Richard,
You are right - the order is the same, and I also noticed this. I just was
curious as to WHY the PO had placed the plug wires (as identified by Haynes)
on one contact point counter-clockwise around the horn. Given my "rookie"
status, things being 1/4 turn CCW out of standard just seemed weird, and
since it didn't work properly, I assumed that it might be the cause of my
problem. My initial thought was he couldn't adjust the timing properly, so
rotating the cables 1/4 turn CCW might help get the dizzy back to a more
manageable position for adjustments. Just guessing.
In hindsight, I probably should NOT have changed my dizzy positioning since
I at LEAST had SOMETHING firing with the prior positioning. I followed the
recommendation of a good Spit mechanic on how to fix the problem, and it
seemed to sync up with some of the text in Haynes.
Now, help me out - I have trouble grasping the concept of a spark being 360
deg out of sync. Wouldn't 360 deg bring it right back to where it started?
The rotor goes counter clock-wise (CCW), with Haynes saying number 1 is at
11:00, 3 is at 7:00, 4 is at 5:00, and 2 is at about 1:00. The prior
arrangement was 2134. I'm confident that the diagram in Haynes showing the
spark wire configuration is correct (but thanks for mentioning it, sometimes
it can be something silly).
Unfortunately, Haynes does not provide a means of setting a breakerless type
ignition statically (they say it's not practical) - only dynamically. Of
course they assume you can idle the engine at 800 RPM while you use your
timing light.
Thank you for investing the time and thought into your response. NO
apologies needed whatsoever. I seem to come up with creative ways to defy
logic with my projects and get responses from seasoned veterans such as
"I've never seen THAT before an all of my 40 years of working
on________(fill in the blank!)" Oh well, it's the journey, not the
destination that makes this all worthwhile (right?)
Greg Hendrix
Downingtown, PA
'74 Spitfire (in traction and on a respirator)
-----Original Message-----
From: Richard B Gosling [mailto:Gosling_Richard_B@perkins.com]
Sent: Tuesday, May 30, 2000 8:05 AM
To: gahendrix
Subject: Re: Timing Woes
Greg,
First comment - timing order 2134 is the same thing as 1342 - it just
depends
on where you start counting. 1342134213421342 - you could equally call it
3421
or 4213 and it would be the same thing. So, if it was sort of running and
then you re-arranged your HT leads then that would explain why it stopped
running.
Your carb acting as an exhaust as you try to start it would suggest to me
that
you are getting a spark while, or shortly before, the intake valve is open.
Since you have just had an exhaust stroke, there's probably not a lot of
fuel-air mixture in the cylinder, but enough to ignite - suggests that
spark
plug is 360 deg out of sync.
Your dis-assembly and re-assembly procedures sound logical to me, at least
to
spark cylinder no. 1. Could it be that the other HT leads are connected
the
wrong way round - allow for the direction the distributor rotates, I can't
remember which way it goes without looking.
The other problem is exact timing. Even if you are firing the right
cylinder
at the right time, you need to have the spark approximately right to get it
to
run without backfires or pinking. You should try and set the timing
statically before you try to run the engine. Procedure for this should be
in
Haynes, it is quite straightforward.
Just a few thoughts and pointers. Apologies if you have already thought of
all
this, or I appear to be stating the obvious - it is not always easy to
assess
the skill and knowledge level of someone else, and I tend to err on the
side
of over-explaining, as too much explaining is always more useful than not
enough!
Good luck,
Richard Gosling and Daffy
P.S. Please forward this to the List for the comments of others - I seem
unable
to sent stuff directly to the List, so I have not sent it myself.
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