Jason McIvor
Club Member
Sh1t
Ball bearings sitting in this
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My first classic (part-refurb) '78 280z, LHD, auto, Ex-California
- Thread starter Jason McIvor
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- '78 280z auto ex-california lhd
Ball bearings sitting in this
uk66fastback
Club Member
Cap and rotor arm look okay to me - and the latter relatively new …
I had to replace what i think was the original rotor arm on my 944 last week … it literally just broke into lots of pieces trying to remove it. The brass insert remained on the end of the camshaft though which was another PITA.
I had to replace what i think was the original rotor arm on my 944 last week … it literally just broke into lots of pieces trying to remove it. The brass insert remained on the end of the camshaft though which was another PITA.
Jason McIvor
Club Member
Jeez, that's rare
Hope no long term damage
uk66fastback
Club Member
No damage as it was performing dreadfully - I’m surprised it started at all.
Replaced with a new one and all working (and starting) perfectly again …
The damage to it was done by me trying to remove it!
Replaced with a new one and all working (and starting) perfectly again …
The damage to it was done by me trying to remove it!
Jason McIvor
Club Member
Folks
Any idea why there were ball bearings x 2 lying inside the distributor ?
What should I be looking at replacing if there are random ball bearings ?
MCBladeRun
Club Member
Have you tried taking apart any of it yet to see where it came from?
If memory serves, the vacuum advance needs to turn slightly to advance and retard the distributor, it wouldn't be sufficient to have that part slide without ball bearings due to friction?
Ignition123
Jason McIvor
Club Member
Not yet MartinHave you tried taking apart any of it yet to see where it came from?
If memory serves, the vacuum advance needs to turn slightly to advance and retard the distributor, it wouldn't be sufficient to have that part slide without ball bearings due to friction?
Ignition123
I think my main problem is the ignition coil so I've been focussed on diagnosing that
I'll have a look at what's going on in the distributor this week - just strange to see the two of them just sitting there
MCBladeRun
Club Member
Well, you were having odd voltage variations between the 2x batteries. It's possible your coil isn't getting enough juice. I think your 280z will have the ballast resistor and ignitor right?
Check you've got continuity on that ballast resistor (with wires disconnected). They can burn out, they're only a resistor after all.
The ignitor is better matched with a ballast resistor, unless you get one that doesn't require the ballast resistor? There's pitfalls here as well - too little ohms and you wear your distributor out sooner, too much ohms and you won't get a spark.
Good luck
Sorry just going to edit this: you can confirm a working ignitor coil by unplugging it from the distributor end and putting it near earth (your chassis). do it with a fire extinguisher to hand because fuel + spark = oops.
2nd edit- will only spark on ignition
I remember little ball bearings in the distributor - I think they are part of the advance plate mechanism.Have you tried taking apart any of it yet to see where it came from?
If memory serves, the vacuum advance needs to turn slightly to advance and retard the distributor, it wouldn't be sufficient to have that part slide without ball bearings due to friction?
Ignition123
Jason McIvor
Club Member
If they are lying around the inside of the distributor should I replace the whole lot ? One of these ?
Rockauto are out of stock
Jason McIvor
Club Member
My Mum and Dad are visiting from Ireland next weekend
They've never seen the car ....
and of course the feckin thing isn't working
They've never seen the car ....
and of course the feckin thing isn't working
MCBladeRun
Club Member
A man of your talents should be able to get those ball bearings back in. If all else fails ignition123If they are lying around the inside of the distributor should I replace the whole lot ? One of these ?
Rockauto are out of stock
View attachment 54329
If you've got decent screwdrivers, you can strip it right down and maybe find where that ball should go. its not so hard. take photos at every step!
Jason McIvor
Club Member
Just checked the coil by holding the coil -> distributor HT lead to the cylinder block and turning the car over - one orange spark and then nothing
Put a spark plug into the end of the same coil-> distributor HT lead and held to cylinder block, one blue spark
Does that mean the coil is dead ? even though the resistances are good ?
Coil
1-0.9 +- primary 200ohms
10.12 secondary 20kohms
Anyone got a good replacement for the 280z ? is it 1.5 ohm I need ?
Put a spark plug into the end of the same coil-> distributor HT lead and held to cylinder block, one blue spark
Does that mean the coil is dead ? even though the resistances are good ?
Coil
1-0.9 +- primary 200ohms
10.12 secondary 20kohms
Anyone got a good replacement for the 280z ? is it 1.5 ohm I need ?
Jason McIvor
Club Member
Well, you were having odd voltage variations between the 2x batteries. It's possible your coil isn't getting enough juice. I think your 280z will have the ballast resistor and ignitor right?
Check you've got continuity on that ballast resistor (with wires disconnected). They can burn out, they're only a resistor after all.
The ignitor is better matched with a ballast resistor, unless you get one that doesn't require the ballast resistor? There's pitfalls here as well - too little ohms and you wear your distributor out sooner, too much ohms and you won't get a spark.
Good luck
Sorry just going to edit this: you can confirm a working ignitor coil by unplugging it from the distributor end and putting it near earth (your chassis). do it with a fire extinguisher to hand because fuel + spark = oops.
2nd edit- will only spark on ignition
I dont have the "block" resistor (under the coil) that many of these cars do but I have two separate resistors mounted above the coil (very old, no markings)
I will check both for continuity as you say and see what they say
MCBladeRun
Club Member
You've got spark on the primary, I'd just check each of the spark leads as well. Blue spark = good. It should be sparking every time though, and not just the once. That doesn't sound correct, hopefully someone else can advise on here.
With the wires detached. Any photos?
Jason McIvor
Club Member
Martin
Here are some photos - there are no obvious markings on the coil or the second, smaller resistor
The bigger resistor says "noise suppressor" ?
Attachments
MCBladeRun
Club Member
Is that an inline fuse as well? Those 2x round canisters look like capacitors and not resistors to me. They must take the noise out of the circuit via supplementing the power requirements of the coil? Capacitors should have a high resistance between their points since there shouldn't be any contact between the 2x terminals.
Jason McIvor
Club Member
So
James from JSElectricals just fixed it
Initially very loose wires connecting the coil to the distributor - under a black plastic cap. I've never opened it so it obviously worked its way loose over time
And, the air gap in distributor was pretty big and he was able to close it substantially
He thinks the distributor might have age-related problems and might need to be replaced in the future
I'm so pleased - I was far too stressed by that
James from JSElectricals just fixed it
Initially very loose wires connecting the coil to the distributor - under a black plastic cap. I've never opened it so it obviously worked its way loose over time
And, the air gap in distributor was pretty big and he was able to close it substantially
He thinks the distributor might have age-related problems
and might need to be replaced in the futureI'm so pleased - I was far too stressed by that