Like the title says, If I was to (hypothetically ) leave the ignition on with the engine not runing for a couple of hours, could it kill the coil. I seem to remember reading something somewhere about this being a bad thing.

The other thing is, does it make a difference if it's a Pulsar dizzy and GT40rt coil?

Yes for points type ignition. If the contacts are closed then the coil will be 'on' and overheat. I don't know how the pulsar dizzy switches the coil so can't answer that.

Coil type doesn't matter, even if you think it's not damaged it most likely is and will need to be replaced.

Daniel

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Mafs waz not my strong subgeckt at skkol

...And they get damned hot, too!

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I've accidentally left igntion on for an hour on my pulsar dizzy, didn't do any damage, only thing is that with the key set to igntion, someone could drive away! No, they wouldn't get far! Electric fuel pump off!

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1964 Morris 850, 1330 Supercharged - 81.8hp atws.
1975 Leyland Mini S 1100S powered - Nice and reliable.
1977 Leyland Mini LS - Project LS-T

i've done it a few times in my A+ with elec dizzy, no issues

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Does it get hot?

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SooperDooperMiniCooperExpertEngineering

All garage work involves equal measures of enthusiasm, ingenuity and a fair degree of irresponsibility.

As far as I know, the pulsar coil uses a magnetic field pickup, so no points. Shouldn't be a problem with pulsar coil.
KB

Ok, it seems you guys are right. It wasn't the coil. I'd been mucking around trying to get a 32/36 Weber to run and couldn't get a smooth idle. Seemed like it was only running on three cylinders. I hadn't touched the igniition side, so I was sure it was the carb. In the end, I gave up and re-fitted the good 1-1/2 SU - and still had the same rough idle. Swore a bit.

Decided the ignition must be the issue, changed the coil (thinking I'd cooked it), no change, swore a bit more. Thought about it some and checked the most obvious thing - spark plugs. Sure enough, number one was wasn't firing at all - I'm guessing from the over rich mixture when testing the Weber.

All the while, it seemed like ot was only running on three. One day I'll learn to check the obvious things first.

Leaving the key on will stuff a coil with a points ignition. It can also stuff the points if it is stopped in the right spot.
I would not advise leaving the key on with a Lucas or Pertronix electronic ignition either. Pertronix have a bad reputation for self destructing when the ignition is left on for more than a minute.

Yes a Pertronics Ignitor will damage itself (not the coil) if left on for a minute.
However the newer Pertronics Ignitor 2 addresses this problem, but it's not available for all model Lucas dizzys.
see link- http://www.vintageperformance.com/retro ... /lucas.htm

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DrMini- 1970 wasaMatic 1360, Mk1S crank, 86.6HP (ATW) =~125 @ crank, 45 Dellorto (38 chokes), RE282 sprint cam, 1.5 rockers, 11.0:1 C/R.

I forgot one key thing. I ahve an immobilser, which turns ignition off anyway. So yeah I don't really know. It's been a long time since I've driven my car, but the clubman does have a pulsar dizzy without an immobilser, so I might check sometime.

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1964 Morris 850, 1330 Supercharged - 81.8hp atws.
1975 Leyland Mini S 1100S powered - Nice and reliable.
1977 Leyland Mini LS - Project LS-T

If the ign was left on and the points were open, then there is no curent path to ground. So no current will flow through the coil. So it wont be damaged.

However if points are closed, then yes it will sit there pulling 12v straight to ground through the points. Eventually causing the primary winding in the coil to go open circut from excessive heat.

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