#yourProject – Ignition – Group 9

The ignition system, the ignition distributor

It jerks, shoots, jumps badly. Small parts, great effect, and not always it is the carburetor.

The interaction of the small parts in the ignition system is important. You decisively decide on a good engine run. Is the contact set to the correct distance? Is the ignition time correct? What does the spark plug look like, does the electrode distance fit? We want to address these issues in this article.

Many thanks in particular to Bosch Classic and to our Bosch experts.

Work effort: 1 hour
Material: 20 – 50 Euro
Tool: standard, sensor teaching

The ignition system, the ignition distributor

The first part of the article deals with simple inspection work on the ignition system for the standard engine.

Ignition contact

Contact distance 0.4mm. Who has ever been left behind because of a defective ignition contact? The pertina-e.g. had been broken off. Or does the engine start badly? Unfortunately, the contact material at that time is no longer in production. The quality of that time is no longer available today. If you can still find old material, you can compare the different burn marks. Nevertheless, there is no reason to switch to electronic ignition systems. Today, the driving performance is usually lower and the ignition contacts are favorable and can be changed quickly during an inspection. In the event of a failure, roadside repairs are also possible. In the case of electronic systems, usually not.

Who reads this, may hardly believe it:
– Make contact hole after file, if distance is not adjustable correctly – At the casting distributor and CH military distributor, the correct contact distance of 0.4 mm was not adjustable depending on the contact set manufacturer, as the anvil does not travel far enough pushed back. Only a small key file helps.

Oil and grease

Has nothing to look for on an ignition distributor! Except for two digits, for each inspection (annually):

1. Felt of the distribution shaft for centrifugal force adjustment, 1-2 drops of engine oil, with some distributors also lateral rotary openings, also 1-2 drops. The finger must be twisted in one direction a few mm and, when released, automatically turn back. If he does not go back completely or does not twist, a major overhaul is due.

2. Distributor cams for contact actuation, small screwdriver tip hot bearing grease

Measurement contact on electrical function: e.g. Summer Multimeter

After replacing the ignition contact, a short electrical function test is recommended. Does the contact switch correctly? Or does it have a permanent ground closure, for example when performing the housing on the casting distributor? Simply produce a multimeter at the currently not connected with a cable connected output terminal 1 (thread pin M4) of the ignition distributor and the vehicle mass. When the contact is closed, the buzzer sounds. Turn the motor over the pulley. As soon as the contact opens, the buzzer must fall silent.

Capacitor

Every now and then he causes problems, with one more, others are spared for the long time. Everything was still running as usual, suddenly the ignition goes off. Could be a capacitor defect. Parked as always, ignition system behaves strangely, also look for the capacitor.

First aid

Carrying an ignition kit in the car is not the worst idea. And if you can’t or don’t want to screw yourself and are in the ADAC, for example, you can watch the expert. Of course, the parts should match the vehicle or the installed distributor. Rough costs approx. 70 Euro.

Recommended content

– contactset
– capacitor
– rotor
– cap
– candle

Dust cover

Who in his ignition distributor still a cap No. 45, it should use. Most of the time it has been lost, but the cars are still running.

Spark plug tips

The candle change on the cold motor spares the thread. Suit moment 20-25 Nm, most people think it’s too good. Anyone who has ever repaired a candle thread (or had to pay for it) is then more careful with the suit.
Not all spark plugs are delivered with an electrode distance of 0.7mm. So check with the sensor theory, if necessary recreate it.
We can safely do without special hocus-pocus candles with iridium-like ones with normal engines. Costs only a lot. Better to check on deer-brown candle image from time to time and a change of candles if necessary. Some write about the demand every 30,000 km, an oil-burning engine rather every 5,000 km.

Miscellaneous components of the ignition system

We have not yet reported on ignition lock, ignition coil, ignition lines, plugs, cables. These components are not free of defects, but rather inconspicuous in terms of frequency.

Upcoming topics

Distribution test bench, adjustment curves

Spare parts