K11 Static Ignition Timing

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bruno

Guest
Hi, I'm new to this forum, and feel cheeky asking for help straight away, but here goes.
My daughter's M reg 1.0 usually runs very reliably, but died half way round a roundabout the other day. The RAC towed her home and hinted at a faulty distributor. On closer inspection I found the HT coil had a high resistance on the secondary. There was definitly no spark at the plugs although the motor spun over nicely. The fuel pump could be heard, the plugs were damp and the camchain was intact.
I couldn't buy just a coil, so I got a complete new distributor from Probe distributors. (Next day service £100 inc VAT). The old dizzy was Lucas, but the new one is a Mitsubishi. It fits the same and I now have sparks. I'm not sure how to set the timing without the motor running so I can use my strobe. I've found markings on the front pully that I assume are timing marks. I want to get somewhere near so it will start. I can't find anything in the Haynes book of lies.
Is there a terminal or connector where I can measure a change in voltage at the point where the spark signal is made? At the moment I can't get the B****y thing to fire, and I'm beginning to doubt my original diagnosis. The drive dog on the dizzy is offset, so the timing can't be 180 degrees out. There is no fault code LED on the ECU and no engine warning lamp on the dash. How else can you read fault codes?

Any help gratefully received.
Bruno
 
the led on the ecu is behind the casing of the ecu....4 little holes in a sqaure pattern on the right hand side of the ecu...drivers side centre console
 

Low Rider

Poindexter
Founding Member
Moderator
Club Member
Well the timing marks on the crank pulley read from left to right when standing facing the pulley are -5 -- 0 -- 5 -- 10 -- 15 -- 20. So TBC on cylinder 1 will be the second mark from the left, usually coloured yellow, however this has usually come off on older cars.

Standard ignition timing is 15deg + or - 2deg. So with your strobe connected up the pointer should be hovering above the second to last notch on the pulley. Setting it by hand isn't that hard since the engine isn't under load, so the chances of you doing damage are extremely slim. You should be able to set this with the TPS connector unplugged, as explained in the Haynes Manual. Allow the engine to reach temperature and check the timing again. Failing that, just post up again and we'll do our best to help you through it.

Sorry if the above sounds patronising................just trying to cover everything in one post :)

Good luck :)
 
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bruno

Guest
Static ignition timing

Thanks for the help chaps. I've now found the LEDs, and read the code. 55. No fault, so no help there then.
I'll get my strobe on the ignition and follow the procedure, once I've got the bl**dy thing running. I'm trying to suss out how to roughly line up the new replacement mitsubishi distributor before I get the thing running. The electronic quivalent of a fag paper being released by a set of points! At present I seem to have a spark and fuel but not a running motor. Either I've got too weak a spark, one in the wrong place or the wrong amount of fuel. Seeing as how the motor cut out with no warning I still suspect electrics.


The older I get the more of a Luddite I become

Thanks again,
Bruno
 
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bruno

Guest
Ahhhh sorted.
In lieu of anything better, I got my beautiful assistant to turn the motor over whilst I rotated the dizzy body by hand. It fired up and I tweaked it gently until it was running OK. I'm now able to use the proper proceedure with my strobe.
Thanks for all the help
Bruno
 
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