Rotor center contact

[myk]

Hello everyone, how have all of you been?  I have a question about the rotor for the electronic distributor in my 440.  I was cleaning off the rotor tip by lightly sanding it, and then realized that I had accidentally flattened the center contact tab.  How high is this contact tab supposed to be?  Is it supposed to be contacting the cap?  I'm assuming that if the contact is too far away from the center of the distributor cap the ignition might have problems conducting spark properly?

On a related note, how do I know when the contacts in the distributor and the rotor are too worn down?  I've had the same cap and rotor since I bought this Firecore distributor back in 2016 or so, but the Charger only sees maybe 500 miles a year.  Thanks in advance, everyone.

[Kern Dog]

Holy Crap, man....YOU've been gone awhile! Welcome back. I've sent you messages at FBBO wondering what happened to you.
Regarding the rotor tang, just bend it up about 20 degrees. the center electrode in the cap will then make contact and press it to where it needs to be.
Good to see you're still around, man!

[myk]

Holy Crap, man....YOU've been gone awhile! Welcome back. I've sent you messages at FBBO wondering what happened to you.
Regarding the rotor tang, just bend it up about 20 degrees. the center electrode in the cap will then make contact and press it to where it needs to be.
Good to see you're still around, man!

Greg, thank you for the response.  I ask about the tang because before I took the Charger out last week, I cleaned up the distributor, rotor, and coil wire contacts and wouldn't you know it?  The Charger cut out and stalled in front of a Porsche dealership.  Anyway, I was thinking since I bent that tang, maybe I fubar'd the ignition as a result.  I'm going to try a new cap and rotor just to see if the ones on there now are too far gone.  If it isn't those parts, then I'm probably losing another electric fuel pump.  Again...

Nice to talk to you...

[b5blue]

Firecore's dizzy has a known fail issue. You may be SOL and need replacement it like I had to. (MSD)

[myk]

Firecore's dizzy has a known fail issue. You may be SOL and need replacement it like I had to. (MSD)

Really?  What happened with yours?  Was it the reluctor?

[Kern Dog]

I don't know of an easy way to determine the gaps between the rotor tip and the distributor cap terminals.
I look for corrosion as a guide to when replacement is warranted. I don't recall ever seeing the terminals wear away, just get corroded. I've had the same cap for years and I drive about 1500 miles a year.

[myk]

I don't know of an easy way to determine the gaps between the rotor tip and the distributor cap terminals.
I look for corrosion as a guide to when replacement is warranted. I don't recall ever seeing the terminals wear away, just get corroded. I've had the same cap for years and I drive about 1500 miles a year.

The rotor tip and the contacts are physically worn down.  Whenever I pull those items to clean them, there's always a lot of carbon deposits on them.  I dont use anything too harsh to clean them, maybe a 1200 grit sandpaper and scuff it clean.  Again, I only drive the Charger MAYBE 500 miles a year and I never understood why there was always so much buildup on the contacts...

[Kern Dog]

My people do not hail from Israel but I am one to eat ALL the meat on the bone and I don't like to replace what still has life to it.
Still....
Replacing the cap and rotor may be the easiest way to see what happens.
Off topic....
In 1998, I was making a short movie with VHS cameras that featured stunts, including jumps. One jump was with a 74 Dart Sport with a 318. One of the jumps resulted in a landing that pushed the engine back a bit, causing the distributor cap to hit the firewall. This dislodged the cap and the rotor tip got knocked loose. The car ran but only on a few cylinders. It took a bit to find that problem but the fix was easy...just replace the cap and rotor. The car ran fine once the parts were swapped out, though the structural integrity of the car was compromised a bit!

[metallicareload99]

Firecore's dizzy has a known fail issue. You may be SOL and need replacement it like I had to. (MSD)

Really?  What happened with yours?  Was it the reluctor?

I would guess a problem with the pickup......

You can drill a big hole in an old cap. Turn the engine over by hand and looking at the timing tab and position of the rotor vs the cap terminal will give you a good idea how everything is lining up

[b5blue]

Mine just went dead and would not run.

[myk]

Well, I bought a cap and rotor, and when I compared the old one that's been in the car for probably a decade to the new one, this is what I saw.  Would that difference in length and wear cause driveablility issues?  I ran the Charger today with the new cap and rotor and it ran beautifully, but then again it always does. 

Also, is the rotor supposed to just drop in onto the distributor shaft?  The last two rotors I've had would just slide into place.  This new one I had to locate with the tab, and then press into place; I hope it's not too high or too low in the cap.  Thanks again guys...

[Kern Dog]

I have had to press the rotor down with some effort too. Maybe it is just a matter of production differences?

[Back N Black]

My people do not hail from Israel but I am one to eat ALL the meat on the bone and I don't like to replace what still has life to it.
Still....
Replacing the cap and rotor may be the easiest way to see what happens.
Off topic....
In 1998, I was making a short movie with VHS cameras that featured stunts, including jumps. One jump was with a 74 Dart Sport with a 318. One of the jumps resulted in a landing that pushed the engine back a bit, causing the distributor cap to hit the firewall. This dislodged the cap and the rotor tip got knocked loose. The car ran but only on a few cylinders. It took a bit to find that problem but the fix was easy...just replace the cap and rotor. The car ran fine once the parts were swapped out, though the structural integrity of the car was compromised a bit!

Tell us more about the VHS movie you were making, do you still have it? We would like to see it.

[Kern Dog]

Ha ha...
Thanks for asking but humbly "speaking", the movie is at best a High school or Junior College level effort. I used my family and friends as actors and we all are amateurs.
The plotline is as thin as an Ethiopian but here goes:
My Camaro was stolen and later recovered. I find that the thief had jumped bail and was wanted by the Police so I played the role of a bounty hunter to catch him. I drove a 73 Duster painted up to look like a low budget General Lee. There were car chases, crashes, rollovers, fights and other stuff along the way. In the end, I catch the guy and get the reward. I totaled several cheap cars in the making of it. I jumped a 74 Dart Sport as the stunt car, painted up to look like the General Lee Duster. That stunt car was jumped 6 times, the final was the best. 11 feet in the air and over 85 feet. The hood flew open as I hit the ramp, the battery flew out when I landed. I had approximately 500 lbs of concrete poured into the trunk to balance the engine weight up front. I also jumped a 75 Dart 4 door 4 times, a Geo Storm twice and a Toyota Celica 4 times.
Cars were donated, some didn't run. We had to push the Celica to the jump ramp with a truck. Another car was just rammed into a few times. The Dart Sport was a total that was patched back together good enough for stunt work.
It was a lot of fun but hard to coordinate help to do it. I always had to rely on flaky people, friends of my brother mostly. They loved wrecking other people's cars but were on drugs often so many times I waited and waited for them to show up like they agreed to do. My own friends were often busy with work or family stuff so I got help wherever I could. I'd love to do more stunt scenes since NOW I have the time and more money but everyone scattered. I'd have an even harder time getting help. Almost everyone I know is too old to lift jump ramps, to roll car back on the tires, etc.