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1981 318 Electronic Ignitioin

M

mictat2214

Contributing Member
Is the advance on a 1981 Chrys

Is the advance on a 1981 Chrysler 318 w/ electronic ignition mechanical or electrical? Thanx in advance. Mike.
 
"Hi Jeff... Yeah, can't ge

"Hi Jeff... Yeah, can't get any advance... I tried the "flip the rotor" trick & it bounced back.. however, a mechanic friend of mine checked it with a meter, under load & no advance... It got up to 3000RPM one time without popping & missing but all other times no more than 1800-2000RPM... I had the distributor rebuilt & maybe it isn't right or quite possibly it was re-installed slightly off... the timing is off maybe 1 degree... thanx for the info on the advance... Take care... Is it a labor of love or a love of labor? Oh, it's boating... Take care... Mike..."
 
"Mike:

I had to sit there i

"Mike:

I had to sit there in the bilge like a damn fool, flipping the rotor on mine back and forth a few hundred times to free the SOB up. I listened to music as I flipped, and flipped, and flipped... It was successful, for the advance now goes all the way back down at idle--what it didn't want to do before.

If you time it BEFORE it comes all the way down, then you're way retarded at 3,000 rpms, when it should be all the way out (as you might have, ah, noticed!)

Jeff"
 
"Hey Mike,
That doesn't m

"Hey Mike,
That doesn't make sense.
Is it a marine distributor?
As the distributor turns faster, there are weights that are forced to move outward by centrifugal force. As the distributor speed slows, the springs pull the weights back (& it bounced back).
The spinning part of the distributor (that you see) is not directly driven by the shaft underneath. The lower shaft spins a plate that the weights are mounted on, and the upper shaft (that determines when the spark occurs) is driven by (or engages into) pins on the weights. As the weights pivot outward, the upper shaft location is advanced, as compared to the lower shaft.

If things move freely, and snap back, there has to be an advancement happening.



Your distributor doesn't have a vacuum advance, does it?

Fred 156-M"
 
"Fred... Thanx for your input.

"Fred... Thanx for your input... It IS a marine distributor; may even be original... To re phrase what i posted... Obviously there is some advance as the engine will reach 1800/2000 RPMS but will pop like crazy when exceeding those RPMS... Also sounds like backfiring thru exhaust as well; it's difficult to tell... The boat will not get out of its own way... No popping in neutral, but with rapid throttle advancement, it will backfire thru carb... The engine ran fine until I had the distributor rebuilt, which leads me to believe that it is either installed slightly off or improperly rebuilt or maybe just needs some lubrication... I am far from an expert on this so haven't tackled removing the guts to inspect & lubricate... Any help would be much appreciated... Mike..."
 
"Jeff... Thanx for your respon

"Jeff... Thanx for your response...Haven't actually timed it yet since reinstall of distributor... If installed in the same location, how far off could the timing be? Doesn't make sense... Sounds like something other than that... Frustrating, to say the least... Mike..."
 
"Re : "however, a mechanic

"Re : "however, a mechanic friend of mine checked it with a meter, under load & no advance.." ///// " Obviously there is some advance as the engine will reach 1800/2000 RPMS"

Now I'm confused.

If I was checking for advance, I'd have to use a timing light. (I assumed that you used the word "meter" as a generic term).

I'm not sure that it can be done with a meter.

If your friend had a timing light hooked up to the engine, (to check advance) why wouldn't you two set the timing while you were that far along?

Re: "how far off could the timing be? "
I could drop a distributor in, & expect it to be within 10 - 15 deg, but not much closer than that.

Fred 156-M"
 
I have a 1981 318 with factory

I have a 1981 318 with factory electronic Ignition. When I lay the boat up I spray the inside of the distributor with WD 40 and leave the cap off for the lay up season. So far I have not had any advance problems(knock on wood). I only have 477 hours on both engines. Just a thought. Any commnents?
 
"[b]Eureka![/b] The advance pr

"Eureka! The advance problem has been solved... Human error as in many cases... Improperly positioned spark plug wires... Determined #1 piston to be at TDC with port valve cover off, then sorted out wires according to the proper firing order... Still must check timing with a lite but for now, am able to hit 3500 RPMS & she's running as designed... So far, so good... Thanx to everyone for their in-put... Mike..."
 
"Jeff... So true...I knew it h

"Jeff... So true...I knew it had to be something simple but I was going cuckoo trying to figure it out... not being more than a rank amateur mechanic, some of these problems become intimidating... Mike..."
 
"Let me relate my little "

"Let me relate my little "adventure" from last weekend:

Shakedown cruise. Ran over to the fuel dock and shut the engines off. As usual, I listened for the alarms to go off as the oil pressure dropped (as they should). Nothing. Got out the voltmeter and started checking this, checking that...tracing wires...nothing. Aargh!

Deciding I'll fix the damn thing later, I went to fire the engines up and---RRRR! The alarm is working again!

I forgot that the, arh, ignition has to be on for the, arh, alarms to go off... What a jerk.

Jeff"
 
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