Dave Brown wrote:
> I have two vastly different distributors, both supposedly from '79 1500
> midgets.
> One, Lucas 45DE4 >0176has a big box on the side where the vacuum
> diaphram is, and has a three wire hookup.
Sounds like a LUCAS EID system. Works great when it
works, then it leaves you stranded.
Even LUCAS acknowledged this sucked, and they produced:
> The other, Lucas 45DM4 >3780 has no big box before the diaphram and has
> a two wire hookup.
...the CEI system which was retrofitted under warranty
when ignitions failed. When my EID ignition died I was talking
to a local shop, the guy said he sold the cars when new and
sometimes they would die on the lot. Oh well.
> What is the difference between 2 & 3 wire? external vs internal
> resistor?
Internal versus external amplifier. The original has
all the guts on the side of the distributor, the later
has the wires going to a control box. I beleive it was
thermal failure that killed them, so maybe the
external guts are designed to be mounted where they
cool better.
> Is one better than the other?
The EID is a breakdown waiting to happen. The CEI
types work fine.
> PS one looks magnetic, one looks optical.
Both originals are magnetic. Perhaps one has been
replaced with a Crane/Allison pickup?
--
Trevor Boicey
Ottawa, Canada
tboicey@brit.ca
http://www.brit.ca/~tboicey/
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