Engine running

[kevinbush]

Further to previous thread. Thanks Chris and Dave for input. Update time !The good news first we carried our compression tests 160 0n 2 cylinders and 165 on remaining 4. 170 wet test on all cylinders that would indicate engine good ?
We replaced plugs, they were all same and ideal color but thought it best. Also replaced the coil for Lucas from SNG Barratt and fuel filter. The filter was a bit old but reasonably clean, spring had no rust. The residues/sediment was a milky blue/grey substance, could this be water or separation of the fuel ? The previous owner always used Esso premium unleaded ( he says ). My mechanic still believes the problem is electronic and we should recondition the distributor with the Distributor doctor, a couple of classic car owners friends ( not jag ) believe better to change to a 123 electronic system. Have members experience of the system and which model ?

Thanks in advance for help. I also trying to load picture but haven't found how to reduce picture size yet.
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Kevin Bush

[Heuer]

Experiences of the 123 on the E-Type are not good. Get your dizzy serviced by Distributor Doctor, use his rotor arm and the contactless breaker (Petronix) he sells. You could even stick with the contact breaker and keep the car 'old school' - many of us run with contact breakers and they rarely cause a problem or need adjustment unless you are doing thousands of miles a year. More info here: viewtopic.php?t=8783

[Nickleback]

Experiences of the 123 on the E-Type are not good. Get your dizzy serviced by Distributor Doctor, use his rotor arm and the contactless breaker (Petronix) he sells.

David is right, too many issues with getting a 123 right, stick with the Petronix, you wont regret it :D

[cactusman]

Wise words from David and Mike. If you run with points worth while keeping a spare condenser in the glove box. .....just in case?

[chrisfell]

Experiences of the 123 on the E-Type are not good. Get your dizzy serviced by Distributor Doctor, use his rotor arm and the contactless breaker (Petronix) he sells.

David is right, too many issues with getting a 123 right, stick with the Petronix, you wont regret it :D

Er.... not on my car. 123 dizzie runs perfectly all the time and has done since I fitted it some 6 years and 20,000 miles ago.

[Mark Gordon]

This has to be one of the more controversial topics on the Forum. Like Chris, I've been running a 123 for going on 4 years and have not had any issues what so ever. The car starts instantly even in cold or damp weather and after sitting for over a week, it pulls strongly from idle all the way up to 4500 rpm (that's as high as I've ever rev'd my engine) and there has never been the hint of any trouble. I would love to know why some members and/or friends-of-friends have had problems, not just that they have had problems, but what caused the problems. Were the dizzies defective, were they installed incorrectly, subjected to voltage spikes, etc.? I've read reports here that some folks have had problems, but never seen a diagnosis. The only advantage for me for a conventional points and condenser would be the likelihood that it will seldom leave you stranded by the side of the road. Trade that off for less reliable starting under all conditions, the inevitable need for adjustment (admittedly a simple job) and the lack of ability to easily adjust the advance curve to suit your particular needs and I would not consider going back to points and condenser. I agree that the Pertronix units are cheap and reliable alternative but I love my 123.

[caveman]

Pertronix for me I'm afraid.
Nice to know the original dizzie is still in place with its modern, internal, twist. Maintains original looks and the purists will never know Unless they find your points and condenser in your toolkit

[Heuer]

IIRC Mr Crespin had a big problem with a 123 - something about it seizing in operation.

[Alty Ian]

I have spent MONTHS trying to get the 123 to work well in our S1. Loses power above 2800rpm, idling lumpy etc. We have the tune version with data cable so adjustments can be made while running as well.

This maybe due to my lack of knowledge or ability, I suspect a session on a rolling road might enable it to be set up right. I do wonder if voltage spikes are a factor, I even added a dizzy earth cable (as Albertronic suggested)but that didnt help.

As soon as we put a new Lucas 22D dizzy in the engine runs perfectly now at all revs and speeds etc.

I may try again later if I can find a rolling road to set up on.

[christopher storey]

I have rather lost count of the number of electronic distributors we have thrown away on Jaguars of all sorts, 3.4 mark 2, mark VII, XK 150 , several E types, and a 2.5 Daimler ( mine ) and the most frequent casualty has been the 123 which seem to chew up coils ( or something ) more rapidly than the other systems , although pertronix has also figured too largely in the cast list. I am afraid that I think that none of these systems are properly developed in comparison with the systems fitted as original equipment to modern cars . One interesting possibility is that modern systems are not subjected to the vibration which a mechanical distributor imposes. Anyway, whatever the cause is, I do not think there is any safe substitute for points which will nearly always be capable of getting you home with a bit of fettling and adjustment

Yours sincerely

A Luddite

[Tony]

It seems the 123 distributer has a bad reputation, however I have had one in my car since I bought it and it has not missed a beat in nearly six years and 17000 miles. So some of them do work and from some of the reports some don't.

[kevinbush]

Thank you for all the replies,very controversial as stated. I think the recent posts didn't know the car has an illumination system fitted at present.
Did our 1st decent run ( 50 miles ) yesterday ,ran perfect up to 4000 RPM. The tick over flutter on rear 3 cylinders is still there however and appears to coincide with the rev counter flutter. I think I need to consider further before making decision on which ignition system.

How do you input my car on the world map ?

[Heuer]

Follow the link here: https://www.zeemaps.com/map?group=184509