Installation Procedure for Switched Distributors
Installation Procedure Mfg 6 cyl Manual Mfg 4 cyl manual
1) Before removing the old distributor from the car, check which direction the rotor is moving. (CW) or counterclockwise (CCW) seen from the top. (put that on a little note, together with the proper ignition sequence).
2) Now bring the engine to the Static point per your motor manual, at the end of the compression-stroke, for cylinder number 1.
(the rotor on the old distributor should point to the cable that connects to the sparkplug of cylinder number 1)
3) Now put your 123ignition in the car (Note: wherever the 123 rotor is pointing now is your new #1), also find a position where the cables and the vacuum-nipple come out conveniently.
4) Connect the wires (Red, Blue etc) according to the proper diagram, but do not connect the black wire yet.
5) Turn on the ignition. If your rotor rotates CW: rotate the unit CCW until the green LED, (located under the rotor disc) just lights up. (also press the rotor in a CCW direction, to remove any free play in the drive) If your rotor rotates CCW: rotate the unit CW until the green LED just lights up. (also press the rotor in a CW direction, to remove any free play in the drive) (The LED is located under the aluminum disc below the rotor) For all models: if you expect a bad ground connection: use the M5-threaded hole in the bottom-face of the housing, for a direct wire to ground. Turn off the ignition.
6) Now, connect the black wire to the coil according to the schematic. Connect the spark plug leads in the proper firing order on the cap, starting with the new #1 wire position indicated by the rotor. Also connect the high voltage wire from the coil to the center position of the cap. Attach the cap to the distributor.
7) Route all wires well away from the high voltage leads and away from moving parts, using tie-wraps or other suitable means. Connect the vacuum-tube (if there is one) from the carburetor to the nipple on the ‘123’. Older engines may have a screw-connection for the vacuum-advance diaphragm. In this case you can use a short length of rubber hose to connect to the 123, or remove the hard line to the carburetor and replace it completely with thick- walled rubber vacuum-hose. If you selected the proper advance-curve located under the hex cap on the side of the distributor, you can now start your engine!
8) Always! Always! synchronize your timing with a timing light.
To do this, warm up the motor and compare crankshaft readings with the curve information from the booklet. Remember if you added a static time according to your shop manual you have to add that to the data from the 123 manual to know exactly what timing you have.
For Example: If Curve #2 in the 123 booklet reads 22*@ 3500 rpm and your motor manual says to build a static time of 10* that will now give you an all in advance of 32*@3500 rpm. So you will need to confirm that figure with a timing light. Note: some curves have a value @ 2000 rpm in the 123 booklet. You could synchronize the distributor using that information but will always need to factor in the static amount.