SOMETHING TO DWELL OVER*****

[gairlochrosie]

I'm interested to find out how many owners adjust Points Gap with Feeler Gauges Only.......or by Feel / Eye ...or go one step further with their Dwell Angle Meter.

How Do YOU Do It ???????

[chickenjohn]

With experience you can set the points gap by eye, its not that critical.-





with the use of a screwdriver and your hands, nut just using eyes, of course!

[ColinP]

Well,

I set the points gap using feeler gauge, then when it's all running I check with the dwell meter.

That makes sure that I haven't changed the adjustment putting it back together - and that I'm not adjusting using the "odd" lobe (if there is one!)

Colin

[Kevin]

Feeler gauge normally or if desperate a piece of thin card, not sure if I trust my eyesite nowadays.

[rayofleamington]

Feeler guage normally, but the gap precision is even less relevant than dwell angle.
As long as the points have enough gap, the coil has time to charge, and you get a spark when the points open.

Therefore setting the spark timing is what's important.

[Judge]

...... or if desperate a piece of thin card,

Ah, the old 'fag packet' method

[Alec]

Hello all,

"its not that critical.- ", hm, well, I believe it is and always use a dwell meter. The dwell angle is dependant on the points gap and the reason I favour a dwell meter is that it is easier than using feeler gauges, particularly with points that have seem some service.


Alec

[Alec]

Hello all,

just a further thought on ignition systems. The sensitivity of particular engines to the effectiveness or otherwise of their ignition is often the type of engine, high performance engines are more sensitive to ignition performance due to the higher voltage requirement with higher cylinder pressures that high specific outputs entail as the voltage required to cause a spark at the plug points increases with pressure. So a Minor engine, generally being of a low output, it is not so critical to have an ignition system in top performance. Or in other words their engines will run reasonably well with ignitions that are not 100%.

Alec

[rayofleamington]

particularly with points that have seem some service.

if the surfaces are not flat then it's best to throw them away. Uneven surfaces give risk of uneven timing.
I can't see how the dwell angle could be at all critical, unless you have a tuned engine revving far higher than a Minor.
Minors will run with a points gap so small that there almost isn't any gap (as I found out when I was doing high mileage - the Minor continued to run until the points were not open at all!!)
Therefore the only aspect that can be critical is the spark timing itself. Too early you'll get pinking, too late and you'll be down on power and ~>20° too late and you can cause major overheating.

[Alec]

Hello Ray,

exactly the point I made in my last post, Minors will run reasonably well with the ignition system less than 100%. However that doesn't mean that is ideal, and the dwell angle's importance is that it is a measure of the time that the coil takes to build up a charge.
I also check the voltage drop acroos the points, basically as a guide to their serviceability, and if it's in the order of 0.2 to 0.3 volts I'll not change them, they may well have a pip and crater which would make setting the gap with feeler gauges inaccurate. Yes they could be changed but to me they are quite serviceable.

Alec

[bmcecosse]

The smaller the points gap - the better! Gives more time for the coil/capacitor circuit to charge up! Of course - NO gap is hopeless - so there needs to be a little compromise or be constantly stopping to re-adjust the tiny gap!