Hi All,

Great site here!

I have a problem with a 1989 TP Magna 2.6L (Carby):

The car was intermittently misfiring on one of the cylinders. One day it would run fine, the next... Sometimes you’d look at it sternly and it’s behave itself...

Anyhow, I decided to change leads, distributor cap, coil and rotor.

Problem is (and I am ashamed to admit it), I cannot get the thing going again and I’m sure it’s because I can’t identify the position on the dist. cap for the 1st cylinder. It is not marked on the cap itself (and of course I didn’t note it when I removed the old leads), and by testing all four possible combinations (maintaining 1-3-4-2 firing order and rotor moving clockwise), I’ve pretty much drained the battery and flooded the bugger into dogged unresponsiveness.

So I’ve washed my hands, put all the strange noises and smell of fuel aside and I’m coming to you kind folks, cap-in-hand, seeking some advice about getting the leads on in the correct positions.

As I need the car quite desperately, any help greatly appreciated!

I am not the best on this stuff, however.

A mechanic would do it for $20 or so...

I am not the best on this stuff, however.

A mechanic would do it for $20 or so...

Thanks for the reply.

Unfortunately, the car's not mobile at the moment, and for what I hope should be a quick piece of info I can't (just yet) justify the cost of a mobile mechanic.

Just hoping somebody either knows, or an owner of a TP can have a quick look at where the 1st cylinder (longest lead) plugs into their dizzy.

Ah I would go have a loo, but mine is down at the mechanic :P:bowrofl:

Ah I would go have a loo, but mine is down at the mechanic :P:bowrofl:

Heh heh... Well, you're one step ahead of me then! :D

geez mate, how about mark the leads next time eh?? or just take it to a mechanic if you dont know what you're doing..
remove the first spark plug, turn the motor motor over till you get it on TDC, look at the crank pulley to see. then stick a screw driver into the plug hole, and if it wont go down, piston is at top, where you want it to be. now, remove the dizzy cap, thats where number one lead should be.. go from there

ive mad this MISTAKE before as well. and i had worked on heaps of cars before so chill mistumad , im sure uve had ur head in the clouds before and made some mistakes too

anyway back to helping this new member
read all this thread cos ive been there done that to
http://www.aussiemagna.com/forums/showthread.php?p=343650#poststop

oh yea welcome to the club . dont hesitate to ask questions if ur not sure on anything. dont worry u'll get those who want to put there 2c in without acttually helping but theres also a heap of members who will help ya as much as possible.

ps. if u want better answers when it comes to your first gen magna (tm,tn,tp)
just post in the first gen section, that way ull get more answers from first genners and or ppl who have owned one preiviously oh yea dont feed the animals cos they bite.
good luck with it and if ur still having problems post again and im sure we'll more than likly be-able to sort it:D

geez mate, how about mark the leads next time eh?? or just take it to a mechanic if you dont know what you're doing..
remove the first spark plug, turn the motor motor over till you get it on TDC, look at the crank pulley to see. then stick a screw driver into the plug hole, and if it wont go down, piston is at top, where you want it to be. now, remove the dizzy cap, thats where number one lead should be.. go from there

Bit harsh. Usually the 1st cylinder possie is marked somehow on dist. caps - neither the Bosch I replaced nor the new one from Repco are marked. Got a bit enthusiastic this time around, but hey, I'm careful about most things, and this was just a rush of blood, okay?

Thanks though for the TDC method you described. I really appreciate it.

ive mad this MISTAKE before as well. and i had worked on heaps of cars before so chill mistumad , im sure uve had ur head in the clouds before and made some mistakes too

anyway back to helping this new member
read all this thread cos ive been there done that to
http://www.aussiemagna.com/forums/showthread.php?p=343650#poststop

oh yea welcome to the club . dont hesitate to ask questions if ur not sure on anything. dont worry u'll get those who want to put there 2c in without acttually helping but theres also a heap of members who will help ya as much as possible.

ps. if u want better answers when it comes to your first gen magna (tm,tn,tp)
just post in the first gen section, that way ull get more answers from first genners and or ppl who have owned one preiviously oh yea dont feed the animals cos they bite.
good luck with it and if ur still having problems post again and im sure we'll more than likly be-able to sort it:D

Ta Smooth - for the advice and the welcome. Am heading off to land of nod right now, but will look at the thread you've linked to tomorrow morning - it looks like it contains some useful info.

Cheers, Matt.

Thanks to everyone. I followed all tips given here, but the bugger wouldn't start up. Tried a full-throttle flooded startup, double checked all connections etc,.

Called the RACV, and the guy had no problems with the way it was connected up (so I had it right - relieved), but during what was proving a very difficult start, the starter motor shyted itself.

Sometimes we cannot win - so now towed to mechanic.

You all have been most helpful, so thanks again.