Distibuter Removal

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peterweston
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Distibuter Removal

Post by peterweston »

Hi
I have to remove the distributer to check the pick-up coil as it appears to be open circuit at the moment. Any pitfall to be aware of before I attempt it.

Regards
Peter
Regards

Peter

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Re: Distibuter Removal

Post by AndyC »

Suggest removing dissy cap to give slightly more space. mark position relative to fixed item (clamp if you're leaving it in place) and note direction or rotor arm before removing).

Oh, nearly forget, remove small children from area (unless parents don't mind them learning colourful language) and get some plasters ready.

Andy

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Re: Distibuter Removal

Post by peterweston »

AndyC wrote:Suggest removing dissy cap to give slightly more space. mark position relative to fixed item (clamp if you're leaving it in place) and note direction or rotor arm before removing).

Oh, nearly forget, remove small children from area (unless parents don't mind them learning colourful language) and get some plasters ready.

Andy
Cheers Andy for those wise wurds. I guess it's a bit of a bugger then!! I'll post the result tommorow.
Regards

Peter

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Re: Distibuter Removal

Post by AndyC »

It depends how many joints your fingers have. :lol:
You may find it's easier to rotate your arm so the palm is upper most, then you can curl fingers round the carbs to get to the dissy.

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Re: Distibuter Removal

Post by peterweston »

AndyC wrote:It depends how many joints your fingers have. :lol:
You may find it's easier to rotate your arm so the palm is upper most, then you can curl fingers round the carbs to get to the dissy.
Well it was surprisingly easy. I already had the dist cap off, so it was just a matter of marking the position of the distributer where it joins the engine casing and undo the one bolt holding it in without disturbing the clamp. Just got to hope the pick-up coil is not faulty :(
Regards

Peter

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Re: Distibuter Removal

Post by barker_001 »

It's more likely to be the cables coming out of the distributor to the AB14 ignition module that will be open circuit rather than the coil - they break inside the insulation. I had to cut mine right back to the distributor and replace them with good quality silicone cable. If you put a dc voltmeter across the two cables and turn the distributor, you should be getting 4 easily measurable "pulses" for each rotation.
Bryan

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Re: Distibuter Removal

Post by peterweston »

barker_001 wrote:It's more likely to be the cables coming out of the distributor to the AB14 ignition module that will be open circuit rather than the coil - they break inside the insulation. I had to cut mine right back to the distributor and replace them with good quality silicone cable. If you put a dc voltmeter across the two cables and turn the distributor, you should be getting 4 easily measurable "pulses" for each rotation.
Hi
After speaking to Mike at Lotus Bits he told me to measure with two pins at the coil itself and take the cables out of circuit. this I did and I did not get the 2.5Kohm resistance required so I have ordered a new pick up.

Thanks for the reply.
Regards

Peter

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JimmyC379
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Re: Distibuter Removal

Post by JimmyC379 »

Hi all,

I am having trouble starting my Excel so I thought I would start by changing the rotor and distributor cap. I could not get the cap off without removing the distributor. I am now a bit worried about getting timing correct. Can someone tell me if it is safe to remove the distributor without removing any thing else?
1984 Lotus Excel
1998 Peugeot 306 GTI 6

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Re: Distibuter Removal

Post by peterweston »

JimmyC379 wrote:Hi all,

I am having trouble starting my Excel so I thought I would start by changing the rotor and distributor cap. I could not get the cap off without removing the distributor. I am now a bit worried about getting timing correct. Can someone tell me if it is safe to remove the distributor without removing any thing else?
Hi

I had to remove the dissy to get the new pickup coil in and it was quite simple.
Make sure you remove the air filter box from the carbs to gain enough access. Mark the position of the adjuster plate on the bottom of the dissy against the entry to the engine and ensure you note the position of the roter arm. The bolt holding the distributer can now be removed and the dissy can be wriggled out from under the carbs. Replacement is just a reverse of the above.

Hope this helps. I took a picture during removal and I'll post when I get home.
Regards

Peter

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JimmyC379
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Re: Distibuter Removal

Post by JimmyC379 »

Thanks for your reply. The only problem I have is I did not mark where I pulled it of so I am starting from scratch. I was just worried if I pulled out the dizzy from the engine something attached to the dizzy might fall into the engine cause there is no gear at the end of the engine.
1984 Lotus Excel
1998 Peugeot 306 GTI 6

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JimmyC379
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Re: Distibuter Removal

Post by JimmyC379 »

Thanks for your reply. The only problem I have is I did not mark where I pulled it of so I am starting from scratch. I was just worried if I pulled out the dizzy from the engine something attached to the dizzy might fall into the engine cause there is no gear at the end of the dizzy.
1984 Lotus Excel
1998 Peugeot 306 GTI 6

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Re: Distibuter Removal

Post by robertverhey »

It's an offset half moon, isn't it? I can't recall. I know it will only go in one way. If you haven't turned the motor, you might be lucky. But you'll still need to time it with a strobe light. I think you'd better start from scratch, take off the bonnet (you'll need to do this to see the timing marks with your timing light), take out the spark plugs, turn the motor with spanner on crankshaft bolt with your finger in #1 plug 'ole until you feel pressure of air escaping then line up the crank at TDC mark, get a bandaid for your knuckles (!), Then mount the dizzy so shaft finds its home with rotor pointing more or less at #1 plug lead. Nip up the dizzy mount bolt and it should start. Oh bugger, hang on, what's that clang, spanner still attached to crank bolt (yep, been there, done that). Then use a timing light to get it to around 10 degrees BTDC
Robert Glacier Blue '87 SE

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JimmyC379
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Re: Distibuter Removal

Post by JimmyC379 »

Thanks Robert,

Now in the manual it says also to align the "align reluctor projection with pick up". I can't get the dizzy seated properly and align the reluctor projection is this critical? What is the reluctor projector?

Thanks
1984 Lotus Excel
1998 Peugeot 306 GTI 6

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robertverhey
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Re: Distibuter Removal

Post by robertverhey »

Aaah if you've got the manual your laughin'. Page 6 of section EMB has a picture that explains initial setup, with a picture of the aforementioned reluctor and pickup. Once that shaft has "keyed" itself in, you turn the distributor body to achieve that position. At that point (unless someone's faffed around with the leads), the rotor should be pointing at lead #1 in the distributor cap.
Robert Glacier Blue '87 SE

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JimmyC379
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Re: Distibuter Removal

Post by JimmyC379 »

Thanks Robert That makes perfect sense I will see how I go tomorrow - this site rocks!!!!
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