Engine: 2.1 Carb B21A: Converting to electronic ignition?

[Steve and his 244]

Hi, it crossed my whether it would be an easy enough thing to do to swap my distributor for an electronic one from a later car....if it was an easy peasy job to do, surely it would be very worthwhile as it get srid of all the godawful points and condensors and stuff that so often like to just fail at the most inconvenient times....

What would be required? Are there any other mods I would have to do or would it just be a dizzy swap?

Would it give any other advantages like a stronger spark?

Its a 1980 car with a B21A engine...

Steve

[scooters]

steve,

converting a points and condenser system to an electronic one is not quite as straightforward as it may seem. ergo you are unlikely to be able to plumb in a electronic distributor from a newer car. However, ther are excellent alternatives like this supplier here:

http://www.classicheads.com/Electronic_Ignition.html

essentially most distributors in Volvos of this period are either Bosch or Lucas and are reasonably generic. What these products do is to provide a distrinbutor which on the outside is period but within has the points and condenser replaced with electronic components - essentially fit and forget - replacing the existing (often tempermental as my fun and games last night demonstrated!) system. Given that the fast majority of running problems for these older cars are usually ignition related installing such a device is not a daft idea as electronic ignition was a major leap forward in the development of modern reliability.

Whilst not original, and there will be those who will critisise such modifications, the fact that the device resembles a period distributor (or indeed you can send youe existing one in for conversion) is at least consistent. If you plan to use your 244 on a regular basis especiallly given the UK weather and the notorious unreliability of often new parts (like my condenser) it is a pretty good idea to do this. Price wise I converted a Reliant Scimitar GTE for about £130 - I am sure the Volvo will be cheaper as it only has 4 cylinders

hope this helps - I am thinking of doing it myself!

[Steve and his 244]

Hi Scooters, thanks for taking the time to post.

Just had a look at that link - i'll possibly send them an email for a conversion quote/kit quote once ive had a few more replies to this thread.

Over on rwdvolvos.org Mike Brace has told me that this would be reasonably easy - I would need a later dizzy, and ignition module (and lead for it), and some other associated wiring. Im waiting for a bit more explanation, possibly with pics, so I can work out how hard this would be.

The way I see it is that I could get a s/h dizzy reasonably cheaply and the lack of having to buy (and buy spares!) of points and condensors would soon mean that the conversion would have paid for itself, plus its more reliable and less maintainance, and would probably mean a better spark and slightly better performance/economy....

Steve

[Clan]

Although many cars of that era were converted to electronic ignition , rover , vauxhall , ford chrysler etc , thats because the basic system wasnt that reliable ,( delco , lucas , magneti marelli ) However the volvo points system was and still is very reliable due to best quality Bosch distributor and points , these cars were doing 20000 and a lot more miles a year then just like they do today . The points were changed every 6000 miles and were completely reliable so adding some electronic ignition from a motor accessory shop is likely to reduce reliability . You could go for the B21E distributor and system , simple to fit , but the ignition timing wont be exactly right although it would run ..
so its probably best you leave it as it is , simple and effective and if it stops you can always get it going again if you have a spare set of points unlike todays cars !
electronic ignition advantages are mainly noticed at higher than 6000 rpm and dont necessarily give a fatter spark ( Especialy the Lumenition system ) , The points coil on the B21A was a high output one ...

[scooters]

Personally I don't have an issue with the points as it is the condenser which is usually ther dodgey component as my 14 hour journey yesterday highlighted.

I agree that the luminition system has a pretty thin spark I countered this in an Austin maxi by using an aftermarket and very powerful coil.

I think the deebate about electronic ignition depends on whay you are using the car for. If it is your daily driver 7 days a week 52 a year then it is not a bad idea as you will not have to spend time adjusting points etc. If you don't mind the tinkering and have the time then keep the older system as you can buy a lot of sets of points and consensers for the cost of a conversion. having owned and run both systems in a variety of cars the electronic system does give one a feeling of security of reliability but take a way some of the fun!

[scooters]

forgot to ad that the 244 that broke down yesterday was running on brand new points,coil,condenser, plugs,leads,dizzy cap and rotor and the consdenser still failed. I suspect that the build quality of repro components can be pretty poor - I had 4 spare condensers for my scimitar - all brand new - all bought from a factor and all but one was dud. ....lucas parts for you!

[Steve and his 244]

Im still struggling to understand why just getting a dizzy, igtn module, and related wiring from a mechanical injection car would be either expensive or difficult to fit?

[Clan]

Originally Posted by scooters

forgot to ad that the 244 that broke down yesterday was running on brand new points,coil,condenser, plugs,leads,dizzy cap and rotor and the consdenser still failed. I suspect that the build quality of repro components can be pretty poor - I had 4 spare condensers for my scimitar - all brand new - all bought from a factor and all but one was dud. ....lucas parts for you!

You hit the nail on the head there , todays cheap intermotor and other motor factor points and condesers are simply appauling quality , obviously demand is low now so batches are made which JUST work but not for long .
Points and condensers were never a problem in Volvos of the 60's to the late 1980's when the 140 and 240 were current the standard Bosch componebts were the very best and it's well worth trying to source these , even if second hand .. rather than buy " new" ones .. Lucas points condensers caps and rotot arms of the last 15 years are simply cheap and nasty and dont work for long ..

[Clan]

[QUOTE=scooters;463015]
I agree that the luminition system has a pretty thin spark I countered this in an Austin maxi by using an aftermarket and very powerful coil.

QUOTE]


I ran a lumenition for 20 years from the 1970's they are well over priced for what is basicly 5 components on an alloy hearsink , they are only designed to run a standard 4 amp coil ( I know because i repaired a couple with a 2N 3055 transistor after fitting a heavy duty coil which overloaded and burnt it out )
Another problem , if the cranking voltage was anything less than 10.5 volts it would simply not fire ....
The only advantage of the lumenition was it would run sweetly to 8000 + rpm which points couldnt match not even the lucas "cooper S" ones which had a stronger spring ..

[redboy]

Originally Posted by Steve and his 244

Hi, it crossed my whether it would be an easy enough thing to do to swap my distributor for an electronic one from a later car....if it was an easy peasy job to do, surely it would be very worthwhile as it get srid of all the godawful points and condensors and stuff that so often like to just fail at the most inconvenient times....

What would be required? Are there any other mods I would have to do or would it just be a dizzy swap?

Would it give any other advantages like a stronger spark?

Its a 1980 car with a B21A engine...

Steve

Hiya; I have responded to another post who had the same question with the same engine.. I also have a b21a and went the electronic route. Don't bother with finding a later car, you're still using 1980s components. The 20 minute solution is to fit a kit- I used a 'hot-spark' kit in my beetle and it was good enough I put it in my volvo. Same distributor- the Bosch 231 by the way. The kit is only 50 quid on fleabay. You will need the 3BOS4U1 kit. Its probably not as good as lumenition or pertronix, but they've had problems too, and its about half the price. The main thing is to check the coil's resistance and add a ballast resistor (also from fleabay) for about 3 quid if its less than 1.4ohms. This is why many people fry their kits within a week and then say they're crap.
I don't think the performance or economy is any better, but I haven't had to set the points in a downpour since I converted, so its worth it.
Cheers,
Brian