New Cap, Rotor and wires and no start and floods out.

riceybean · Nov 20, 2010

Just wanted to replace the wires, cap and rotor and no start. Tried putting the old one back on, same problem. I have checked and rechecked the wire routing and it all looks good. Its getting spark, shocked the crap out of me slowly turning the dist while checking timing. The plugs are getting soaked, coughs and sputters but no go. Any ideas?

FASTTECK · Nov 21, 2010

#1 Did you take your distributor out when to replaced this stuff?

If not

Did you hold the distributor shaft down when you pulled the rotor off?
if you didn't the guts of the distributor may have come loose.
take the rotor back off and remove the top dust cover, look to see if the springs are loose inside there.

Report back with what you find.

MUSKYMAN · Nov 21, 2010

takes more then pulling the dust cover...

pop the cap off and twist the rotor, is there springy resistance to it? does it pop back to where it starts when you twist it and let go?

If not then you will need to disassembly the distributor. you will need to remove the dust cap and the stator plate to access the advance weights and springs.

macklow · Nov 21, 2010

before disassembling, make sure your springs are actually loose.

Using a timing light, I discovered my centrifugal advance was not working. After taking off the cap, the rotor would not "spring back" after twisting, so I thought things were busted inside.

After removing the "spark" cap, I could not see anything rolling around at the bottom of the distributor. A few sprays of some oil (some silicone dupont stuff) and liberal dose of elbow grease, the distributor armature started acting normal again and would return to its rest position when twisted.

A quick test with the timing light showed the centrifugal advance was working.

unfortunately, no performance increase

riceybean · Nov 21, 2010

Dist might be possible.. I did have a hell of a time getting the rotor off of there. Actually destroyed it in the process, I will check that tonight. I do have a used/good distributor as well, might just put that in and see what happens.

riceybean · Nov 21, 2010

Just checked real quick, everything looks good in the distributor, springs are working and checked the advance, that's good too. Just noticed that my alarm isn't arming itself anymore.. I had disconnected the battery while doing this,would that do it?

Out of curiosity, in relation to the front clip that hold the cap on, where is #1? I have it as the second to the right as you are looking at it.

ptschram · Nov 21, 2010

riceybean said:
Out of curiosity, in relation to the front clip that hold the cap on, where is #1? I have it as the second to the right as you are looking at it.

:banghead:

Pull the number one plug, crank until pressure felt. The cap tower the rotor is pointing towards is number one.

riceybean · Nov 21, 2010

ptschram said:
:banghead:

Pull the number one plug, crank until pressure felt. The cap tower the rotor is pointing towards is number one.

That is next on the list. The pistons are soaked and will have to oil the tops to help compression as I think I lost some.

macklow · Nov 21, 2010

ptschram said:
:banghead:

Pull the number one plug, crank until pressure felt. The cap tower the rotor is pointing towards is number one.

Once the above is accomplished, one can "fine-tune" (ha-ha) the timing by lining the timing mark 3 BTDC on the crankshaft (turn crank with wrench).

Then fiddle with the distributor until the rotor points at the one of the towers on the distributor cap; call this tower #1 and hook all those wires up in the correct order.

should fire right up (or so RAVE tells me).

a timing light will be needed to get the timing correct, but the above should be "close enough" to get the engine started.

riceybean · Nov 22, 2010

TDC on #1 is lined up with the dist #1, still no start. cough and sputters but nothing. Is it possible that the dist gear has slipped a notch?

macklow · Nov 22, 2010

if you've flooded it, try holding the gas pedal to the floor and let it crank.

riceybean · Nov 22, 2010

It was flooded as heck, had to squirt a bunch of oil in the cylinders, twice. She is a running good now just have to set the timing tomorrow and hope I didn't mess up the cylinder walls.

Tugela · Feb 2, 2018

Thread revival time. I have a new cap and rotor for my 1993 RRC's distributor as part of a tune-up. As I've mostly worked on GEMS engines in the past this is new to me. Any other recommendations for how to avoid causing problems? Sounds like rotor removal can be a challenge. What else should I be aware of / prepare for to get this right the first time?

Frobisher · Feb 3, 2018

When I did this on my 95 Disco, it felt like brain surgery, especially with the plugs and wires added in. Just follow the directions and put everything back exactly as-was. I found good advice on here for the specifics, which made it a bit less nerve-wracking.

discostew · Feb 3, 2018

I always get thrown off when I see a post from muskyman pulled out of the archives.

I would check for spark at the coil wire going into the distributor and if you have it at the coil wire but not coming out of the distributor it's usually the rotor( don't care if its new).

And then what muskyman said.

discostew · Feb 3, 2018

Put one wire on at a time. And if you get mixed up it's 18436572 as a firing order.

Use a screw driver to hold down the shaft from under the rotor when you pull it off.

If it doesn't have the module relocation modification think about doing that. And if you do decide to do it pay close attention to the pass thru connector that will go in the distributor. I've seen guys end up with 2 ign modules in the circuit and it won't run.

Think about replacing the coil while your in there. Those things were crap.

Think about setting the timing with a vacuum gauge instead of a timing light. Then leave it a bit loose so when you test drive it you can back it off(retard it) to get rid of any pinging.

And keep in mind it's spelled CUX but we pronounce it SUCKS.

Tugela · Feb 3, 2018

discostew said:
Think about replacing the coil while your in there. Those things were crap.

Think about setting the timing with a vacuum gauge instead of a timing light. Then leave it a bit loose so when you test drive it you can back it off(retard it) to get rid of any pinging.

Thanks. Already installed a new coil (assume you mean ignition coil that connects to the distributor from the driver's side of the engine compartment) and connecting wire.

I've never set timing. Is this is a necessary step when replacing the rotor? RAVE does not mention timing when replacing the rotor:

Service repair no - 86.35.16
1. Pull rotor arm from shaft.

2. Fit a new rotor arm if faulty.

Further along I see

Service repair no - 86.35.15

goes into detail on setting ignition timing. After reading the directions I realize I don't have the tools to do this and I'm not confident it's something I want to try on my own having no experience with it. I might need to recruit a friend who knows what he's doing for this. The consequences of getting it wrong sound like it's not worth fumbling my way through it.

discostew · Feb 3, 2018

Get a cheap vacuum gauge and do some google searches. I think with older engines and looser timing chains using a vacuum gauge compensates for all that. As you turn the distributor while the engine is running manifold vacuum changes. If you turn the distributor till you get the gauge at 18" of vacuum would be about optimal.

You can use a vac gauge for a lot of drivability problems. And diagnosing valve train stuff.

luckyjoe · Feb 3, 2018

Rotor removal leads to the highest problem potential. If it’s stuck to the shaft you can inadvertently pull the shaft upward resulting in several potential problems. I recommend destructive rotor removal (drill, split, crush).

When I acquired my LWB the top hat was toast (discovered with the first rotor removal). I had to pull the distributor and rebuild it, then suffered a myriad of IAM issues ultimately relocating it, and dug through the Dweb archives / got some really good advice here. Once you are familiar with it, it’s not a difficult ignition system to understand.

eliaschristeas · Feb 3, 2018

nick you truck doesnt run or does it? the original distributors are all fucking dead or about to be. do yourself a favor and buy the pertronix distributor - the one with the ignitor in it (not the one with points like the lucas shit).

if you have screwed up firing order or something you can search here.

i have seen more times than not #1 being put on the wrong tower by some previous shop. so if you put #1 where it should be and missed their mistake you are fucked. you need to retime it. its in here too. in fact, an exchange between me and PT from several years ago.

call me if you need help.

resetting the timing and putting a new dizzy in there is one of the best things you can do on a LUCAS rover.

New Cap, Rotor and wires and no start and floods out.

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