RV8 help please! the ignitions systems really wierd!

[paolow]

Can anyone shed any light? ive got an RV8 out of an SD1 with a 35de8 lucas dizzy on it (blue cap). the trouble is that ive got two wires coming out of the dizzy (one red and one black) and i dont know what to do with them. From what i understand there is a big flat metal plate with contacts on it that apparently does something important as im led to believe the this dizzy doesnt have points but rather some kind of electronic pick up system? Im so stuck its beyond belief. Ive got one of the metal plate jobbies but there are 3 terminals on it so which is which? and where does the coil come into it? ive spent HOURS googling and speaking to techincal bods and all to no avail. is there anyone on here that can tell me where the wires go, or, better still, if really would be as simple as getting some points and just junking the electro crap and setting up the timing again? oh yeah - just to make it intersting the engine is in a ford capri (which is why ive no point of reference)
Any answers would be very gratefully recieved!

[steve_D]

Join this Land Rover Forum and see if they can help.
Will have a look at my Range Rover later but its pissing with rain at the present.

Steve

[GreenV8S]

Don't know that dizzy specifically but it sounds similar to the 35DLM8 which I have.

The dizzy has electronic points inside. On mine these are a magnetic variable reluctance (MVR) sensor. The sensor has a two-pin socket on the side of the distributor. An ignition module screws to the side of the dizzy in just the right place to connect onto this socket. I've seen two styles of ignition module. One has a couple of spade connections to the coil. The other has a three pin 'mini-timer' plug of which the middle pin is unused.
I gather there are other types of dizzy which are electrically similar but with the ignition module mounted remotely from the dizzy.

Whatebver sort you have, the ignition module will have two connections to the pickup in the dizzy, and two outputs which go to the two sides of the coil. You will need to get the polarity of the coil connections correct, and off the top of my head I can't help you there.

[trackcar]

GreenV8S said:

Don't know that dizzy specifically but it sounds similar to the 35DLM8 which I have. The dizzy has electronic points inside. On mine these are a magnetic variable reluctance (MVR) sensor. The sensor has a two-pin socket on the side of the distributor. An ignition module screws to the side of the dizzy in just the right place to connect onto this socket. I've seen two styles of ignition module. One has a couple of spade connections to the coil. The other has a three pin 'mini-timer' plug of which the middle pin is unused. I gather there are other types of dizzy which are electrically similar but with the ignition module mounted remotely from the dizzy. Whatebver sort you have, the ignition module will have two connections to the pickup in the dizzy, and two outputs which go to the two sides of the coil. You will need to get the polarity of the coil connections correct, and off the top of my head I can't help you there.

.. but an educated guess might suggest red to the coil positive and black to the coil negative .. I'd do a quick google/ebay for spare LRV8 dizzies tho first in case I'm wrong

[tr7v8]

Yup thats the way mine used to be connected, which was a DLM. Worth buying one of the RV8 manuals off of E Bay as they have wiring diagrams in them.

Jim

[GreenV8S]

trackcar said:

.. but an educated guess might suggest red to the coil positive and black to the coil negative .. I'd do a quick google/ebay for spare LRV8 dizzies tho first in case I'm wrong

In my case it's a choice between white/black and white/yellow. Even if I could remember which was which on the coil (which I can't) that's still no help in this case because I don't remember which way round they were connected to the ignition amp.


>> Edited by GreenV8S on Friday 21st October 14:30

[v8 racing]

if you want my honest opinion take it out and throw it as far as you can! i dont mean to sound horrible but they really were a nasty set up! they were even worse than points!! have a hunt around on ebay and get yourself a modern electronic set up not something from the late 70's

[paolow]

thanks for the hints and tips guys, yeah - i had thought about binning the dizzy and getting one with proper points but then itd need setting up and i havent got a strobe etc so if this can work, id rather use it if at all poss. The trouble is that i never would have imagined anyone would have gone to so much trouble to try to use something so complicated and pointless so all along ive been assuming they WERE points until i lifted the cap and realised the horrible truth
A lot of googling has revealed 2 sets of points that will physically fit so that might be better than fartarsing around with the electro malarkey. again though id have to go buy a strobe - but, i suppose thats not the end of the world. I had another look at the plate which is approx 6 ins by 6 and about 14 mm thick. It has 6 terminals on it and its function is still a bit of a mystery though im assuming its some kind of all in one ballast resistor and ignition amp. Either which way though, the consensus above seems that i should bin it, whatever it is and given that im all set up for points, maybe thats the way to go and just swallow the fact that itll add a few setting up complications to things when i get to the stage of starting it. sadly it doesnt seem like theres a miracle cure

[GreenV8S]

What is this big metal plate you've got?

The 35DLM8 that my TVR came with has got a small ignition module (small gadget about 1.5" square times 0.5" deep) which screws onto the side of the dizzy. I think this is a standard Range Rover setup. There have been a few variations on the layout and connector types etc but this basic system seems to be common on RV8 TVRs. It seems to work fine, it's pretty reliable and maintenance free. I can't imagine why you'd want to fit mechanical points instead of this, that strikes me as a big step backwards.

I've seen other electronic ignition modules which are much bigger and I think the main difference is that they have a heat sink built into the casing rather than relying on being bolted to something else to act as a heat sink.

[paolow]

this is interesting - i spent a while trying to find an online pic of the thing and turned this up on the uk cobra club:

Hi,
This sounds like you have the Lucas OPUS system 35DE8, and the alloy plate with the 3 spades each end is the ballast resistor.

Connections to this are as follows:-
distributor plugs into the distributor end of the ballast reistor and the white/grn wire on this plug connects to the coil (+) . The white/black goes to the coil (-)

The other side of the ballast is wired as follows:-
Bottom terminal is spare
Middle one should be connected to an ignition switched +12v supply
Top one (marked start) should be connected to the aux spade terminal on the starter motor.
If you're still unclear please drop me a PM
Hope this helps
Jim

so the only qestion really is do i even need it? the capris electrics are already ballasted and the +12v cranking feed ive already wired into the positive on the coil from the starter where ive used the fuel pump cranking switch to give a boost when starting. (im using an aftermarket fule pump and dont need this). potentially then it really is a simple as red to positive on the coil and black to negative? or would the positive go to a constant live feed? hmmm, seems theres still a few bits to sort but looks like im getting there!

[robinj66]

I have a Rover V8 with a blue distributor cap. it has two wires (Black/Red & White/black) which lead to a separate ignition amplifier. this sounds like your setup as the alternative has the amp screwed directly to the side of the distributor.

the ignition amp has a total of four wires to it ona six terminal connector. One is black/red and three are white/blck.

There are two "spare" sets of wires but as the engine is not yet fitted I can't be 100% sure where they go. Presumably they go to the coil and possibly to a power source for the amp (?).

I think this setup was on RV8 engines 1982-86 and is the Lucas 35 DM model. Unfortunately i can't seem to upload any pictures which might show things a bit clearer. However this setup does sound more like that which started this thread. can anyone shed some light as to where the spare wires go?

[GreenV8S]

robinj66 said:

can anyone shed some light as to where the spare wires go?

If you have four terminals on the ignition amplifier my guess would be they are the same as the 35DLM8 module:

Two wires to the pickup inside the distributor.
Ignition switched 12v supply (this also goes to the coil positive).
Lead to the coil negative (this is the one that is pulsed to earth by the ignition module to generate the spark).

Your next challenge is working out which is which...