Hi everyone, my first post as a new member to the forum! I hope this is the right place for this question - if not please let me know.



I have a question about the ignition system fitted to my V12. This engine is fitted in a kit car built in 1988/1989 so not a ‘standard’ installation and is fitted with 6 x 40DCOE Weber carbs. I didn’t build the car myself so don’t have an in depth knowledge of the setup.

The car has stood idle (garaged) for approximately 14 months and I'm now trying to get it going again. The situation now is that the engine turns over but does not fire. Fuel is good, battery is good, oil & water all ok but I'm not getting a spark. I should point out that the engine was running ok – albeit in need of a serious tune – before it was left idle.

The engine has a Lucas AB14 system installed with single Ducellier coil (all mounted on top of the engine) and I'm not really familiar with diagnosing issues with this arrangement - or any setup for that matter, it’s been a few years! From what I gather reading various comments online (including on this forum) this Lucas arrangement was a standard fitting to the V12?

Also, when checking out the distributor I noticed that the HT leads to the spark plugs are not all fitted to the distributor as per the diagram in a Haynes manual for an XJ12. In some cases the actual lead isn’t long enough to reach the distributor connection indicated on the diagram which seems a bit odd to me – I would have thought they’re all standard. Is there a scenario where the distributor sequence would be different to the manual with this type of system - different generations of the engine perhaps?

Can anyone give me any pointers on how to diagnose where the problem may be? For example, what voltages and resistances should I expect at various points around the amp/distributor etc.

Thanks in advance.