Posted by peter r on September 11, 2007, 11:45 pm, in reply to "Bad idea: Fit Chev HEI Dizzy to RR. Sorry - long post!"
203.54.74.51

G`day Hamish I have to admit i had a smile on my face when i read about your walk in the rain , sorry . I know your not actually asking for any suggestion and you may know or have looked at what i do . I know little about them but as i understand they are basically the same as any other only all in one . Modules usually work or not but before they die a symptom is often stopping for no reason but restarting if not straight away after a short period and they do this for awhile and then just die and won`t start no matter what , they will also die without symptom . As i understand the module has nothing to do with the advance/retard itself but can make it stop and not start . The HEI still uses mechanical and vacuum advance ( bob weights and diaphram ) So i`d say for the timing to be altering by itself , the shaft would need to have play or more likely the bob weights need to be catching/sticking or their springs are not right somehow or the diaphram rod is getting caught/sticking or something internal that moves with the advance . I`m sure you`ll work it out and i hope your experts have looked at the above and i`ve wasted time typing ? Cheers , Peter . --Previous Message-- : Here's the story of an HEI dizzy : conversion that did not work - or has : not yet, just so anyone thinking about : this will know of the down side. Some : of you may even remember me posting on : this a while ago... : : Encouraged by a pos on another forum, : and other Rangie owners I've met, I : bought a second hand Chev HEI & had : the base mount modified to fit into the : engine. The Chev base is taller that : the Buick, so it sits clear of most : obstacles & hardly needed any : grinding. So far so good. : : Wired it up, started it and wow - it : ran. Set the timing & all seemed : well, so I set off on a test drive. Bad : plan. It's 10pm on a wet night. Got 3km : away from home and it died. Would not : re-start. Dead as a dodo. Walked home, : got the Lucas dizzy off the garage : floor, walked back & fitted Prince : of Darkness dizzy in the dark & : rain. Set timing by guess, hit starter : & phew... we are away. : : Took HEI to the guy who tunes my Rangie : for LPG & he said he knew nothing : about them, but the auto electricians : nearby did. Took HEI there where it was : tested & pronounced to be just : fine. They suggested the low voltage : feed might not be delivering enough : volts, so I rewired out to the dizzy : just in case. : : Put it back into Rangie, hit starter : & it went. Warmed it up, stopped it : to connect timing light & it won't : start. At least it was not out on the : road this time. Abandoned it until : another night. Tried again - still : dead. Re-fitted Lucas.. : : Left HEI on the shelf for months, until : I found someone else who said he knew : about HEI dizzys. Described the : symptoms to him & he suggested a : dodgy module was the culprit. So the : module got replaced, and he found the : last module had been fitted without : heat-sink paste. Maybe that was it... : : Re-fitted HEI & hit starter. It : fired up sort of - like on two or three : cylinders... Stopped it. Tried again... : same. Back to expert 2, who decided to : come around & look. Fire it up : & it runs on 3. Expert 2 hauls out : a plug & finds it sooty & wet : with unburned fuel. Says we need clean : plugs. They were a fresh set for this : round of HEI fitting. Removed plugs for : cleaning, and the HEI as I needed a : working 4WD for the weekend. Re-fitted : Lucas & old plugs... fired up first : kick. Damn Rangie ran just fine all : weekend. : : So, for the next attempt, it's drive : the beast down to the garage using the : Lucas & fit the HEI, and leave it : to them. After a lot of experimenting, : they found it can be started, provided : the spark is well advanced. At that : setting it won't pull the skin off : anything, but once started , the timing : can be reset to TDC and it runs quite : well. Turn it off and it won't restart : properly - runs on about 3 cylinders if : very lucky. : : Now the garage suggests the HEI is sent : to another town to somebody who can : check the profile of the module to see : why it behaves so strangely.... : : Which was a bit of a waste of time, as : it has only confirmed that this HEI : dizzy for no apparent reason shifts the : timing forward when running. Which : means the timing can be set to allow it : to start or run OK, but not both. We : still don't know why... But the module : is the main suspect. : : The latest expert says he has run into : similar problems with a brand new HEI : from a local Chev parts supplier. So - : even if I had bought a new one I still : could have ended up with this mess. : And, once again it's back to Joe Lucas : who is proving surprisingly reliable : right now... : :