J13 Dist cap ???question

[sycloned916]

My dist cap on my J13 (the spider looking one)keeps on arching over and giving me and miss in my timing,I can hear it poping in the cap. Is there a different dist cap i can use,like a L series one that might work.Thanks.

[banzai510(hainz)]

swap a condensor

water under cap..?

Buy new cap

 

ask Mklotz

[datzenmike]

If you can hear the pop it's likely on the outside. Replace the cap and all the wires... but if cash is scarce take each wire off one at a time and clean with a WD-40 soaked rag to remove dirt and oil. Slide both the nipples back and clean inside and out thoroughly. Clean the cap off as well. Get some dielectric grease in a tube about $8 and wipe a thin smear inside the nipples and ends of the wires before plugging them into the cap. Don't forget both ends of the coil wires too. Clean the spark plug ends and the nipples that plug onto them and coat with the dielectric grease too. This will seal out moisture and form a non conducting layer to keep the spark from jumping.

 

On my 620 truck when it had the L20B in it, water from puddles and just the normal wet weather where I live is too easily sprayed onto the distributor at the front of the motor. To solve this, every winter I would get pair of disposable rubber gloves, actually I used ones made of Nitrile, which is oil and gas resistant. They are usually blue and worn by paramedics. If you remove the nipple from the wire end and push the wire through the finger tip after poking a very small hole in the end, you can slip the nipple back on the wire (now inside the glove) and attach to the distributor cap. Do all four fingers and the coil wire through the thumb. Roll the glove up like a condom and un-roll down over the cap and distributor body. Nice and cheap, I mean nice and dry.

Edited November 12, 2008 by datzenmike

[sycloned916]

I'll pick-up a new cap and some dielectric grease and see if that does it. I took the cap of f and saw some little white lines like lightning along the prongs. But ya when i listen to it i can hear a pop in there and my tach started to flicker and wont stay steady. But i'll get the cap and wires now and let you know if that works. Thanks!

[banzai510(hainz)]

a bad capicitor(condensor) will cause the points to arch and wear out faster

[datzenmike]

I'll pick-up a new cap and some dielectric grease and see if that does it. I took the cap of f and saw some little white lines like lightning along the prongs. But ya when i listen to it i can hear a pop in there and my tach started to flicker and wont stay steady. But i'll get the cap and wires now and let you know if that works. Thanks!

 

Yup the little lines are where it's arcing. Replacing the cap should do it.

[sycloned916]

Yep changed the cap and the capicitor(condensor),cleaned the wire nipples and put some dielectric grease on any part that was metal to metal ,seems to have fixed the problem.Thanks!