Distributor

[Chihua33]

Does anyone have a picture of their distributor with the cap off? Mine is a 82 and I found out that there are some wires broken inside and I'm wondering if this is the "pickup"? I would take a picture but unfortunately when it died on me it was not close to my house and I had to coast into a friends house.

I guess my hope is that it's just the pickup and that's all I need to replace. I don't really wanna drop $500 on a whole new unit.

[KidDingo]

If they're two rather thin wires inside the distributor, and they're frayed, I would pretty much guarantee they're the pick up wires. Get a new set from auto ricambi for about $25.

[Chihua33]

WOOO Thanks KidDingo! That's what it was!

How hard of a repair is it?

[Chihua33]

Also would it be wise to get a new cap right away?

Anything else you would suggest?

[KidDingo]

Not hard. Couple of screws. Plugs straight into ignition control module which is behind ignition coil - connection from the bottom. Just trace the wire back from the distributor. Plug and play.

Do a search on this forum regarding replacement procedure. You need to make sure the pick up magnets go in correctly or you'll mess it up. Not hard. Maybe 10 minutes max? 15 minutes if you're careful and take your time.

Suggest you wrap the internal wires of the pick up in electrical tape before installing. Prevents future fraying.

If you don't know when the distributor cap and rotor were last replaced, I'd do them too. At least, that's what I did. IN fact I went through and replaced everything in the ignition system except the coil and the distributor.

But the PO hadn't maintained it very well, so I knew it was all due to be done.

[azruss]

be aware that many of the replacement pickups have extra long wires that need to be bundled under the cap. give it some slack for the vaccuum advance.

[Chihua33]

Thanks for the heads up!

[dragracer]

This is a timely post for me. I just got my replacement pickup and am in the middle of installing it tonight. Can anyone tell me what the proper air gap is for the pickup???

By the way, what is the reason that the wires eventually fray???

Thanks,
Frank

[Chihua33]

may be a dumb question, but how do you set that gap? I replaced my pickup last night and don't see how there would be any adjustments.

My car wouldn't fire up, it wanted too but I think my battery is dying out too far that it won't keep the car running. Also has developed a back fire??? could that be something with that gap being set wrong?

Ohhh the fun of these cars!

[rlux4]

First off be sure to use a non magnetic (brass) feeler gauge when you set the gap. The base of the pick up has one of the mounting holes oval shaped for adjusting. set the screws so that they're touching the base, not too snug, just enough to keep it from moving too easily. Move the base until the gap is set, snug the mounting screws down.
Ron

[Chihua33]

hmm okay, so what am I actually setting the gap between? I thought this was going to be an easy fix lol

Since I didn't measure a gap or anything, would that cause my car not to start? and back fire?

[rlux4]

You measure the gap between that black platic square part that the wires go into and one of the four points on the four pointed star shaped plate that's on the dist. shaft under the rotor. Turn your engine so that one of the four points is directly in front of the magnetic pick up. Now you'll be able to measure the gap between the magnetic pick up (stator) and the trigger.
For an understanding of what these are for; there are four points on the trigger, one for each cylinder. As a point goes by the magnetic pick up it signals the coil to send a spark to the dist. The rotor will carry this spark to the post to be picked up by the spark plug wire and transfered to a spark plug.
Ron

PS It bears repeating; Use a brass feeler gauge, not the normal steel ones.
You're shooting for a gap .12 to .16 (.30 to .40 mm)

[Chihua33]

Thanks Ron, I think I understand what you are saying now.

I'm sure I will be able to figure it out once I'm back by my car.

[So Cal Mark]

the wires fray because they become brittle from heat and possibly oil saturation if the lower seal is leaking. To top it off, the wires flex as the vacuum advance work. Plan on replacing this on a yearly basis

[Weelan]

been following this thread some, now I have a question too.

Simply pulling the dist. cap off the base to check the internals to make sure they look alright wont mess up the timing right? I think I understand I need to make a line to where the cap and base line up for when I put it back right?