3.4 S Type electronic ignition/timing

[Br1970]

Hi

I am new to this forum even though I am a long term club member

I purchased a 123 ignition system for my car , 3.4 LTR S type , my son in his enthusiasm went ahead and removed the old distributor together with all the plug leads while I wasn't there , this puts me at a disadvantage as I haven't done this job before

I have now fitted the 123 distributor but would be grateful for advice on the following :

What is the correct sequence on the distributor cap to connect the HT plug leads

What is the easiest way for me to check that I have the distributor fitted correctly , that it is not 180 degrees out

Any advice on static & dynamic timing of the car would be appreciated

Kind Regards

Pat

[Martec]

Hi Pat,

I'm afraid I don't know of any way to correctly fit the leads other than go back to basics.

From the manual the correct timing order is 1,5,3,6,2,4 where 'No1 cylinder being at the rear of the engine unit' a direct quote from the book. It also quotes 7 degrees of advance with paper filters, but when running on unleaded petrol I would retard this to 4 degrees.

In your shoes I would proceed as follows:-

Remove the air cleaner and all loose bolts and nuts.

Remove both cam covers and all loose nuts and washers.

Remove the spark plugs, copperslip the threads and just leave them loose in there holes, then cover the valley with cloth to stop anything dropping into the cylinders (been there!!??).

Take the top off the distributor, but leave the rotor arm on.

Find a big spanner to fit onto the crankshaft bolt and turn the engine clockwise until you find a cylinder where both cams are off the cam buckets (over the valve stems) and using a long screw driver confirm the piston is near TDC (as high as possible).

As you turned the engine note which direction the distributor is turning, I think it is anti - clockwise.
As you now have a cylinder at TDC use the appropriate lead (by length) and the rotor arm pointing at a particular contact in the distributor cap (you can turn the distributor to which ever one suits you for the other connections).

Assuming the rotor arm does turn anti-clockwise and the cylinder at TDC is No3 say, then mark up the dizzy cap and the lead at both ends, the next terminal on the cap anti clockwise will be 6 then 2,4,1,5 and back to 3.

I assume you know how to set ignition advance or the instruction is in the dizzy packaging. It is easy enough to google it.

If you feel energetic enough you can turn the engine over the two turns required to confirm each lead to the TDC cylinder.

Again that is what I have done in the past but in practice turned the engine to no1 at TDC.

Put the plugs back in before doing anything else to stop anything getting into the cylinders.

Best of luck.
Brian

[Br1970]

Hi Brian

Thanks for your reply and the information

I will let you know how I get on

Thanks again

Pat