Triumph Repair: Beck-Arney , Dist pickup magnet., opus system, electronic ignition systems

Question
I have a 1976 TR-7 2.0. It has been starting and running fine for about a year(since I bought it) It died a few days ago and It is not getting spark to the plugs. Ive checked the wires, coil, dist cap and rotor. Is there a simple why to check the Beck-Arney (#Carb E.O. D-57-2) Dist. pickup magnet? To your knowledge is there anything else that would cause this? Thanks, Danny

Answer
Hi Danny,

Any electronic ignition system just connects the coil to ground and then breaks that connection to get the coil to unload a spark, as does a pointed system. So if you have power to a coil and you tested the coil and you have a good coil wire, cap, rotor and plug wires and there is no spark, Then you know the igniter (no matter what brand) is not operating. I take it you confirmed the air gap on this pick up?

Even though I use to work for Beck-Arnley for many years I don't know what brand igniter / pick up they are selling now.

When the cars were new, aftermarket companies came out with alternative ignition systems for the Lucas/Opus system used on the TR-7 because the Lucas/Opus system failed so often that most of the cars didn't even get out of warranty without having one or more replacements of the ignition system. If you have the box mounted on the side of the distributor and the vacuum unit mounted on that box, that is the Lucas/Opus system but look at the three wires from that box and look at the wires from the pick-up. If the wires from the pick-up come outside of the distributor and one goes to the coil and do not connect to that box, you have one of the aftermarket systems and the box (Lucas/Opus) is not used. You can connect a 12v test light to the negative side of the coil and spin the engine over and if the light does not pulse on and off the igniter is not operating.

I have a pessimistic view of most electronic ignition systems and would often relate that view to my customers who asked about them. If you are driving out in the country with the designer/engineer of the electronic ignition system in your car and it dies. He can't fix it!!!
But if I had points and condenser and that failed I could usually fix it with a piece of baling wire and screwdriver, or put the cheap extra set of points I keep in the glove box in and get home.

Howard