[AT] Starting Issue with MH Pacer

[rlgoss at twc.com]

The one that comes to mind is some of the Kohlers that used battery ignition.  The points were operated directly by a rod that rode on the camshaft, so there was no way of changing the timing by rotating the location of the points.  Not a very complex engine, and the company kept the philosophy of "timing by changing the point gap" well into the 1980's with multiple cylinder engines.  Back in the days of simpler auto ignitions, I became reasonably expert at being able to change the Bosch points on both my VW and Mercedes along the side of the road or at rest stops without the help of even having a timing light. Those systems had distributors that you could rotate, so I would set the point gap as well as I could, rotate the crank to the point that the timing mark showed the proper amount of advance, loosen the distributor, turn on the ignition, and set the timing by listening for the spark at the points. I found that technique to be pretty accurate.


Why did I have to do that?  Bosch made the fiber follower on the points a little weak, and it was fairly common to have the follower break off while the engine was running.  You are never at a convenient location when that happens.  I've had it happen to me on highways from coast to coast.  The most notable time was on the beltway around Washington D.C.  You learn very quickly to always carry a spare set of points in the glove box.



Larry
---- Dave Rotigel <rotigel at me.com> wrote: 
> Larry, Simply my ignorance, but I've never heard of that. What kind (make?) of engine(s) would that be?
> 	Dave
> 
> On Aug 30, 2014, at 11:59 AM, rlgoss at twc.com wrote:
> 
> > 
> > 
> > There are some engines where the only way to change the timing is to change the point gap.
> > 
> > 
> > Larry
> > ---- Bo Hinch <bohinch at gmail.com> wrote: 
> >> Your timing possibly  did change . I would *MARK* the distributor , then
> >> slightly loosen it and rotate it one way or the other a very small amount .
> >> At that time , the problem will get better or worse . If worse , rotate it
> >> back in opposite direction same amount as first rotation past your mark .
> >> ALSO , *before doing the above , I would make sure the plug wires are in
> >> proper order .*
> >> Bo Hinch
> >> 
> >> 
> >> On Sat, Aug 30, 2014 at 8:33 AM, LeRoy <lep3 at ptd.net> wrote:
> >> 
> >>> Hello everyone,
> >>> 
> >>> I have a problem and not sure what I did but here is the overview.
> >>> 
> >>> Yesterday I was trying to start my MH Pacer for the second time, this time
> >>> I
> >>> got some new parts like points, condenser and new plug wires.  I couldn't
> >>> see any spark at the points so I decided to change the points and
> >>> condenser.
> >>> In the process of changing the points I notice the gap was so wide with the
> >>> new set that I thought I needed to adjust them to get them a bit closer
> >>> like
> >>> the last set.  So I used the screw that adjusts the gap and then screwed it
> >>> down when I thought I had what looked like the right distance.  I also
> >>> updated the condenser and the wires.
> >>> 
> >>> When I try to start it seemed that it wanted to kick over however when it
> >>> did the fan started to rotate clockwise rather than counter clockwise when
> >>> it was turning over.  Did I screw up the timing on this when I adjusted the
> >>> gap?  Or did I get a plug wire in the wrong location?
> >>> 
> >>> LeRoy
> >>> 
> >>> 
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