want to replace it if any way possible, but if it's breaking down under certain conditions I have no choice. I will keep the bracket regardless. PJ
PJ Jennings

You can measure the primary and secondary resistance of the coil, and this will give you an idea of whether it will work or not. Test both cold and hot. The numbers should be very similar. As I recall the L12 should measure 3.8 and 8500 but don't quote me on that. The only sure-fire way to know if the coil is good is to follow up with a spark test, which requires a testing rig. I've tested coils with good resistance numbers that failed the hot spark test. This means they might work when cool, but will fail to produce adequate spark when hot.
Steve Simmons

Thanks, Steve! But I think I found the problem, the coil wire going into the cap was loose but looked perfectally in position. Started wiggling wires and the coil wire came off in my hand! I cleaned the terminal and screwed it down tight and so far it appears to have cured the stumble! I must have loosened it when installing the new points, evidently, it wasn't as tight as it should have been from the beginning. When revving the engine, the vibration must have caused interference in the initial spark and created the stumble. A stupid maneuver on my part! Thanks to all for their time and input. PJ
PJ Jennings

Glad you resolved it. I use a spark tester when troubleshooting ignition issues. I had an idle RPM that would drop, and sometimes stop the engine.

Put the $5 ignition tester in the coil lead, I could see the spark intensity drop at the same time it exhibited the symptoms. New condenser, issue resolved.

It now lives in the toolbox permanently.

Peter
P G Gilvarry

This thread was discussed between 17/07/2021 and 18/07/2021

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