Help with new electronic ignition

[markko]

I'm hoping somebody out there can enlighten me.

I have a 78 Spider, and recently replaced the dual-points distributor with a new electronic distributor, coil, and control module, bought from Vick. The installation went smoothly enough, but I cannot get the car to run properly. It will start, but runs very rough and won't idle. A friend and I worked at it all day, and thought we had the timing right, but no dice. It's now at a mechanic, and he checked the timing and said everything looked good, including the spark and compression. So it's highly unlikely that I did anything wrong.

Has anybody else had a problem like this? Are there any ideas about what the problem could be? A faulty coil? I should add that the car ran beautifully before all this. The only reason I changed the distributor was that it had an oil leak that dripped onto the exhaust manifold.

Thanks in advance.

[silvadw]

hi Markko,
Do have a manual that shows the installation of the '79 distributor? If not that might help with ensuring things are aligned for timing

[geospider]

Interesting you bring this up Markko. I also changed one out because of an oil leak. Then after running great for months: broke all to hell: see my post near yours.

on a '79: simple line up: crank at TDC, cams marks lined up. slide dizzy in with rotor aimed at #4 on the cap. should start fine, then time it ~ 10 BTDC or where it runs best.
If you are getting good spark then it's not the coil. and that's easy to test.

[manoa matt]

When the coil and finned mounting bracket came, was the control module already installed? There is a grease that needs to be installed on the backside of the module before its mounted to the aluminum coil bracket.

Same for the magnetic pickup inside the distributor. Was it installed when it arrived? There is a magnet that goes between the magnetic pickup and the plate its mounted on. Typically there is a blue strip on one side of the magnet. IIRC that stripe should be facing down. There is also a specified gap between the magnetic pickup and the star wheel. I can't recall what the gap should be, but it's in the manuals.

Also, with the original magnetic pickups there is a black and blue wire from the pickup to the sheathed wires that exist the distributor body/cap. First you mount the pickup to the plate in the distributor, adjust the gap, then twist the wire so it forms a loop that wants to bend toward the outside of the cap. If you don't put the twist in the wires, or the loop tends to lean in, the black and blue wires can get caught or the insulation will chafe off and they short circuit.

[markko]

Thanks for your help. The control module came as a separate unit. I mounted it on a heat sink to the fender with the grease. The magnetic pickup was already installed in the distributor when it came, and it is properly gapped. My mechanic has come to the conclusion that it is a carb problem, incidental to the distributor. Apparently my Weber 32/36 DFEV is continually dumping fuel into the crankcase. We'll see.

[geospider]

Just heard from AR; the gap for the dist is .012-.016

the fuel issue: I have the same carb; when my float was way off, this happened. But, if there was no change to this when you changed out the ignition, then that wouldn't make a ton of sense. an easy check though. be careful with this, there seems to be different specs; I used the Pierce Manifolds spec and works great
https://www.piercemanifolds.com/category_s/317.htm

Geo

[wetminkey]

The info at that Pierce Manifold site is incorrect,...ask geospider WHY I know,...!
Those settings are for the DGEV (check the site),...the DFEV has newer float settings of 36.5mm and a "10 mm float drop" (that's 46.5mm, measured).
35mm may be too high (=flooding). I haven't figured out the "46.5mm" bit, yet (the engineering behind a low float setting escapes me),...but my Weber Redline info states that it causes the "needle valve to act as a micro-switch". That info came with my Weber High Altitude jetting kit for the DFEV.
Markko, your problem exists in the only thing that you changed,...your ignition. Only thing that can be screwed up is installation.
Faulty parts? I would suspect the module #1. Other, most likely possibility, is the sensor,...
Check rotor and cap installation,...
If all else fails, return the car to it's previous state of running well with the dual point and go from there,...
The very best of luck, Markko. Stay healthy.
Todd.

[markko]

Thanks for your help everyone. It seemed unlikely to me too, but my mechanic tried a different coil and control module, to no effect. The timing is all correct as well. He says that the float in the carb is stuck. I have ordered a rebuild kit. We'll see where that goes.

I would like to reinstall the points distributor, but that's not possible. My original plan was to replace the oil seal. To do so, I had to remove the pin that holds the shaft in place. (Youtube makes it look so easy!). All I could do was mangle the pin with my punch, and in the process I damaged the shaft such that it will no longer fit in the whole. Since I couldn't find a points distributor to buy, and everyone recommended the upgrade anyways, it seemed like the thing to do.

I guess it's possible that the carb decided to malfunction at the same time, and it needs to be fixed anyways. I should get the kit this coming week. I'll let you know how it goes.

[canadiancastro]

I'm on the edge of my seat...What happened? I just purchased a '78 and want to go the same direction you did with the electronic ignition, but I have an irrational fear it will fail.

[DaveT]

I installed the Pertronix unit in my '78 three or four years ago. Simple to do and not a single problem since.

[Vintageant]

Read this whole thread with interest. Had success with Pertronix electronic ignition in my 1970 VW Beetle Rally car. Despite the FiatSpider engine running perfectly on the twin points/twin condensers set up, I decided to make the Pertronix change on my 1973 1592 cc 87 HP # 132AC.040.3 engine. Installed Pertronix part number MR-LS1, ordered from AutoRicambi. Engine starts and runs but unevenlly and backfires upon opening throttle and dies if foot taken off throttle. Communication with Pertronix states there needs to be 12V at the coil, which there is. They suggested changing the coil to Pertronix Flamethower 40611 which I did, no difference. Still stumbling unevenly. Ran perfectly on twin points and condensers. Neither carburation nor timing changed.
Thoughts, ideas, suggestions, jokes?

[Vintageant]

Apologies - double clicked and posted twice.