need help with points / fired only on 2 cylinders

[sooonice]

Hey everyone, i need halp once again with my bus.


I replaced my plug wires yesterday - i had used my timing light to find out only 2 of the plugs were getting current (strange right?) with the new plugs in the engine still only fired two cylinders. i know my timing is a little bit off but the bus is still somehow drivable.

on the way home from concept1 i lost all power and my bus died, i had to pull over to a car wash and trouble shoot. at first i thought i had no fuel but a quick test proved me wrong as i got a nice stream of gas in my face - great. next i checked for spark and is i found out there was NO SPARK COMING FROM THE COIL. 12VDC at the coil with the key on but no spark when cranking. i bypassed the points by grounding out the coil with a jumper wire on the engine tin and then I GOT SPARK FROM THE COIL. so next order of business was to clean the points and adjust the gap. ** This is where i ran into a problem, no matter how far i tried to make the gap on the points it seemed to always have contact, i used my feeler gauge and maxed it out... it was nowhere near specs

at this point i think i need to get new points / learn how to adjust them properly and perhaps a new condenser?

I THINK MY MAIN PROBLEM IS THE POINTS ARENT GROUNDING THE COIL PROPERLY. now could this somehow be related to only 2 cylinders firing?

this is my first aircooled vehicle, i am very excited and scared. i dont really have anyone around who can teach me this stuff - so i have to use my richard book and the internet to pick it up.

if anyone has any comments/suggestion/criticism please chime in.

<3

[busdaddy]

Is the plastic block that rubs on the distributor cam intact? that often breaks off on newer Bosch points.
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[Wildthings]

Your post is confusing. Are you removing your distributor to gap your points? Much easier to do it with the distributor out. Just undo the 8mm nut (13mm wrench) and lift the distributor out. If you don't mees with the long 10mm nut on the clamp then the engine will still be very close to in time when you put the distributor back in.

There is a small diameter braided ground strap inside the dizzy. It will sometime break or come lose at one end. Do a good visual check of it.

If only two cylinders are firing then the cap, wires, and plugs would be the prime suspects.

[phoneguy]

I find it hard to believe he's driving on 2 cylinders, I recently blew my engine and it was very difficult to drive with just 2 cylinders and a nightmare when hills were involved.
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[SGKent]

You need new points and be sure to lube the lobes with a special distributor grease. Your spark was weak because the points were barely opening, probably not at all on 2 lobes. Clean it all up and start over.

[sooonice]

hey guys thanks for the reply.

ill try to make everything as clear as possible to help you help me.

first of all, let me explain why i think it runs on two. couple days ago i tried to get my timing perfect with my timing light.

(please keep in mind that i am new to this, i dont know what aircooled stuff is supposed to look like or sound like, never owned a fourstroke aircooled or had to deal with points, but i do understand how they work.)

when i connected the timing light to plug #1 there was no light coming for the gun... cyl # 2 and #3 had a steady flashing pattern but #4 would only flash randomly very rarely (every 5 seconds or so it would flash twice)

the engine is gutless, hills are a nightmare- 2nd or 1st going 10-20mph... i imagine it still has good compression because thats the only way it would combust. . . correct me if im wrong- stupidly enough i already drove it 900miles before finding out there was only two cyls firing, as well as the fact that i had a 3 inch flame coming from my cylinder head (which is now fixed)


i did remove my dizzy when i gapped the points, i think the little plastic piece you are talking about broke off as i found a little white plastic piece "chillin" under the cap. i have new plugs and wires so maybe the cap is bad plus the combination of the broken little plastic piece could be the culprit. i will check and report back also will check the ground strap.

thanks for the quick reply guys.

ALSO i was wondering why my plug set came with 6 wires? theres a short coil wire and a long one.. should i be using the short one, it has less resistance....


<3

[Wildthings]

Your plug wire set is just universal to fit a couple of different engines, just toss the extra wire into a drawer or round can it.

Have you checked to see what happens when you pull each wire out of the cap in turn? That should tell you what is firing and what is not.

Having run with what basically was a bad exhaust leak, you may have done damage to your exhaust valve on that cylinder.

Try turning your engine over by hand for two complete revolutions. Does the compression on each cylinder feel the same?

How about a picture of your points as installed.

[SGKent]

did your wire set have the little rubber seals on it that seal the hole around the plug?

[sooonice]

There are only 2 lobes on the dizzy shaft? i figured there would be four - but i suppose it makes sense as the dizzy only turns 90* per full crank revolution.

the wire set does have the little rubber covers, i havent put them in place yet...

i dont have any way of getting a pic sorry guys, ill try to borrow an iphone or something.

i have turned the engine over by hand and it feel rather even, i will rent a tester soon and check it the right way.

[Glenn]

[SGKent]

[sooonice]

thanks for the advice kent. i have found that my rubbin block had snapped off. im gonna try to get new points today from concept (thank god i live in calgary) i will put those boots on, it looks like someone had hacked up the 2nd cyl plug hole and expanded it. i guess ill just have to find new tin soon.

cheers. i will report back if this solves the problem.