electronic points

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richbatch

richbatch

Active Member
Posts
300
Location
SALISBURY
hi all just wondering if any one has fitted electronic points to thier series 3 and do they fit into your original distributor cap and does it make a difference
when starting because mine takes a while to fire up even tho i put new plugs and points in a few weeks back
 
A good well adjusted set of mechanical points should work fine - especially original ones if you can get em.

I've tried both electronic ignition module and distributors that you can get from Simon BBC both were ok but not perfect.

The advance curve of their copy 45D distributor is wrong, the centrifugal weights aren't heavy enough for the springs and so to get decent pick up you end up over advanced at certain revs. Also the points in it aren't as good as the original Lucas ones (which move up and down with advance to clean the points). I finally gave up on it and forked out for a genuine NOS dissy and it is so much nicer though the points were covered in white corrosion when I got it which needed cleaning off.

The electronic ignition module isn't bad but did produce the odd random extra spark and seemed to cause some problems with my timing light but other than that were worthwhile for low-maintenance, though on long overseas journeys I always carry a set of mech points in case the electronic ones die! I couldn't tell you which I have in at the moment, they both work as well as each other on the road.

The powerspark thing doesn't take too long to fit, though its best to take out the dissy and do it on the bench to avoid losing screws etc so you could do with a timing light to reset the timing afterwards.

Starting problems are more likely to be, damp in the dissy cap, badly gapped points, crap leads, tired battery or over/under choking. The only problem I have is guaging how for out to pull the choke as it seems easy to flood my engine though its easy enough to clear.

I don't need to on this motor but on other old cars I found retarding the ignition in winter a couple of degrees helped with starting.
 
I've just done the conversion to a MGB, first impressions are good, much better start up and a hell of a lot smoother idle. The owner is well pleased and is going to keep me updated, so I'll do my best to post some more info when he gets back to me.
 
I have a simon bbc 45d, works well and fires up much more easily than points etc. Reason being that points requird regular servicing and i am just more likely to forget than do it. so elec. ign suits me. Yes its a right off if it goes wrong but just dont jump start on them or wire it up wrong. Id say go for it, i dont like points though, ask why evinrude outboard engines gave up on points in the 60s? Each to their own tho, many prefer them for sound reasons.
 
Worth looking at lumention , as i used them a few times on series 4 and six cylinder fit and forget , they also compensate for wear in the shaft bushes..
The slow starting is more likely a fuel, carby related matter than ign HTSH
 
Here is another vote for Lumenition,I've done thousands of reliable miles with 4 and 8 cyl LR products with smooth running and instant starting.My brother has it on his SIIA in Australia with a 6cyl Holden motor which is used for some serious off road camping stuff.
The companies that make points igniton stuff now dont seem to care about quality,even genuine LR condensors failed very quickly on my IIA,the points just pit and piled for a pastime.
 
One thing to bear in mind, SimonBBC's warranty is crap :(

I bought an electronic dizzy from him 18 months ago, all was fine until 6 months or so ago, when it became really hard to start hot, and not long after it was hard to start cold too. The weird thing was you could push start it and it would go instantly. After loads of mucking about (including direct feeds to the coil from the battery, a new coil, mucking about with the fuel pump etc), we swapped the original points dizzy back, now it starts instantly hot or cold.

I emailed SimonBBC, he said I could send it back and he'd have a look, but as it had been started with jumpleads and/or started by pushing it, it will have invalidated the warranty and anything needing fixing would be chargeable :( Apparently swapping the points dizzy back "also isn't a good test".

When the points need doing again, I don't think I'll be replacing them with anything from him :(
 
Really? Hmm, fingers crossed the dizzy lasts. I only do low miles so hopefully crap parts won't get too stressed! To be fair he's got ok write ups on the web but that lumentition stuff sounds well tested and reliable.
I sold my spare dizzy! Stupid :confused:
 
I can understand jump-leads (nearly) but starting by pushing...thats the same as using the starting handle so not fit for purpose.

Anyone know where to get proper lucas points. The set that came in my genuine 45D will need replacing at some point and the crappy modern replacements arent as nice as the originals....
 
dominicbeesley said:
I can understand jump-leads (nearly) but starting by pushing...thats the same as using the starting handle so not fit for purpose.

Anyone know where to get proper lucas points. The set that came in my genuine 45D will need replacing at some point and the crappy modern replacements arent as nice as the originals....
Click to expand...
They are sadly a thing of the past,just fit the Lumenition and forget it.
 
dominicbeesley said:
No they're not. Besides I want my car to be the only one on the street to start after a neutron bomb goes off!
Click to expand...
Listen,I run a couple of old trials bikes with Lucas competition mags,they work well cos the parts for them are still OK.The 1978 Yamaha trials bike I run is still on points too,cos they come from the original Jap factory.All good stuff and reliable.
The Lucas points for 45D dizzys are now made of sh*te,same as the condensors - it really isnt worth the effort of trying.
Convert to a handle start Lanz diesel and run it on creosote if you want it to run after the bomb drops.
 
Well, I'm afraid I'm not gonna take your word for it. I've enough of ignition modules which fail on me and they end up in an emabarassing and slow tow home. With mech points you usually get warning and a chance to mend with a nail file. As to condensers I'm with you but I can get better ones from Farnell or RS for pennies and carrying a spare isn't difficult or costly.

And starting a post with "Listen" is just the thing to make me not...
 
dominicbeesley said:
Well, I'm afraid I'm not gonna take your word for it. I've enough of ignition modules which fail on me and they end up in an emabarassing and slow tow home. With mech points you usually get warning and a chance to mend with a nail file. As to condensers I'm with you but I can get better ones from Farnell or RS for pennies and carrying a spare isn't difficult or costly.

And starting a post with "Listen" is just the thing to make me not...
Click to expand...
It was only cos I was whispering - you dont want to upset a Lucas mag when its working well....
 
My Ariel runs better with the tappets set looser than it says in the book - that was an old tip from a well known chap in the trials world.The AJS is more of a sewing machine when running.
I just had another thought,(Doesnt often happen ! ) back in the day there used to be electronic kits that still used the points but just as a switch - all the load taken off.I think Sparkrite used to do them,was it called TAC - transistor assisted contacts.It would make the shi**y modern points last longer,plus you could switch back to standard points if the module failed....
How about that for a compromise !
 
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