hi guys Let's see if you can help me out please 1600 t/p type 1 in a camper Carburettor 34 pict 3 Just fitted powerspark svda 034 dizzy Here is the what I have said to powerspark Peter j clark on June 25, 2015 at 5:49 AM Hi buddy I am running one of your Powerspark 034 SVDA distributor in my vw 1600 camper When I try and set it with strobe gun I cannot get 7.5 before TDC if it sits less than 20 before TDC van will not run.. So we set by gun 7.5 before TDC then adjusted by ear so it sounded right And was running nicely And no tickover is not to fast it’s about 900 rpm At this point it’s about 20 after TDC Then WITH the vac pipe on brings it Upto about 45 to 50 before TDC But it runs hot and pinks on long runs Today going to try it without vac pipe connected and blocked Would it then just make it like a 900 dizzy Other than it cannot be set lower than 20 before TDC it starts very well and around town all good It’s only on long runs over 10 miles it’s then getting very hot and pinking And help you can give ?? I have also taken it to a vw garage they say Set them by ear Witch is what we have now done but still thinking maybe something maybe missing inside As I am sure we should be able to set 7.5 btdc Reply simonbbc on June 25, 2015 at 10:07 AM Thank you for your email. Please can you call our technical helpline on 01527 889 453 and we can help you. I did call them and no help what's so ever I HAVE NOW RUN IT THE LAST TWO DAYS with no vac pipe fitted and port blocked off And seams to run well Can this be done Is it now like running a 009 or in long run am I not doing the right thing ?????? THANKYOU FOR ANY REPLYS Peter
Find and mark the REAL TDC. A 30+ year old engine may not have the correct pulley. Get the engine running and warm at whatever timing works. Disconnect and plug the vacuum tube. Set the timing so that maximum advance when revved hard is 28 degrees. Should run like a dream now, mine does
Hi there You definitely need to use a strobe and not set it by ear with vac off and plugged, you don't need to really set timing at idle and it's more the 30 degrees at 3000 ish revs that matter (I don't think your engine will kill itself under no load at idle) You have an aftermarket pulley there so you need to make sure that TDC is where you think it is too. I would take out spark plug from no 1 and check rotor arm on that cylinder and put a pencil in the hole and rotate pulley to see when pencil is furthest out which will be TDC, don't break the pencil though it we are in loads of trouble! Also is your timing gun ok and is sensor on HT cable for no1 cylinder with the dial set to zero? Cheers Ben. (Someone clever like Zed will be along in a bit too I guess and can help more)
I'm never happy with the "pencil through the plug hole " method of finding TDC. Mash out the insides of a spark plug and insert a length of threaded rod through it secured by a nut on either side so that about 10mm protrudes further into the cylinder than a spark plug would. Insert this into the plug hole and turn the engine by hand until the piston jams against the rod. Mark the pulley and turn the engine the other way until the piston again jams against the rod and mark the pulley. True TDC lies EXACTLY between the 2 marks
The pencil method is just about accurate enough to ID which notch on the stock pulley is the TDC mark and which is the 7.5BTDC - you can just feel the pencil move for 7.5BTDC and it is stationary rocking around TDC. Junk the bling pulley and get a proper black tin one. The other way to check is that the keyway in the crank exposed when you take the pulley off will point exactly left when the engine is at TDC No1.
I think it's possible you have ALL the distributor leads one out from where they should be and what you think is 20 degs ATDC is in fact many degs before the one that's really firing. Hence the pinking. If you swapped out a non-vac distributor for this and the HT leads are still in the same physical positions as they were this is even more likely. One thing for sure is that it isn't a problem with the distributor.
A bus drove to my workshop with the timing set as I described above (ish) so they do run, it was about 40 degs BTDC at tickover.
I had one that came in "set by ear" (type 4 no timing scale) that was a brand new engine... that was running at around 14° ATDC
I did think this is the most likely ( hope ) I will have a play with the leads And retry Will keep you posted
Yes Power spark dizzy cap and rotor arm was the problem I replaced with bosh ones Then I had to sand down the bottom of the rotor arm by about 3mm It then fitted the key at the top of the dizzy shaft The timing gun signal was then much stronger and was able then do the timing Hope this helps Peter Please let me know how you do
This problem can be the magnet ring of an electronic unit not pushed home properly, in which case your timing may be hard wired as being wrong because the magnet rimg is not properly aligned with the cam lobes of the distributor. And the magnetic fields may not start and end as neatly aligned with the cam lobes as you are missing the sensor in the electronic unit. Having this problem once, I pressed the magnet ring down rather than filing the rotor...
Will re check magnet ring over the weekend Only been into camper vans 15 years Can do most jobs but still learning Love the people on here they have all the answers
Peter, I think I have mine sorted now. I think my cause was having the idle mixture way way way off so having checked TDC , dizzy,timing etc I put the bypass/volume control to the recommended mid point and started again with the idle mix. At least now it idles close to 7deg BTDC instead of 30deg BTDC.
As above, make sure the magnet ring is pressed all the way down on the distributor shaft. Shouldn't have to file bits off the rotor arm. My Pertronix ring needed gently tapping down with a hammer and punch. They're a tight fit.
I just used the rotor arm and a nylon hammer. and managed to smash the locating pip inside the top of the rotor arm when I didnt line it up with the slot in the distributor shaft .. good idea.. no.
