Powerspark Distributor - any good?

[300CE]

Hi All, had a problem with the van yesterday in that there was a real bad flat spot mid throttle and the van would only pull away on full throttle - it also smelt quite 'rich'.

Forward to today and van is now back to normal - took the vacuum pipe off of the carb, sucked it and everything looked liked it was moving as it should. Started van back up, revved it, flat spot gone! Took it for a spin & no problems at all and running beautifully.

Now the distributor is something I've haven't changed & it's obviously the original. I'm looking on changing it, so just wanted your advice on whether this powerspark one is any good or whether I should really go for original/good second-hand?:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/110768652540" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Cheers in advance!

[ghost123uk]

I wonder how well it follows the correct ignition advance curves of the proper dizzy, the table on Ebay shows it as compatible with just about every flat four VW engine ever made, including Beetles back to 1949 = I am sure they won't all have the same ignition curve !!!!!

According to the blurb it does not use the VW original ignition amp, so it must have it's own electronic ignition amp built in. Not sure if that is good or bad though. The VW "black box" ignition amp has been know to cause issues. It is of course a box of quite complicated electronics that might well be ~30 years old

If it were me, I would not be fitting one, but others may be along to say different.

[itchyfeet]

I would not change the dizzy just becuase its old, what reason do you have to think anything is wrong with it?
origional vw dizzy is likely to be the best bet, not much to go wrong appart from the vac unit which you can change, hall senders are very reliable.
my reccomendation is to squirt some oil down in the base to lube the mechanism and oil the felt pad regularly.

[CovKid]

Ideally, strip it down (theres a tricky circlip under that felt pad in the middle of the stem) and clean/polish moving plate and regrease. A worn cam used to be an issue with regular points but not electronic. Other than that, a new vacuum unit is often worth a go. They get sloppy/weak/fail over time. New ones spring back sharply. Rebuilt probably hundreds. Theres not a lot to go wrong with them really.

as Ghost says, your original dizzy is correct (curve) but a basic dizzy service may solve your probs.

[300CE]

Many thanks for all your replies chaps, it really is much appreciated. To be honest I thought that the dizzy itself maybe on its way out, but will deffo go the clean up route as suggested. I will replace the vacuum advance unit though and get one ordered - I've found an advance unit by powerspark also, but any recommendations on an alternative?:

http://www.simonbbc.com/ignition-spares ... vance-unit" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Cheers again,

Justin.

[BOXY]

had a problem with the van yesterday in that there was a real bad flat spot mid throttle and the van would only pull away on full throttle - it also smelt quite 'rich'.

I'd be looking at checking the plugs, rotor arm, dizzie cap & HT leads before I changed the dizzie. The rich smell points towards at least one plug not firing, and so does the lack of power.

[300CE]

Cheers Boxy, did all the usual checks (apart from plugs) and everything else seemed ok & the engine certainly didnt sound like there was any kind of mis-fire. What I think may have been happening is that the advance wasn't working properly, but only did so on full throttle & so there ended up being a kind of flooding effect & subsequent smell. She's also running absolutely fine again now.

The old girl's in for a service on Saturday so this along with a new advance unit should hopefully ensure that she remains in good health

[bigherb]

I will replace the vacuum advance unit though and get one ordered - I've found an advance unit by powerspark also, but any recommendations on an alternative?:

http://www.simonbbc.com/ignition-spares ... vance-unit" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Vac units are matched to the engine as well, determined by the spring strength inside the vac unit. That Powerspark one is a generic one which will work but not as well as the correct one. VW classic parts sell the correct vac unit 025905271C. But I wouldn't play parts darts until it has been checked properly with a vac gauge, unlikely to cause the rich smell anyway.

The powerspark electronic distributor is again a generic design as a replacement for older VW's with points ignition but will not switch the high power coils fitted to our electronic ignitions so you would loose the benefits of our systems.

[itchyfeet]

If you are going to strip the dizzy then my advice is take it out and do it in a vice, the vane can be stuck after 25 years and you need to get good leverage on it without bending it which can't easily be done in the engine.
lots of small parts to get lost also if you are not careful, as said need some small circlip pliers
got some pics if you need them let me know I will post them.

[300CE]

Many thanks Herb/Itchy - if you could send those pics over to me itchy that would be marvellous (could you scan & email them at all to make it easier for you?). If not, I'll sort you out the postage costs.

She's being serviced on Saturday, so will see if they can test it with a vacuum gauge.

Thanks again,

Justin.

[itchyfeet]

Pics are digital havent used film for many years
i will post them here I mean

[300CE]

Pics are digital havent used film for many years
i will post them here I mean

Haha, no worries! If you could post them up that'd be spiffing!

[itchyfeet]

taken from a couple of strip downs...

cap rotor arm shield off and then remove top circlip, need small circlip pliers 1mm pin/hole


get it in a vice with a rag to protect and using two flat balde screw drivers lever the vane off, the vane is made from thin sheet on a central boss so you want the screwdrivers on the central boss, it's not easy as it's chamfered. Plusgas is good if it's stuck on, you may be lucky.



when the vane is off recover the pin


remove that plastic cover from the hall sender plate and you will see a second circlip holding the hall sender plate down, this needs removing too, can do it now or a bit later.


remove all the screws and vac unit, fairly simple but I'd order them so you get them back right, some screws are slightly different.



pull the pin on the hall sender connector and it then slides up, if circlip is off this then lifts off



Late DG Q suffix mech ( one spring)


early DG C suffix mech ( two springs)


putting it back is easy, probably the only hard/fiddly bit (other than remembering what goes where) is inserting the dowel pin back into the vane after its on.
Use some grease on the vac unit pin/link also

hope this helps

cheers

Paul

[300CE]

Paul, you are a gentleman & a scholar sir! Cheers for posting this up - it doesn't look too bad at all & will provide an update once its all been done - I'm probably going to go for a new vacuum unit from Brickwerks as well so fingers crossed all should be tickety-boo once done.

[CovKid]

Don't think you'll have a problem. Just carefully set aside every screw and circlip then clean methodically as you go. The bottom weights just need a very light oil - nothing more. The main thing is to ensure you get a smooth movement of the plate via the vacuum movement and you should get many years good service.

We should point out that on a points-based dizzy, the lobes on the central shaft would wear but you won't have that problem with the electronic one. You can get wear in the central shaft (play) but that shouldn't matter too much. The felt pad in the middle acts a a sponge to help retain oil and only needs a couple of drops to keep the shaft lubricated. I have in the past had worn dizzy shafts reworked by a guy with a lathe with great results. Definately hang on to what you've got. It should out-live you.