TobyMyers Posted April 2, 2022 Share Posted April 2, 2022 I recently dug one of these dizzys out of dads stash and with the idea of throwing together a cheap electronic ignition system using a generic GM HEI module, however i'm a little stumped as it appears the dizzy drive is 180 degrees out which i've never seen before on any L series distributors. Iv'e got two and both are the same so it would appear that's how its supposed to be. Anyone come across this before? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
csp-311 Posted April 5, 2022 Share Posted April 5, 2022 On 12/2/2015 at 2:03 AM, gav240z said: 22100-Y6810 I've also seen a similar distributor but different part no. 22100-P6510 Usually the suffix part of the part number tells you what model the parts were originally on, the Y68 and the P65...I can't recall off the top of my head, but I have a list somewhere.... Early 280ZX''s were early P's e.g. P01, so I would suggest a model after that.... gav240z 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JDM280ZX Posted April 15, 2022 Share Posted April 15, 2022 I also seem to have this style distributor on my 280zx with a L20A from factory. Found that electronic dizzy rx7 use the same J105 ignition module. Wondering if anyone knows correct coil resistance to use with these dizzys? Sorry to be late to the party on this one Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators gav240z Posted April 15, 2022 Author Administrators Share Posted April 15, 2022 I am going to take mine to a specialist to re-graph and will also take the more common Hitachi unit down to see which the ignition place thinks is the best design. I'll check what coil they recommend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JDM280ZX Posted April 15, 2022 Share Posted April 15, 2022 25 minutes ago, gav240z said: I am going to take mine to a specialist to re-graph and will also take the more common Hitachi unit down to see which the ignition place thinks is the best design. I'll check what coil they recommend. That would be awesome, been struggling to get mine running and after checking spark today found it was very weak. Has new ignition unit, rotor, cap, leads, plugs and coil so hoping ive just got the wrong one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators gav240z Posted April 15, 2022 Author Administrators Share Posted April 15, 2022 1 hour ago, JDM280ZX said: That would be awesome, been struggling to get mine running and after checking spark today found it was very weak. Has new ignition unit, rotor, cap, leads, plugs and coil so hoping ive just got the wrong one. So do you have a 280zx as your name suggests? They don't run a ballast resistor do they? Weak spark seems unusual especially if you replaced all those items. What coil have you got and what is the resistance rating on it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JDM280ZX Posted April 15, 2022 Share Posted April 15, 2022 14 hours ago, gav240z said: So do you have a 280zx as your name suggests? They don't run a ballast resistor do they? Weak spark seems unusual especially if you replaced all those items. What coil have you got and what is the resistance rating on it? Yeah I have a 81 280zx with the L20A 2.0L 6 cylinder. I haven't looked into if it runs a ballast resistor or not actually, with have to do some research into that. I checked resistance across the coil windings and seems to be 3ohms, that was the coil that my local parts store said was to fit the vehicle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JDM280ZX Posted April 15, 2022 Share Posted April 15, 2022 (edited) Coil is receiving 12.4V (same as battery voltage) when ignition is on so would've thought this means no ballast resistor. However have found this that bolts onto the coil bracket and has a power lead to it from the same wire as the coil +12V source. Unsure on where the other end of it goes to though. Edited April 15, 2022 by JDM280ZX gav240z 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators gav240z Posted April 16, 2022 Author Administrators Share Posted April 16, 2022 I'm not 100% sure, but I think that may be a condenser used to help control static and cancel out electrical noise in things like the radio. https://www.chevelles.com/threads/ignition-condenser-what-it-is.332062/ Quote On some cars (like my '65 with factory a/c and am/fm radio), there was another condenser mounted on the coil, positive side, I think, that was also used to control radio interference generated by the ignition system.... I am not 100% sure however and happy to be corrected on this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators gav240z Posted April 16, 2022 Author Administrators Share Posted April 16, 2022 When you say you have weak spark, what are the symptoms of what you're experiencing with the car? Is it misfiring? Fouling plugs? Or something else? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JDM280ZX Posted April 16, 2022 Share Posted April 16, 2022 Just now, gav240z said: I'm not 100% sure, but I think that may be a condenser used to help control static and cancel out electrical noise in things like the radio. https://www.chevelles.com/threads/ignition-condenser-what-it-is.332062/ I am not 100% sure however and happy to be corrected on this. Yeah I was thinking the same thing too, after further research today it seems to be a condenser and not related to the issues I'm currently having. Bugger back to the drawing board. Hoping its something to do with the coil, been doing some research into the one I was sold and cant seem to find if it is designed to be used with an external resistor or not. Car won't even attempt to fire. Pulled a plug out and earthed it to the engine then turned car over and was visibly very weak. I bought the car as an abandoned project with everything completely stripped from the engine bay, with there not being too many 2.0L 280zx cars I can't find much info if I've set it up right. gav240z 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators gav240z Posted April 16, 2022 Author Administrators Share Posted April 16, 2022 Do you have the old coil still? Might be worth substituting another coil in to see how that impacts spark? Otherwise check grounding points for corrosion potentially? I don't think it's the Mitsubishi distributor itself because usually when the HEI (high energy ignition) module goes bad it stops working. It doesn't produce weak spark. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JDM280ZX Posted April 16, 2022 Share Posted April 16, 2022 The old coil was definitely not the right one, had an external ignitor on it and the ignition module on the distributor had been hacked open and hotwired into the ignitor to bypass it. That's why I went and replace everything back to factory to try and find out why it wouldn't start. Before replacing everything I wasn't getting any spark at all. Now I'm getting very weak spark, so been wondering if maybe the coil has too high of a resistance at 3ohms. I see in the FSM for a 2.8L with electronic distributor they say to use a 0.84 to 1.2ohm coil gav240z 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators gav240z Posted April 19, 2022 Author Administrators Share Posted April 19, 2022 I was just reading this. https://www.hagerty.com/media/maintenance-and-tech/looking-for-answers-about-mechanical-ignition-check-out-this-faq/ Bottom has tips on troubleshooting. Which you may find useful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JDM280ZX Posted May 1, 2022 Share Posted May 1, 2022 On 4/20/2022 at 2:14 AM, gav240z said: I was just reading this. https://www.hagerty.com/media/maintenance-and-tech/looking-for-answers-about-mechanical-ignition-check-out-this-faq/ Bottom has tips on troubleshooting. Which you may find useful. Hmm definitely helpful, still having weak spark and no sign of the car wanting to come to life.... almost saying screw it and getting a standalone ecu and individual coil setup on it..... food for thought I guess Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators gav240z Posted May 1, 2022 Author Administrators Share Posted May 1, 2022 2 hours ago, JDM280ZX said: Hmm definitely helpful, still having weak spark and no sign of the car wanting to come to life.... almost saying screw it and getting a standalone ecu and individual coil setup on it..... food for thought I guess Is it definitely weak spark? How is compression? Getting fuel ok? It's fuel injected right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JDM280ZX Posted May 2, 2022 Share Posted May 2, 2022 14 hours ago, gav240z said: Is it definitely weak spark? How is compression? Getting fuel ok? It's fuel injected right? Yeah definitely has very weak spark. Compressions are all good and even, getting plenty of fuel and injectors seem to be firing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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