FSI distributor issue

[28]

Great read guys, lots of very interesting things in this thread. Thanks to Corley too for sharing this info as I’ve jumped on the band wagon as well and was able to get one for cheap cheap. I’ll fire up my lathe when I dig myself out from under the mountain of projects I seemed to have buried myself in and see how it goes.

[bettlesr]

I bought a rebuilt distributor and modified it as Corley said. Put it in and hooked it up only to find I got NO spark. So, now I am waiting for a new module. And, yes I did wire it up correctly. Depending where you go, the new module can cost more than the rebuilt distributor did in the first place. Got a new out of the box module coming.

[Corley]

Originally Posted by bettlesr

I bought a rebuilt distributor and modified it as Corley said. Put it in and hooked it up only to find I got NO spark. So, now I am waiting for a new module. And, yes I did wire it up correctly. Depending where you go, the new module can cost more than the rebuilt distributor did in the first place. Got a new out of the box module coming.

It's always possible to get a defective part I suppose, but before you plant the new part in there, a couple of things to check. First, are you running a 6volt car, if so, this is not going to work. You need to have 12v, negative ground. Next, check your coils primary resistance. That is from one of the small terminals to the other. You should have something in the 3 ohm to 4.5 ohm range. If it is less than 3ohms, get a different coil, preferably one that is for 12volts, with internal resistor. Next, triple check your wiring. The farthest terminal (on the modual) from the wires exit hole should be connected to the plus side of the coil. The closer terminal connects to the negative side of the coil. Nothing else connects to the negative side of the coil. Switched 12volts connects to the plus side of the coil, along with that farthest distributor wire. Connect a ground wire to the base of the distributor.

When you assembled the distributor, you need to make sure the rotor piece is installed in the correct side up orientation, it can be put on upside down. Also, the two verticle pole pieces should be aligned so the rotory part intersects these at the same time, and with fairly equal gap. Be sure you didn't forget the rotor. Ha!

Sure sorry to hear go got a dud, but stuff happens I guess. I now these work very well, but with a rebuilt dizzy you are never sure why it got turned in in the first place. I've seen those modules on fleabay for $10, and I've seen them for over $100. If you are not in a hurry, they pop up from time to time. If I can help further, let me know.

By the way, just for fun, I converted an HEI Olds distributor for the model A, and it also works great. It is big and ugly though, and harder to convert as the case is smaller and must be sleeved.

[tinkirk]

Corley

i have installed this and after 3-4 try's i was finally able to get the advance part dialed in to where i can say good enough right around the 28 mark at 3000 rpm no load and it will go to about 32 if i spin it a little higher but i figure that, that is something that i will not do to much or maybe not at all

Thank You for all the info that you have offered up
Tinkirk/Terry

[Corley]

Terry,. Good on you!

[bettlesr]

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Corley:

OK
I put the new module in and connected it up. Fired right up and ran great. I then shut it off and shortened the plug wires. The honda wires were way too long. Tried to start it again and nothing. Seems like the module went out again. Switched back to my "B" distributor and it ran OK. The coil is a Pertronix with about 5 ohms on the primary.
Where did you connect the ground wire from the distributor body? Would the coil mounting bracket be good?
Hope I can get this to run more than 5 minutes per module :>)
Thanks
Dick

[Corley]

Originally Posted by bettlesr

Corley:

OK
I put the new module in and connected it up. Fired right up and ran great. I then shut it off and shortened the plug wires. The honda wires were way too long. Tried to start it again and nothing. Seems like the module went out again. Switched back to my "B" distributor and it ran OK. The coil is a Pertronix with about 5 ohms on the primary.
Where did you connect the ground wire from the distributor body? Would the coil mounting bracket be good?
Hope I can get this to run more than 5 minutes per module :>)
Thanks
Dick

Dick,

Apparently you are living wrong, as the gods seem to hate you. Perhaps you will need to change your religion or something. OR, it could be Kara, getting back at you for something awful you did in the past! Whatever it is, that really stinks. By the way, no one has put any curses on you lately have they?

The ground should not really cause this problem, but there is a screw hole right next to the place the other wires exit the distributor. Two of the rebuilt units I converted had a spade tab terminal attached there. Just run a wire from that to a good ground point on the car.

So far, I've not seen any failures on this module, so I'm baffled as to why you would have two failures in such short order. I'm sure that you could also use a ballast resistor in serries with the coil feed line, as it won't degrade the spark enough to cause any trouble, but would drop the voltage enough to offer some protection for the module. The original ckt in the Honda fed 12volts directly to the coil/module, so I didn't feel you should need that. One more thing, I hope that you used some thermal grease under the module to conduct the heat away.

I wish you good luck,
Corley

[bettlesr]

I am running 12V Neg ground. The coil primary is a little over 5Ω. I am wondering if the fuel shutoff solenoid valve and / or the fuel pump is sending a spike back to the ignition when the key switch is shut off. These will get moved to the accessory relay I use for all my accessories. As far as the heat conducting grease, the module mounts on a little piece of aluminum the is solid around the mounting screws but only has a small rib between the ends. Maybe I should machine up a more solid piece to help remove the heat. The "good" module seemed to die right after I shut the engine down.

[Corley]

You might also try a capacitor from the coil 12v side to ground. This would be for noise suppresion. I also have an electric fuel shutoff valve, and no issues with module damage. I suspect you just got a bad one, but who knows???

[denniskliesen]

My past experience with pertronix was in a different application. Others who had them in the same vehicle as I that had experienced failures realized straight up that it was a must to have resistor plug wires and resistor spark plugs along with the correct coil. I had considered going with a FSI setup when getting my Model A running but decided to keep it more original in appearance with the distributor and plugs and wires.

[katy]

I am wondering if the fuel shutoff solenoid valve and / or the fuel pump is sending a spike back to the ignition when the key switch is shut off.

Putting a diode backwards across each devise would cancel any spikes generated.

[Corley]

Originally Posted by denniskliesen

My past experience with pertronix was in a different application. Others who had them in the same vehicle as I that had experienced failures realized straight up that it was a must to have resistor plug wires and resistor spark plugs along with the correct coil. I had considered going with a FSI setup when getting my Model A running but decided to keep it more original in appearance with the distributor and plugs and wires.

I run resister wires, don't know if they are required, but I figured they would be used with the original Honda application. Still can pull better than an inch of spark at the plug. This is basically just lifting the entire ignition system from the Honda, so should be super reliable. But, like I said, I'm not the expert, I just did what some other guys in the SF Bay area started doing 25 years ago, and the one who got me on to it has never had a failure using this setup.

The Pertronics, on the other hand, seems to have quite a few failures, so probably needs the high resistance coil, a ballast resister, resistance wires, resistor plugs, or etc. to live.

[bettlesr]

I am going to switch my Pertronix coil for a Standard replacement Honda coil as well.

[emf]

OK Corely, time for an update on my efforts. My roadster has some slight modifications on it, such as B engine with two Stromberg 81's and a Stipe Cam. I wanted to try this because I think I can... I bought a points version to avoid the 6/12 volt problems with electronics (I'm still 6 volt). To cut to the chase, I set the advance at idle around 5* and locked the set screw on the side of the head. After a run of about 4 miles, I stopped and while smiling to myself, noticed the idle was high. I checked the timing and it had jumped to 15*. The lock screw seemed to back off a bit, allowing the distributor to turn slightly. I might have to change the lock screw to a hex head to allow me to torque it a bit... How did you succeed in locking the distributor in place???

Frank

[Corley]

This is no different than an FSI distributor or a model B distributor in this regard. The original lock screw works fine on mine. Do you by any chance have a binding shaft? It would seem to take a lot of force to cause the distributor to turn and loose it's timing setting.

[emf]

I may have turned a few thousandths more off the housing than I should have. Maybe a hex head screw in place of the slotted screw will get it tighter...

Frank

[Josh Randall]

I used a Cone Point set screw from Fastenal, because the original would turn the Distributor when tightened down.

Might try that if all else fails.

Randall

[Corley]

You may have not got the two screws inside the distributor that hold the plate solid tight, did you check those?

[emf]

You know... I had the distributor shaft in and out so many times, the screws might be loose. I think I was so pleased with my almost success that I may not have tightened them. Easy enough to check...

Frank

[Corley]

Frank, when you get it sorted, we'd love to have your opinion on how it works for you. Now you can move on to using the spark lever for turn signals. Not too difficult...