Quote:
Originally Posted by Clifford Pope
That's interesting - how does it do that? I didn't think turning the distributor actually altered the timing of the spark - I thought the spark was timed by the electronic control, and the distributor was simply the mechanism for passing the message on to the plugs. Or am I missing something?
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I'm not sure, my normal territory is Pinto engines with carbs, so timing is entirely mechanical, with adjustment by rotating the dizzy body.
The Volvo dizzy is driven by the auxiliary shaft, which is driven by the timing belt. Ergo, if the body of the dizzy is rotated, the point at which the spark is sent to the plugs changes, and the dizzy mount is slotted to allow for this. If I remember I'll post a pic.
The one thing I do know. My belt was 1 tooth out, on the aux shaft, from the timing marks. The rotor arm was, with the No.1 cylinder at TDC, just after the No.1 plug contact. Rotating the body would correct this.
I guess I'll have a play. If the Pinto is anything to go by, very small rotational adjustments make a big difference to how the car runs. One of mine with a hot cam in it needs 14 degrees or it simply won't run, yet a standard cam is happy at 8 degrees.