daverclasper Posted July 7, 2015 Report Share Posted July 7, 2015 Hi everyone recently fitted one of the cheaper electronic ignition units (including the rotor arm supplied, which seemed a bit cheap and light)to my Vitesse. Car was running well until it starting missing and back fired for a few seconds then died, while revving at higher revs than I usually do. The rotor arm appeared to have come adrift from its location with a few tiny bits of broken plastic in the top of the cam. Has this ever happened to other owners ?. I think I seated it properly. Also the rotor arm appears to have have worn/gouged, some of six contacts inside the dizzy cap when this happened. Have replaced the rotor arm with the newish old one. Car will run now, but very rough. Should I just replace the dizzy cap do you think, or could there be other issues ?. Any advice as always much appriciated. Cheers Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AidanT Posted July 7, 2015 Report Share Posted July 7, 2015 Hi Yes this happened to me after I upgraded to electronic ignition and fitted the rotor arm that came with it at 60mph on a dual carriageway. Luckily it did no damage to the dizzy cap. I understand from others that there are poor quality rotor arms out there from China. Got myself some new old stock rotor arms off fleabay and its been fine since. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daverclasper Posted July 8, 2015 Author Report Share Posted July 8, 2015 Thanks for getting back Aidan. Spoke to the Dizzy Doctor who said it happened because the bottom of rotor arm needs to be shaved off for most of the kits, as is in contact with the ring that goes over the cam and therefore not seating properly. And they don't tell you this!. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AidanT Posted July 8, 2015 Report Share Posted July 8, 2015 ah -that's useful to know thanks FYI I didn't swap out the rotor @ 60 mph !!! it just came off at that speed!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daverclasper Posted July 8, 2015 Author Report Share Posted July 8, 2015 Have being in contact with supplier of the electronic kit, who has some regard in classic car circles. He wanted to know who had given me the above info as he had never heard of this issue. When I disclosed this, he was pretty negative about this person in various way and also described him as doomongerer. So, difficult to get to the bootom of this I reckon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AidanT Posted July 9, 2015 Report Share Posted July 9, 2015 I think it was Pete Lewis who advised me about the cheap rotor arm imports - I was trying to find the thread but was unable to Mine came from a reputable company as well but I guess they just buy them in bulk rather than one at a time - The company just thanked me I don't know that they did anything about it - but I expect so as they have a good reputation - The company was H & H Ignition Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Lewis Posted July 9, 2015 Report Share Posted July 9, 2015 stick to reputable always there is often problems with aftermarket copies where the mould is taken from a clone, the plastic shrinks as found by many whith dizzy caps that wont locate on the dizzy body, all down being copies with mould /shrinkages dizzy doctor and club sell known good parts , as do many mainline suppliers and often the trigger is a tight fit and needs care in fully locating , some aftermarket rotors are wildly loose , and best in the bin you know when you have a good finger press fit with no wobble,, anything else is going to fail if ti wobbles or easy to fall off expect the worst dont use it Pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daverclasper Posted July 11, 2015 Author Report Share Posted July 11, 2015 Thank for getting back. Have fitted a new cap from the Dizzy Docter. Car started on the button, but still missing/running very rough when moving and engine under load. It then ran a lot worse and now will hardly start. The vacuem advance is moving when sucking on the tube. Wondering if there could be other damage to dizzy when this happened or when it backfired a couple of times. At a loss, so any thoughts on this would be great. Cheers, Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dougbgt6 Posted July 11, 2015 Report Share Posted July 11, 2015 You did re-do the timing didn't you? You don't say so. When I put my electronic ignition on the timing was only slightly out and needed only slight readjustment. Others won't start at all. Presuming you did adjust the timing, you did it by slackening the bolt and twisting the dizzy? Has it come loose? Sorry to point out the obvious but we've all done it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daverclasper Posted July 11, 2015 Author Report Share Posted July 11, 2015 Hi. Reseted timing when fitted Elec Ign and car was running great until this happened. Have also been moving dizzy around since, while car is running, but doesn't improve it with points back in or Elec Ign refitted. Cheers, Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dougbgt6 Posted July 11, 2015 Report Share Posted July 11, 2015 As you say , it looks like something else is damaged. Any chance of borrowing a dizzy? That would be the easy way to diagnose it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daverclasper Posted July 17, 2015 Author Report Share Posted July 17, 2015 Hi, thanks No dizzy to borrow. I took the top plates off the dizzy. The centrifugal weights are free and springs look ok. Cheers, Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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