5 replies to this topic

[Mrt88]

Mini city e
998cc 1988

Hi all
Just a quick question. Can I check my points in the dizzy without having to retime everything ?

I've had the car cut out a couple of times on idle. After about 5/10min of just sitting there. It starts right back up again. So my mechanic said to have a look at the points.

I have a Hayes but it doesn't say much about reassembly.
If anyone could give me a hand that would be amazing !
Thanks all
Theo

[Gremlin]

You can check the 'settings' without touching the timing but if you have to change them you'll need reset your timing

[psychobob]

do you need to reset the timing after setting your points gap? surely not?

[geoff-d]

Just fit a electronic kit & forget about them. 

[Marco1972]

As posted

No need to re time after setting / changing points

[dklawson]

You are supposed to check the timing after adjusting points.  However, I have never found it necessary.  The timing never seems to be off by a measureable amount if I got the gap set correctly.  My suggestion is to set the gap as close to "correct" as possible and decide after driving the car if you need to adjust the timing.

 

When you set the points, make sure you have lubricant supplied for the 4-lobe cam that opens the points.  Some points have a felt wick.  The wick should be saturated with oil and touching the 4-lobe cam.  If your points do not have a felt wick, apply a thin smear of grease to the 4-lobe cam.  Failure to lube the dizzy cam will result in rapid wear of the heel block on the points and this lets them "close up" quickly.  That in turn can cause problems like you are describing.