Classic cars forum & vehicle restoration.

[UKdave2002]

Not bad for £35 off eBay! not difficult to use either.

[buzzy bee]

Hi

Big to bring home though! hehe

Cheers

Dave

[UKdave2002]

I have another one, I'm sure your mum wouldn't mind it in the kitchen , makes a change to watching Corry

[Phil Lincoln]

Hi , is your vehicle negative earth.I have tried two of these meters only to be told after lots of prompting that they are not suitable for positive earth.
I agree with your comments on the desirability of using dwell angles as opposed to points gap. My Rover p4 runs well enought but a dwell meter will accurately show up any wear in the dizzy.
My P4 is still positive earth ,( thinking of changing it over at some point ).
Regards Phil.

[Jim.Walker]

I doubt it Rick! Wonderful things for fault checking, but almost useless for finding a fault or starting a "dead" engine!
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Quote from my late Dad:- You only need a woman and a car and you have all the problems you
are ever likely to want". Computers had not been invented then!

[peter scott]

[47p2]

Some cars distributors had an external adjustment outside the distributor body. It was usually a nut which when turned adjusted the gap inside. This was done with the engine running and gave a highly accurate points gap
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ROVER
One of Britain's Fine Cars

[peter scott]

I've seen plenty of advance / retard set screws but I've never seen a points gap adjustment.

Peter
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http://www.nostalgiatech.co.uk
1939 SS Jaguar 2 1/2 litre saloon

[47p2]

I bought a Renault 11 new back in 83 and it was set up like this
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ROVER
One of Britain's Fine Cars

[exbmc]

I always check for correct dwell angle, after fitting points and setting the gap with feelers. Rarely have to adjust them though, I suppose after a thousand or two, you get the "feel"! Very useful to check after the points have run a while, and there may be a bit of a "pip", so feelers would not be accurate. Just connect up the meter and see if any closure has taken place. Regarding dwell adjustment by a screw on the outside. The only one I can recall, was the Range Rover, early carb equipped and none electronic ignition types.
You could throw in the new points, gap very roughly, then start up and set the dwell while it idled.

[Jim.Walker]

While the correct dwell should result from the correct points gap with all new parts. When wear sets in on cam faces, drive shaft bushes etc. that will no longer be necessarily true.
Dwell ensures the points are closed long enough, particularly at high engine revs for the coil to "charge up" its magnetic field in the windings to ensure a satisfactory spark.
The normal method is to set the points to the correct gap and then check the dwell. If the dwell is too low the points are opening too soon and the gap needs widening; and vice-versa.
It is important to remember that setting the points to a revised gap will affect ignition timing, so the timing should also be part of the excercise.

To emphasise the importance of dwell, consider that on a four cylinder (four stroke) engine @ 6000rpm the points have to make and break 200 times PER SECOND! So if the coil has any chance of charging and discharging (not really the right terms, but descriptive) it is important that the points close for a sufficiently long period.

I don't really believe they move that fast, but I cannot disprove the calculation!
_________________
Quote from my late Dad:- You only need a woman and a car and you have all the problems you
are ever likely to want". Computers had not been invented then!