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My M45 is not firing well on the coil side – mag side is fine!
I’ve replaced plugs and coil but now need to look at condenser and points (the latter look OK but worth replacing). I don’t know what distributor it is but if we assume it’s original does anyone know where to get the points and condenser please? I can’t find them on the club website.
I’ll also get new HT leads made as these are silicon and might be breaking down…timing was always fine and I can’t imagine it’s slipped but will be checking that too. Thanks in advance
Photo for info
Hi Peter,
I can’t tell if your distributor is original, other than it’s circular case suggests it’s prewar. That said, the points, rotor arm and condenser are all certainly more recent manufacture.
Your rotor arm “contact” would have had a tail, that has been cut off. Rotor arms where the “contact” is fixed by a brass rivet are known to be suspect, so I would certainly replace that. Especially if it is made by PARK …. my LG6 got through two of those very quickly, burnt right through. The condenser again is a modern replacement. You need to be very careful buying ignition parts such as these, coil, and distributor cap. Much of what is currently sold, even if Lucas branded, is very poor quality and prone to (very) premature failure. You are better off buying genuine NOS items, or even proven working used (my LG6 was running happily on its original genuine Lucas rotor arm after the PARK joke items). Otherwise, buy from “Distributor Doctor”, who only sells proven quality components.
The points are commonly available, Lucas 420197, DSB116, DSB116C. If you’re going to this year’s AG, I have a spare NOS set you can have for half the going rate, say £7. Let me know if interested and I’ll bring them with me.
Laurence
I had problems with this original Rotax set up after I put an alternator running off the prop shaft. Lucas make various parts that fit. However the condenser is ofter overlooked until everything else has been changed. The higher voltage from an alternator produces an arc across the points unless you put in a ballast resistor to reduce the voltage at the points. Therefore it will run poorly and require refacing the points regularly.
I am now running a magnetron electronic ignition using the original distributor and cap. I have a blast resistor in the system too. I have done at least 30000 miles like this with no maintenance.
Thanks both. I’ll take your advice on parts Laurence though sadly I won’t be at AGM so will contact distributor doctor. And James I’d be tempted by the alternator but my dynamo seems to work very well!
I found the markings on the dizzy which indicates it’s DZ6A 40047B so Lucas.
I have a fuel leak (again) at the filler neck which stupidly enters the tank at the middle, meaning it sits in fuel if the tank is more than half full, so I’m going to have to give that priority for now. Had it brazed before but clearly the pinholes are going to keep returning so I’ll do a mod I think.
Well, now I discover the distributor is from a 1940s Daimler and not original at all. I wonder if I should try to obtain an original version – anyone know what it should be?
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