Fitting
Fitting a Powerspark Electronic Ignition Kit (Negative Earth):
With the ignition switched off, disconnect the live feed at the coil ensuring it is on the positive side of the coil.
Remove the distributor cap, rotor arm, contact points and condenser carefully, retaining the screws and withdraw the wires through the distributor body.
Test fit the module first and then apply the silicone grease provided (3 small dots only) to the underside of the module baseplate, leave the screws fitted. (If your kit is already on a plate then the heat grease is on out of the box)
Ensure that there is good continuity from the kit plate to the points baseplate through the internal earth wire inside the distributor. If there is not one present you may need to add one to give good continuity to the kit.
Check there is sufficient slack in the wires inside the distributor body for the base plate to turn when a vacuum unit is fitted, inserting the rubber plug to seal and secure the wires in the distributor body, use a small cable tie to keep these out of the way of moving parts.
Fit the new black trigger ring pressing down gently onto the shaft. On occasion the ring can be tight and may need to be carefully rubbed to make it wider. Only do this to make minor alterations.
Fit the rotor arm and rotate the spindle to check there is clearance between the module and the trigger, and that the rotor arm does not foul the module.
The kit will find it’s own position but if the ring and kit touch then move the module to achieve a close but not touching position (4 or 5 mm maximum) and tighten the screws firmly for good heat distribution.
IGNITION KIT WIRING
Locate the live feed to the coil (ensure this goes to the positive side of the coil) then connect the red Powerspark® wire to the positive coil terminal ensuring no other wire is on that same side.
Remember that some coils will not show a PLUS+ or MINUS- marking or it could be faded.
Older coils can also be marked 15 for positive and 1 for negative.
Failure to connect the wires correctly will result in damage to the Powerspark module!!!
Refit the distributor cap, start the engine and check the dynamic ignition timing and adjust where necessary.
Here we see the distributor cap with the leads still attached. In this case, access is easy as the top of the cap is directly next to the engine block. Some distributors may be buried down within the engine bay, making fitting the kit a bit more difficult!
With the distributor cap removed, we are now looking down at the internals of the distributor. You can see the black rotor arm with rivet, these rivets are notorious for failing which is why we supply our own 'moulded' rotor arms to do away with the issue. The condenser is shown here, a small cylinder attached to the orange wire. You can also see the spring loaded points curving around the distributor to the right hand side of the distributor body.
The step that isn't shown is removing the rotor arm, simply grip it firmly and pull upwards to remove it from the top of the distributor shaft.
Here the points and condenser are removed from the distributor.
In this case we are removing the plate that the points and condenser mount to, as the Powerspark unit is complete with a new one.
You can see the distributor in the background, now minus it's rotor arm.
With the rotor arm removed, you can fit the new baseplate around the distributor shaft and slot the trigger ring (black circle) onto the shaft. As you can see in this photo, the clearance between the ignition module (red plastic block) and trigger ring (black circle) is just a few millimetres, enough to make the magnetic contact points connect but not close enough to touch. Once you are happy with this placement, fix the screws down firmly.
This photo clearly shows the new rotor arm (with no rivet!) and it's close proximity to ignition module (red plastic block). It has to be able to rotate without contacting any of the internals, so make sure the wires are pulled neatly out of the way.
And that's it! Once you are happy with all of the clearances, attach the red wire to the positive side of the coil and the black wire to the negative side of the coil to connect your kit.
You may need to check the dynamic ignition timing and adjust where necessary, but that's it, all done!