Surprise box! - Pertronix

[Larry B]

Those 40 year old fuel shutoffs on he sediment bowls just don't seem to work like they did when they were new. That is why I installed a simple in line shutoff valve used on riding mowers. And when carbs use a brass seat and needle it is a recipe for gas on the floor or worse a crankcase full of gas like so many Briggs 12hp engines have done. If you ever install a filter be sure it is for gravity system. Most paper fuel filters are made for fuel pump system and capillary effect can cause them to not flow fuel in a gravity system.

[Greg Armstrong]

Installed Pertronix on the 184 tonight. Fired right up quicker than ever before.

Still working on getting the timing right. Should 16* BTDC still be referenced as the holy grail at high idle? Because it seems a lot smoother at about 20* or so. Still concerned about the strength of the coil.

Thanks again to everyone for their help guidance!!

[Denny Clayton]

Yes to the 16 deg. BTDC. What sounds like the sweet spot won't be under a load. It idles great but will be down on power a little.

[Larry B]

I agree that you should stick with the 16 BTDC setting. You are setting the timing under no load. When the engine is hot and under a heavy load if the timing is advanced too far it can cause a couple problems. One is the engine will run hotter than designed and can possibly overload the cooling system. Another problem is where the plug fires early enough that the piston is not far enough into the compression stroke that the piston is momentarily pushed backwards. This is very hard on main and rod bearings. It also causes a loss in power. On cars you usually hear this detonation as pinging or rattling. At full throttle you may not hear it on a c60 engine.

[Greg Armstrong]

Thanks Larry & Denny. I'm hoping to get it properly adjusted tonight. It was surging at low idle last night when the timing was set closer to 16 deg at high idle. I need to clean the fuel system and carb - but I may have some governor adjustments to make also. Before I started the ignition and fuel sys. tune up, I was only seeing about 1700 rpm with the throttle all the way up. I've adjusted the gov. speed stop and the throttle cable at the gov., but may need to go further with it.

What, if anything, has anyone done about the distributor dust cap not fitting over the pertronix kit?

[Larry B]

You don't need the dust cap. Put in your box of "stuff" you have accumulated for your tractor.

[Eugene]

Different opinion. Set the ignition timing at TDC, engine cranking speed. Once timing is set, check the advance to see it it comes close to 16 degrees before TDC at high idle.

[Mike H]

''What, if anything, has anyone done about the distributor dust cap not fitting over the pertronix kit?''


they make nice Christmas ornaments

like Larry said put it in the spare parts box [got a pretty good supply of spare parts here already]

glad it worked out for you

Mike

[Greg Armstrong]

Mike, I'm sure the wife will have the same sense of humour about a distributor dust cap on the tree as she did when I asked Santa for a Super A

Eugene, are you suggesting static timing? Not sure what you mean by cranking speed... As in, by hand or at low idle?

[Eugene]

Low engine idle is 450 - 500 rpms. Basically you want the spark to reach the cylinder at TDC during engine cranking speeds which is usually less that 150 engine rpms. This will facilitate starting.

[Greg Armstrong]

Got it. Thanks Eugene!!