Lotus Elan and Lotus Elan Plus 2 Forums

Note. ......you have to reset the static timing before you replace the distributor remove the dist set the static timing then replace the dist with the rotor at 11 o'clock sorry I missed a one last time ....ed

Oops sorry I should have said 11oclock ......point the rotor at eleven o'clock .....ed

twincamman wrote:I see the problem?....I assumed you had removed the valve cover and aligned the cam marks opposite when setting the crank pully ...........did you do this ???? If not go sit on the naughty step

I think what twincamman is trying to say is that because the main crankshaft turns twice as fast as the distributor jackshaft, there are TWO positions in which the front crankshaft pulley is pointing at the TDC (or 10 degree) timing mark and you may have selected the wrong one.

It has to be the one in which piston 1 is on its compression strole which is most easily found by taking out sparkplug one and putting you finger over the hole, while you rotate the cranksshaft pully with a spanner. You will feel the compressed air trying to lift your finger on the compression stroke.

Or you can do it as twincamman says by taking off the cam cover tand checking that the two cam sprocket marks are facing each other and not as wide apart as possible.

You can also check which stroke it is by opening the oil-filler cover and looking at the positions of the valves of cylinder 4. which is doing its exhaust stroke when piston 1 is doing its compression stroke.

twincamman wrote:Note. ......you have to reset the static timing before you replace the distributor remove the dist set the static timing then replace the dist with the rotor at 11 o'clock sorry I missed a one last time ....ed

That sentence doesn't seem to make sense Ed.

Static timing means settind the distributor contacts to open at the right time.

Do you mean just: set the crankshaft at approx 10 degrees before TDC on the Cyl 1 compresstion stroke, before you put the distributor in?


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The put it at 11 oclock rule assumes that the HT leads are inserted in the standard holes in the ditributor cap.

No set the cam and crank timing to zero then put the dist in place ..advance the crank pulley to 5 degrees spark the plug ....... then move the wires to the correct outlet on the cap ...if incorrect....This will start the motor then set the timing with a light?........I put tie wraps on the first 3wires to avoid mixing them up one on one two on two etc so the wires read 1234 at the plugs. But 1;342 at the dist

twincamman wrote:No set the cam and crank timing to zero then put the dist in place ..advance the crank pulley to 5 degrees spark the plug ....... then move the wires to the correct outlet on the cap ...if incorrect....This will start the motor then set the timing with a light?........I put tie wraps on the first 3wires to avoid mixing them up one on one two on two etc so the wires read 1234 at the plugs. But 1;342 at the dist

You are just going to confuse Uboat with that advice, I very much doubt that he will need to move the wires to different places on the distributor cap, but I don't have a correct diagram on hand at present.

Is there a diagram in the Workshop manual?

Ok ..I'm out

1. Crank pulley at 0 .........2cam marks facing in position 3 dist in withone clip adjacent to block-and rotor at 11oclock 4 spark plug if the wires are in the cap are right it should start at 5 degree advance .......good luck

This photo shows the standard arrangement of plug leads in the distributor cap on a Twin-Cam engine.
The firing order is 1-3-4-2


You should check that your distributor cap is wired this way before doning anything else with your timing and as Ed says, mark the plug leads so that you know which lead goes on which sparkplug at any time in the future.


I didn't mark my number 2 lead when I replaced it, but as it is the only one with no markers there is no confusion.

I have now adjusted the timing and I found out that there are sparks also on the second revolution/tdc where piston no 1 is on the lowest position. No need to take of carbs, but removing airbox back plate made everything very very easier.

All along we have been assuming that your car had a standard ignition system. But has it in fact been converted to a wasted-spark two coil system?

If so the second wasted-spark would not be when piston 1 was at the bottom, it would be at the top of the exhaust stroke,

Sorry for the confusion, I have a Pertronix electric ignition...

Uboat wrote:Sorry for the confusion, I have a Pertronix electric ignition...

But other than that pertronix, the distributor, and its cap and the coil are standard are they?

If so, you should not get sparks on Number 1 cylinder at any place other than top dead centre (+ advance)

I have original coil and distributor, with pertronix cap with leads in regular order.

Tried to start engine but lousy starter does not give me a fair chance
Ulf

I still can't understand why you are getting a spark in the wrong place.

I suggest you get a set of these spark testers so that you can see exactly what your sparks are doing as you tun over the engine .

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/LASER-TOOLS-2 ... 0452238857


It somehow seems that you still have not got the distributor inserted correctly.