OK, fixed it. Here is the history of my "Zenith" problem in case you are
interested--and the latest cure.
The stages over the last month:
Stage 1. Initially had acceleration stall--Solution: fixed sticking acclerator
pump.
Stage 2. Also had stall on bumps and sharp curves--Solution: fixed float
level.
Stage 3. Then had hesitation problem--Solution: Readjusted idle screw from ALL
THE WAY IN (my gross negligence)--thanks John and Muddy.
State 4. Annealed carb and rebuilt. Idled better, ran perfectly for about 1/2
hour, then began hesitating in low gear.
The Solution? Turns out it was a bad condensor! At least that is the proximate
cause so far as I have been able to determine. I swapped carbs, took them
apart, etc. until I was blue in the face. In fact, I am sure that I could
remove, take apart, reassemble and reinstall in less than 15
minutes---blindfolded. I had already checked the timing, but then thought
about checking the condensor and connection. I unplugged and plugged it back
in, but the car seemed to run the same, stallout just off of idle. I then
replaced the condensor with a new one. This time the problem got worse, until
finally I couldn't start the car. Put the old condensor back on, and bingo,
car runs fine, and has done so now for over 100 kilometers.
The only sequence that makes sense to me is:
1. There was a bad connection or ground somewhere related to the condensor
connection.
2. The second condensor was bad already or went bad very rapidly.
3. Reinstalling the original condensor fixed the bad connection.
If anyone has any other theories I would love to hear them. What made it so
difficult to diagnose for me was the fact that this symptom occured just about
the time the car was fully warmed up after installing the annealed Zenith. So
my initial assumption was that it must be related--I mean, what are the odds??
Additionally, the symptoms seemed to be closely linked to the carb operation.
Once warmed up, if I moved the throttle lever just off idle, just a hair (you
know which kind), it would instantly cut out, just like you turned a switch on
and off.
At any rate, thanks to everyone who offered help. I now look foward ( I hope)
to some relatively maintenance free motoring until the next mechanical problem
rears its ugly head.
Two positive aspects:
1. Refamiliarized myself with all details of the fuel and ignition systems
after an absence of two years.
2. The above systems are 100%.
3. Now have a carb that doesn't leak, and hope to see slightly better mileage.
The last one leaked like a sieve. The new annealed one is dry as a bone--for
now.
John
Bangkok
1975 SIII 109, 2.25 Petrol
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