not running smooth
 

I replaced the coil,plug wires, cap,rotor. The car would not start after this. I pulled the distributor pointed the rotor to plug #1 and it fired up. The timing seems to be set but it seems to be dogging when its driving?Any ideas

Just a simple suggestion, make sure your plug wires are pushed in all the way on the
engine side...
Usually you will hear a "snap" when the cap is seated properly !

How did you check the timing? Did you check the total advance at 6000 RPM? I wonder if the plug wires were rotated to allow it enough advance? It's possible that your advance is not working, and someone just advanced the distributor far enough to compensate.

typical, when the frequency valve isn't working. the domelight fuse (on the front fuse panel) powers the O2 sensor relay, (under the right seat, in front by the tunnel), which powers the O2 sensor computer (under the right seat), which oscillates the frequency valve, which makes the engine run well.

The plug wires are seated. The timing I have the motor up to normal temp marked the points on the pullies. I remove the vac hose and use a timing light and set the distributor to line the marks. I will have to check again it was at 23 deg not sure of the rpm. I did check the fuses all are good is this in the trunk? I will have to look at the relay. I am a novice and thanks for the help.

My book says the timing should be 3 to 5 degrees Before Top Dead Center (BTDC) at idle (850 to 950 rpm), and 25 degrees BTDC at 4000 rpm (to check that the mechanical advance is working correctly. If you check both of these and they are OK, then your distributor is probably OK.

The fuse that John is asking about can be checked just by opening one of your doors and seeing if the interior lights come on. If they don't, then it's possible that the fuse is blown which also cuts off power to the O2 sensor computer.

Starting to work on your own car can be very rewarding - it can also be frustrating sometimes. There are a lot of knowledgeable people on here that can help you with procedures you are not familiar with. If you are having any trouble checking things, just ask.

did you plug the vacuum line while timing? Is plug gap ok? Wires not cross-firing?

You can easily check all cylinders for cross firing by hooking the timing light to each wire and watching the pulses for extra "beats".

Also possible that the problem is not in the ignition, but somewhere else, like fuel delivery.

You mention replacing the coil, is the replacement an OEM coil? The CD Ignition in these cars is very picky about the coil.

The dome light is working with the doors. I did get the coil from here it is a bosch brand the one the site listed. The vacuum hose was off during timing. I will have to timing again this weekend when I have more time.Thanks

You could try installing just the old coil again to be sure it's not the new coil.

One vac hose?
An '83 has vac advance and retard.
Check your driver's manual for the correct procedure. :)

Original distributor? Never serviced? Cleaned and lubed?

Do you have the braided ingintion cables? Beru plug connectors?
The long Beru's should be 3k OHMS, the short ones 1k, altogether 4k OHMS from end to end of the cable, not more, very important!

+1 ... easy thing to try first

so the dome light works, but does the relay work? get the engine hot and at idle, unplug the relay and see if the engine runs rougher. if nothing changes, replace the relay and see if you get a significant improvement. the system has to function or it feels like you're dragging an anchor.

I started working backwards and switched to the old dist cap and rotor and it fired up. I was able to set the timing without any problems. Thanks for all the suggestions it helped me get more familiar with my car. 1983 911sc cab