Feeling a Little Dizzy

[Dave Bell]

.... Coming out of lurk mode.....

When I first purchased the 914 about 6 months ago, I had it smogged and the guys there did some "tune-up" work to get it to pass. So I haven't bothered much with it until now.

I have had some problems until this time with idle dropping out, i.e. stalling, after the engine was fully warm... the quick fix... turn up the idle screw...

Well now I got the dwell meter out and timing light and have a few questions.

First, I have a 75 1.8 liter with L-jetronic FI. The dizzy looks like a combination of mechanical and vacuum advance. I have put in new points, set the dwell and the timing, 7.5 deg BTDC at 850-900 rpm. I am idling a little better now but still getting some drop out after warm up.

I pulled the vacuum lines off the diaphram device attached to the dizzy and found that sucking/blowing into the lower one connection I could not get much resistance... air flowed to freely.

Sucking air out of the top vacumm line, I could feel the resistance, see the little arm coming out of the advance mechanism into the dizzy, begin to move, but there was no movement of the plate on which the contact breaker sits.

I believe I should see some movement of that plate, right?....

And what about the lower vacuum line having little to no resistance to air flow? Doesn't seem to right to me. Is this one used for spark retard during idle?

Someone please educate me here.

OK... final question... for now...

It might be nice to pick up a spare dizzy that I can rebuild... How do I make sure what version I have right now so I can look for the right spare or the correct spare parts for my current dizzy?

Thanks all

[bowlsby]

Check the information on this website:
http://www.dgi.net/914/tech/distrib.html

and also the Haynes and Clymer/Lash manuals. If you have a small inspection mirror you should be able to get the part number off your distributor to verify which one you have. Word on the street is that the 75 1.8 is the best of all the 914 distributors.

[John Rogers]

You probably can't suck enough vacuum to make the advance mechanism move the full travel. I tried the same thing you did and it barely moved. I used a MityVac and saw good full movement. If you live near a Harbor Freight and Tools thay had the MityVacs for 19.95 a while ago when I bought mine? They are good for testing other FI components. Might be a good idea to make sure all the hoses are hooked up as per the diagram here on the PP site too. Good luck.

[Dave Bell]

Looked under the dizzy with the inspection mirror. Found the following numbers:

113 905 205 AJ
0231167 049
JFUR4

The top line is similar to the
022 905 205 number that I was expecting...
based on info in Haynes and at dgi.net...but?

Anybody got any idea what kind of dizzy I have or where to look further based on those numbers?

- Dave

[Dave at Pelican Parts]

I concur with what one respondent on the Rennlist suggested. I think it's a Type I (bug) distributor. The "113" is the prefix for Type I parts.

--DD

[Dave Bell]

Thanks for the expertise guys..


@#$%%!! PO's.... oh well... I would have thought that something like the bug type 1 dizzy would not be compatible with the 914 FI system... the car was running real good except for the idle... the plugs look great... compression is O.K. all a around with a little sagging on #3. Now I'm hunting parts again... The next Pomona Swap meet must be coming up soon... Maybe its time to go.

Anybody got a line on good used distributor of number type 022 905 205?

I notice in Dave Darling's notes on dgi.net, there are two types

022 905 205 AA and
022 905 205 AB

Do I need to match the proper one to my engine code number or something??? or can I use either one.

- Dave

[ws91420]

You might try AutoZone if ther is one near you. Imagine my suprise when I found one for a 76 2.0 w/ FI trigger points for $61.99 w/ LLT warranty. No core needed.

[PeteD]

Dave,

It is true that the 205AA is a great distributor, but before you spend the money...

I noticed that you did not mention if you disconnnected (and plugged) the vac lines from the distributor when you timed the engine. This will make a difference.

As far as finding a 205AA or AB distributor used, after checking with Pelican, you might want to advertise for one on the 914 Club pages. I found one there for only $20 incldg shipping. http://www.dgi.net/914/

You may also be putting too much weight on the distributor being your idle problem source. (I kinda doubt it is your problem frankly). The dizzy has more to do with how well the car accellerates and decellerates. You should read more about all of the various components of the injection system and see if maybe one of the sensors or vacuum lines is not the more likely culprit of your idle problem. Sorry but I am a carb kinda guy, but there is a lot of good info on the pelican pages about tracking down FI problems. Good luck.

[Dave Bell]

Thanks again guys,

As Pete suggested, I will continue to go through the sensors and components connecting to the FI system and check those out.

I adjusted the valves last night for the first time... Everything is an exercise in contorsion getting to adjust or fix things on this car!... When I do something the first time, I spend most of my time figuring out what tool and what twist of my arm and what angle of the tool to use to get at the thing.

I should have checked the valves when I first bought the car...Wow were some of them off.... too tight ... in some cases it looked like no clearance at all!.... Got it all back together and out running again this morning

- Dave

[Alpine]

>>ws91420

You might try AutoZone if ther is one near you. Imagine my suprise when I found one for a 76 2.0 w/ FI trigger points for $61.99 w/ LLT warranty. No core needed.

>>

That must be a rebuilt distributor since new ones sell for over $700 . If it was a quality rebuild then $62 seems to be a very good price. I have an old Automotion catalog where a rebuilt distributor for a 76 2.0 cost $94.98 .

Alpine

[ws91420]

Alpine Yes it is a rebuilt. But most of the ones I saw when I was looking for one were $189.00 + a core charge

[Dave Bell]

I would not have even thought the regular auto parts store would have in it their computer, but sure enough, Kragen Auto down the street from me quoted me $89 for a rebuilt dizzy + a $1 core charge.... Yes the guy behind the counter laughed at the core charge too! I will check AutoZone next.

[This message has been edited by Dave Bell (edited 02-16-2000).]

[PeteD]

If you get a rebuildt dizzy, make sure it has genuine Bosch points and condensor. The brazilian aftermarket points don't seem to last, and the cheap condensors don't seem to help them last either.

[ws91420]

The ones at Auto Zone are rebuilt by A-1 Cardone. Which I believe is based out of Philly.