Life expectancy of a distributor...

Post by **NafemanNathan** » Thu Oct 05, 2017 12:26 am

Sailor wrote:
vanzep wrote:COP = Coil On Plug - think this replaces the need for external distributor
I thought it just replaces the coil pack in the distributor. What tells the COPs to send the high voltage to the plug?

An EPM (Engine Position Module) and a standalone ECU.

Post by **4thgenphil** » Thu Oct 05, 2017 5:38 am

NafemanNathan wrote:
Sailor wrote:
vanzep wrote:COP = Coil On Plug - think this replaces the need for external distributor
I thought it just replaces the coil pack in the distributor. What tells the COPs to send the high voltage to the plug?
An EPM (Engine Position Module) and a standalone ECU.

and days and days and days of trouble shooting , wiring and headaches

Post by **NafemanNathan** » Thu Oct 05, 2017 8:22 am

Oh yes, I've heard it does that

Post by **simonc** » Thu Oct 05, 2017 8:45 am

sol-lude wrote:Simonc, keep us posted

Will do, buddy.

Post by **SPYDOR** » Wed Oct 18, 2017 6:20 pm

Thanks for the posts, some useful info here, having just rebuilt my distributor at almost 150k miles: part of an ignition system overhaul. I found the terminals on my distributor cap were well worn and the old ignition coil showed small signs of excess heat, as per EricTheCarGuy's vid, so a good bit of preventative maintenance hopefully.

Scott560 · Post by **Scott560** » Wed Oct 18, 2017 8:30 pm

people seem to forget that the cap / arm / leads are almost as much of a service item as oil and filters.

the coils are easy to replace (except those 2 screws, and dont drop that spring!), not expensive - and will rule out most ignition related problems.

I know its a bit of a replace everything without diagnostics, but when those components become marginal its hard to diagnose. My father in laws old Mercedes SL300 would start up fine when cold, Idle and run absolutely perfect, but would never restart when warm. Took the cap off and i never seen a cap and arm in such bad condition... replaced and reportedly car runs better than ever (sadly its hardly ever driven), and warm restart issue gone.

sol-lude · Post by **sol-lude** » Thu Oct 19, 2017 10:07 am

SPYDOR wrote:Thanks for the posts, some useful info here, having just rebuilt my distributor at almost 150k miles: part of an ignition system overhaul. I found the terminals on my distributor cap were well worn and the old ignition coil showed small signs of excess heat, as per EricTheCarGuy's vid, so a good bit of preventative maintenance hopefully.

fingers crossed that its going to be a bit of a preventative measure, and glad it helped.
ETCG is really a good Youtube channel for those who need a bit of info and he does own a couple of Hondas. Although he has stopped his videos due to the amount of time involved his older stuff is all there.

Yeah the Dizzy is a serviceable part and instead of replacing it diagnose and fix it. Got one sitting here caked in oil will need to get it cleaned up and hope the inside isn't ruined.

Post by **simonc** » Sat Oct 21, 2017 1:31 am

Hi all, just wanted to update you. Jason's been off these past few days so I'm afraid I haven't been able to see him yet. Hopefully Monday all will be sorted.

Post by **simonc** » Mon Oct 30, 2017 5:16 am

Right, we think we've gotten it sorted. Interestingly enough, the car was having a hard time starting for most of last week. On Friday morning, it sounded very ominous indeed, but it did actually kick into life. Anyway, I spent the most of Friday morning fretting about it, and at lunchtime I went out to try and start it. Oh dear. Coughing and wheezing but a big fat 'non' with regarding to firing up. I called Jason who kindly came up with a new battery (the other was fitted in 2015) and it started okay.
So today, I finally got the time to go to the workshop to have a look at this bloody distributor. When he took off the cover, it looked extremely clean inside but he used some sandpaper to clean the rotor and those four metal rods, as they seemed a bit dirty.
I must say that with the new battery and his fettling, it does pick up nicely and, although I'm probably imagining it, seems to feel much tighter in its response when I put my foot down. Fair enough, I haven't taken out on a long run, but I'm off to Singers in a couple of weeks on the last pork smuggling run of 2017, so that'll give me a chance to see it how goes on a long journey.
Jason's asked me to listen and judge how this little tune-up has worked in the meantime, and he's asked me to pop down before I go to Singapore to check all's tickety-boo before I set off.
I don't want to temp fate, but I think perhaps we've sorted it all out.

sol-lude · Post by **sol-lude** » Mon Oct 30, 2017 12:00 pm

Nice one and glad a little bit of maintenance on the rotor and cover has helped.

Lude Generation

Life expectancy of a distributor...

Re: Life expectancy of a distributor...