Distributor Catastrophe Please Help! Likely school-boy error

[shedvan]

Mistake Number One

Well on a beautiful Sunday I forsook a stress-free drive in the country for replacing the distributor on my 1991 Polo Fox 1.05.

Unfortunately the new distributor didn't fit and I couldn't fit the HT lead from cylinder 4 (nearest the distributor) and had to re-fit the old distributor.

Mistake Number Two

Somewhere behind the swap-overs I must have messed up the positions the the HT leads sat in on the distributor and when I went to start the engine the engine cranked a little but did not start.

At this point I swore a fair bit and reached for the Haynes book for help

..and swore a fair bit more. To be fair its for a the earlier Polo MK2 not the MK2F and this could be why it wasn't terribly useful.

Mistake Number Three

The Haynes manual advise on rebuild that the rotor-arm be lined up with a the mark (for TDC?) and I didn't really know how to move the rotor-arm so I proceeded to try and turn it with my hand...

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Which as you may know (to your cost like me maybe) led to the rotor-arm snapping - PI55-TEETH!

So clearly I NEED HELP!!

Can anyone advise me on how to rectify the horlicks I'm making out of this very simple job?

I need to know where the HT leads should sit in the distributor and how to correctly reposition the rotor-arm should I need to - or more importantly tell me if I should just leave turning the rotor-arm completely alone.

Or point me to a how-to guide online here, I'm looking for one but so far I haven't found it.


PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE HELP!

[shedvan]

Right update time

I've checked the HT leads for position and they appear to be in the right order onto the distributor.

I was confusing myself I think because instead of being positioned at 9, 12, 3 & 6 o'clock on the clock face the distributor is on at 10, 2, 5 & 7 o'clock approximately.

Although this is different to the published advice it was in this position previously and the TDC marking is not actually TOP DEAD CENTRE

but as the car was running fautlessly prior to my attempt to 'improve' it (curse you cruel ironic gods with a taste for mocking my every attempt at car maintenance!) it should still be okay if I put the HT leads back in the correct place (which I think I did now)

BUT clearly all is not well in the valley.

Now when I try to start the car it turns and turns and turns but does not catch and will then stop turning???

Why ? What am I doing wrong?

Incidently when I take the HT lead that comes from the coil it will turn merrily (all day long presumably) without coming to a stop as it does when the coil lead is attached.

HELP! HELP PLEASE! NOT WAVING! CATASTROPHISING!!

[Deleted]

You need to get it set up on TDC, that's so number one piston is in the firing position then line the rotor arm up with the lead that goes to number one.

What makes you say that TDC mark is wrong and what mark are you referencing?

[retrowrongun]

Make sure you Havnt fitted the dizzy 180 degrees out aswell as this is very simple oversight and something often overlooked even by the most experienced mechanics sometimes lol
Causes no end of head scratching until you get that sinking feeling as you realise what's happened

[campervan]

have you checked the firing order of the engine i assume its 1342 no 1 being close to pullys for altenator (sorry used to old cars that have radiator in front morris minor ect)
i would take out no 1 spark plug or all of them get a torch and look for the piston no 1 comming up then see where your rotory arm is pointing in the cap then turn engin bit more for next piston comming up ie no 3 and see if you rotory arm matches that lead and so on
clean the new rotory arm brass bit with a bit of emery just in case there is somthing on it stoping it from having a good conection on the cap
if when you put lead from coil to cap on it wont turn over in your post i assume you have the firing order wrong and it firing in wrong place
finaly if you do get it going mark your leads with dots of paint or tippex

[bl1300]

You need to find TDC for cylinder 1 and check that the rotor arm is pointing at the lead to cylinder 1.

To find TDC remove the spark plug and place a long screwdriver or similar through its hole, then turn over the engine (by hand not the starter) until the screwdriver stops rising this is TDC for that cylinder. If the screwdriver starts falling again you have gone too far.

However also the piston needs to be at TDC on the firing stroke not the exhaust stroke, the simplest way of checking this is too watch the valves neither valve should be open as the piston rises.

[mikeymk]

The rotor arm can only go in one position which you know is correct as it ran okay before. The only problem is you had the leads the wrong way around..
1 at ten o clock
2 at one o clock
3 at seven o clock
4 at four o clock

Cylinder 1 is furthest from the gearbox.

If you unbolted the distributor and turned it then you have messed it up and will need to get a timing gun on it to get the distributor back in the correct position (unless you can clearly see the marks where the bolts held it in place before, due to dirt, you may be able to get it back to position by that).

All this info was on clubpolo.

[Deleted]

Another school boy error to check is the carbon brush inside the dizzy cap, make sure it is still there and are you checking the firing order correctly 1342 anti clockwise?

also have you checked you still have a spark coming out of the dizzy.