distributor question

[CMF_warpz0r]

hi all

if the dizzy is stuffed it wont allow the motor to start?

does the dizzy tell the injectors when to fire?

i think only cylinder 1 is getting spark now...

so i guess i will need a new distributor..

what price am i looking at for one?
does repco sell them or do i have to get it from nissan?

 

[CMF_kneival]

Can you not get a second hand one?

The dizzy will feed back to the ECU the cam angle then the ECU fires the dizzy I think.

Basically if your dizzy is broken your car wont go anywhere. with you only getting a spark to one cylinder kinda say this is whats happening.

Have you checked/changed your plug leads? Altho its unlikely 3 would go down at once. Perhaps try the working one on another cylinder plug out the engine to make sure its not the leads?

 

[CMF_bosito]

I am fairly sure the dizzy passes on the firing sequence.
The way the mechanic explained for me to problem shoot a similar situation I had in the past was to make sure the leads are connected in the correct sequence to the cap as in the manual.Then to rotate the cap 1 point at a time until it fired correctly, as the firing sequence needs to be in a specific order. Try this before you give up on that dizzy.

 

[CMF_warpz0r]

i tried with 2 sets of leads and only got spark in cylinder 1....

i guess ill have to find a dizzy...

and with the rotation of the dizzy, i think thats while it is running you rotate it 1 point at a time with a timing light on the engine to find the correct spot for it....

i think it should still fire up and stall so you can adjust it accordingly

 

[CMF_LWC]

My friendly Nissan parts guy photocopied some wiring diagrams for me
The engine has a camshaft position sensor which the ECM (ECCS Control Module)uses to work out when to fire the coil via a power transistor. The dizzy *only* routes the sparks to the plugs.
If one cylinder is firing then the dizzy is working, so your leads could be out of firing order. Try this:
The spark plugs are numbered 1-4 from the oil filler to the dizzy. The no 1 plug lead goes to the dizzy terminal facing the back of the engine bay adjacent to the oval connector. No 2 lead goes to the bottom of the dizzy, no 4 to the front, and no 3 to the top.
**Note this gives the correct firing order 1, 2, 4 then 3.**
If firing order okay, remove dizzy cap, inspect the 4 terminals inside for build up of white deposits, scrape off down to bare metal, check centre brush is spring loaded and free to move. Finally check rotor button (arm) clean it up too.
Also, some old dizzy caps can develop conductive hairline cracks/paths diverting the sparks away from the proper terminal and cause misfiring. You can only see the cracks inside the cap in bright sunlight. Then get a new cap. (I spent two weeks finding that out on my brother's car after replacing plug leads, points, condensor and rebuilding the carby!) LWC