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 Posted: 01-26-2015 04:29 am
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Esprit2

 

Joined: 05-01-2005
Location: Minneapolis, Minnesota USA
Posts: 575
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user=1922]mcguan.2[/user] wrote:I do not know if I have the petronix ignition. How can I tell?.Remove the distributor cap and look inside. If there are breaker points present, then there is no electronic ignition installed. If there is a red plastic cube, or similar, where the points would normally be, that might be a Pertronix Ignitor amplifier. Look for a name on it. If there is neither breaker points, nor a red cube present, but there's some funky looking stuff in there, or several wires going to an external amplifier box... then post a picture. You really need to know what you're tuning before you can tune it.
mcguan.2 wrote:Also, as for determining the static timing, I youtubed some videos and based off the relationship of the four marks on the pulley (as noted in the shop manual) and the grooved V pulley, I determined that at idle they lined up just shy of the fourth notch on the pulley (the one closest to me as I was standing on the passenger side, leaning over that fender), which would have been the 30 degree mark, no???? I'm not sure I'm following all of that. Were you using a strobe light to view the timing mark while the engine ran at idle? If so, then having the notch in the V-belt pulley align with the timing mark closest to you (30 BTDC) would have been about where you say. Is that what you did?
mcguan.2 wrote:Of course that was when I was able to get it started. When you described what happens when the dizzy cap is popped off, that probably happened to me.Nothing happens when the distributor cap is removed. It's when the clamp that holds the distributor into the oil pump housing is loosened that the spring pushes the distributor out, disengaging the drive. You can remove and replace the cap with little risk.
mcguan.2 wrote:I plan to take all of your advices and give this a shot on my next day off, and I'll report back how it went.Do you have a friend or co-worker who is more mechanically skilled who could help you with this. You seem to be lacking a basic understanding, and it would be best if you had someone there with you rather than posting on a forum.
mcguan.2 wrote:One more question, the coil has wires connected to all of the terminals. When attaching the test light, do I pull something off, or just try to grab one of the nuts that holds the terminal? And do I want to put the clip on the positive side of the terminal and the negative to the frame?The test light is connected between any positive voltage on the coil, and a good ground... like the engine block. Positive voltage is connected to the coil's (+) terminal. Then resistance in the coil drops that to a lower voltage at the (-) terminal. But compared to ground, but the (+) and (-) terminals are still positive... one is just higher voltage than the other. For what you're doing with the test light, either terminal will work.

No need to remove any wires "IF"...
1) the wiring present is stock, as shown in the electrical schematic.

2) the wiring is stock, plus that required to install a Pertronix Ignitor electrronic ignition system.

If someone has added a bunch of other wires for some aftermarket add-on, then I have no idea without knowing what's there.

Presuming your car is stock with breaker points, or with just a Pertronix Ignitor installed, then simply connect the test light to one of the small terminals on the ignition coil. Most purchased test lights have an alligator clip on the end of it's positive wire. Just clip it to either one of the terminals. If that confuses you, then just clip the wire to the (+) terminal.

Good luck,
Tim Engel

Last edited on 10-21-2020 07:00 pm by Esprit2