Distributor Issues

[Shark49]

I am having a helluva time keeping a good distributor in my jeep. I have gone through 3 electronic ones made by Omix (I assume) as there is no telltale stamping.  The modules are going out.  The last one failed yesterday at the shaft and the friction caused it to fail I assume.  It was so hot to the touch.  Luckily I was about a mile from home and a buddy towed me back.  I had bought a points distributor from KW as a back up but it had a rubber ring around the base that prevented it from seating into the slot correctly to the point I wanted to throw it I was so frustrated.

I am kinda at a loss as what to do or where to buy a good distributor.  A lot of guys seem to have an old points one with a pertronix module added.  I have looked on eBay for dizzy's but not sure where to start.  I also see electronic Crown ones on there but I hear they are just as bad?  I did a search here and almost too much info.  Seems consensus is the HEI's are temperamental but the points ones wear down quick too and require constant tuning.

I also have another question is that I ran the battery down trying to get it to start so I put a charger on it.  Once it was charged the jeep wouldn't start with new dizzy.  No spark from the dizzy.  It may be coincidence but would that have fried the module?  Shouldn't the coil protect it? 

thanks,

Nate

[Mark W.]

Omix is a distributor they make nothing. They buy from the lowest bid.

[Shark49]

I read something on another forum that a bad ground can cause issues with the electronic distributors.  One guy added a wire from the negative side of the coil to the block.  Anyone heard of this?

[squidtone]

I get the feeling you want to stick with an electronic conversion if you can. I get that; but you've already paid a price with horrible reliability.
I will put in a plug for just staying with points. I run them in both my old vehicles and they just work. They give ample warning that they're going out of tune, and then it only takes a few minutes to  check the dwell and adjust them. Maybe every couple of oil changes or so (up to 5000 miles). In my experience they're very reliable. If you have a 12 volt system just use a good non resistor coil with an external 1.6 ohm ballast resistor and you should get lots of trouble free life with points.

As for the pertronix kits, yes, I too have heard just make sure your grounds are very good. Maybe an extra ground from the distributor housing to a good chassis ground would be good insurance.
Good luck!

[Shark49]

I had points on my '61 c10 and went to an HEI and love it and was hoping for the same non-maintenance. Who is a good source for a points one?  I returned one from KW because its base was so tight a fit into the block it wouldn't go all way to the notch.  I hear Walcks sells the same stuff as do most guys.  Why not just use the 3ohm internal resisted coil?  I see a bunch of used points dizzy on eBay but they all look rough.

[squidtone]

Hey Shark49
(sorry late response!)
Yes good point, the HEI is the epitome of reliability. It'd be nice if someone could take an Iron Duke HEI and adapt it to a L134 distributor base.
As for the internal vs external resistor for a 12V coil, I went with an external ballast resistor and regular coil because you can take advantage of a bypass "hot" (during the use of the "start" position, (key or floor button) to the coil for extra strong spark for cold starts.

If you do find a used distributor, I found that they are quite easy to take apart to replace the bushings. Sintered bronze bushings can be found at a good hardware store, and the rest of the guts are easy to clean and put back together.

Good luck, I hope you find a good solution!
dave

[Shark49]

When I get a new distributor, it doesn't take me long to retune the engine and I'm off running.  One only lasted me a few days, the second a few months, and third has been about a week so far.  I ordered a crown one to see if its any better than the OMIX.  I checked the grounds and its very good according to my multimeter but I sanded the contacts down to be safe.  My coil (from KW) appears to be fine with 3.0 reading and matching ohms on the + and - sides.  I have brand new wiring harness so it can't be a short anywhere so I am quite stumped why this is happening.  I wonder if a "hot" coil will do me any better?  I did a search for MSD and was wondering what success people have had adding a 6A unit to the mix. 

-Nate

[SteveKfl]

It seems this early on "question" hasn't been responded to... "I also have another question is that I ran the battery down trying to get it to start so I put a charger on it.  Once it was charged the jeep wouldn't start with new dizzy.  No spark from the dizzy.  It may be coincidence but would that have fried the module?"...
IMO... Low Voltage is a "killer" to electronics... as is a "bad ground".  And to your "current question" of MSD, I think if you check, you will find that MSD "specs" has "minimum voltage requirements" to operate properly, due to low tolerance to "low voltage".  Good Luck!

[Shark49]

good points but it does seem like these are a bit touchy.  With all of the electronics in modern cars and basically using the same battery it shouldn't be happening.  I'm attesting it to crappy parts as much as anything.

[OlDaz]

Points distributors have been used in Jeeps for a long time and most people who use them don't mess with them very often. Seems your hi-tech solution is causing you more downtime than a points unit would. In reply to your suggestion of earthing the negative side of the coil, it's a no-no and likely to damage your coil. Low voltage can cause severe damage to hi-tech distributors. You can run an extra earth wire from the distributor body to the block if you have doubts. The distributor with rubber ring(?) that wouldn't seat properly? Some distributors have an "O" ring part way down the body to seal the crankcase and there are a couple different clamps styles that don't interchange and only apply to some distributors. If you have the wrong clamp, it can prevent the distributor seating all the way down, if it had an "O" ring tight up at the top, chances are it wouldn't seat and you could just use a thin gasket. There's a good article on distributors in the files, but it doesn't include all the available brands.

[scoutpilot]

What motor? Generator or alternator?

[tow hook]

i did the pretronix and it works great, make sure you use the right coil they call for. and make sure you have the right kit for your dist. four wheeler mag did a great write up. couldn't find the link. i'm sure it's out there

[scoutpilot]

Installing Pertronix and others requires the installation of resistor plug wires and plugs. All grounds have to be clean and tight. Voltage must be carefully regulated. If you are running an old generator the voltage fluctuates. The modules don't do well with this condition.