Technical FIRE - Points Distributor to electronic ignition

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Technical FIRE - Points Distributor to electronic ignition

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Hi all.

I`ve had a look but I cant find any posts relating to it..

I dug my Panda 750L out of hibernation today & its running like crap, I reckon the petrols off, at least 1 HT leads knackered & the carb needs cleaning, the vac advance needs changing too (got a new one).

I`ve also got a new genuine cap, arm & leads, as well as a new set of points ready to go on, but, while I`m messing about getting it running sweetly again, I`d like to convert the points dizzy to electronic ignition using the parts from an Uno I broke a while back. I haven't dug the Uno parts out yet, but I was wondering if anyone else has done it, & if so, is it just a case of plug & play with the wiring after changing the dizzy & coil?

Cheers! (y)
 

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Hi, I fitted a 4x4 distributor to our 999cc CLX to do the same thing - it was easy enough. Needed to swap the coil of course but it worked straightaway and does seem to run better. Good luck! (y)

Thanks Aquamarine!

I found the Uno dizzy & coil today, I`d had the foresight to cut the coil plug & 6" of wiring off the wiring loom when I took the coil off the car, unfortunately I didnt cut the distributor supply plug off though (or if I did I cant find it now).

Looking at it, theres 4 leads going into the coil & 2 into the dizzy module, whereas the current Panda setup only has 1 wire going onto the coil & the 1 lead between the coil & condenser on the dizzy, & thats it!

I dont suppose you remember how you tied the new 4 lead coil into the original 1 lead wiring do you?

Thanks :)
 
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Oh, changed the plug leads, cap & arm, cleaned the plugs (were sooty), put a new vacuum advance, but still no good.

Churns over for ages before vaguely catching, careful use of the choke keeps it running (probably at 500rpm roughly, coughing & spluttering, alternator light flashing), but as soon as you touch the throttle it cuts out..

I`ll be stripping & cleaning the carb next.. And replacing the choke cable that broke today.. :bang:
 
Hi, will have a look under the bonnet of my car and take some pics tomorrow - likely to be eve I'm afraid as I'm in work early.
David

That`d be great David, many thanks! :)

I`ve just come in from it, stripped & cleaned the carb & jets today, & changed the plugs this time, not catching at all now.

That only leave the points, condenser or possibly coil. There is a spark, albeit a weak one.

I did have a condenser, but I cant find it at the moment! Typical! :rolleyes:
 
Any chance it's a timing issue?

I got the chance to take the photos earlier - hope these are of use!

Good luck. PM me if it helps to talk through the wiring.

David
 

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Ah, your coil is different from mine, mine has a 4 way multiplug.. I wish I`d thought to cut that distributor lead & plug off when I scrapped the Uno!

And no, I checked the timing & had a play when it was running, made no difference.

I need to work out what each of the leads do on my 4-way plug next!

Top to bottom, mine is green/black, plain green, orange, red.

Dizzy wiring is green & red.
 

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It's at times like this I'd call for the dragonman!!

Your pictures have helped David, I`ve got a better idea about what to do now, its just a case of working out the wiring! I have got manuals for the Uno & Panda at home, unfortunately I`m working on it at my parents!

I`ll check out the wiring diagrams when I get in!

Thanks again David, much appreciated (y)
 
Right, having looked at the wiring diagrams I think I have an idea what to do..

Current coil input (light blue/black) to 1 green on the new coil plug, other green & red to new distributor from new plug.. & Orange.. Ignore?

Or is it original light blue/black feed to orange, 1 green & red to dizzy & 1 green to earth?

:confused:
 

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if all you want to do is fit the "ignition module" distributor its really easy.

run another live to the ignition module (just tap into the one that goes to the coil)
and then connect the other wire from the ignition module to the negative of the coil.

instant "pointless" ignition system.

it really is that easy :D
 
if all you want to do is fit the "ignition module" distributor its really easy.

run another live to the ignition module (just tap into the one that goes to the coil)
and then connect the other wire from the ignition module to the negative of the coil.

instant "pointless" ignition system.

it really is that easy :D

So I dont need to use the later coil? Just light blue/black to the.. red or green of the module Dragon Man?
 
yeah its as easy as that.

i would check however, just to make sure that both coils have the same resistance.. a too lower resistance will cause the ignition module to burn out.. just like the issues i have been having with Talon.

Probably safer to just use the matching Uno coil. I just need to decide whether the original coil feed goes to the Orange or Green on the new coil..
 
hmm i am not sure what you mean there.. Edit: scrap that. if you mean the original coil feed as in the live coming from the car (the blue with black stripe wire that comes from the loom next to the wiper motor on the panda) then that is a ignition live and that goes to the orange or red wire (as they both do the same thing)

the original panda coil has a + and - on it near the input pins.

the coil is triggered by earthing the coil. the points or ignition module just earth the coil to ground to cause it to "spark", therefore the coil has a constant supply of 12v going to it while the ignition is on.

the coil does not need any special input. just an ignition live.

the best way to think of the ignition module is by looking at it as "powered points" where as they only work if they get an ignition live. hence the extra wire going to it.

the ignition module wires in, in the exact same way as the old points system. the green wire coming out of the points, is the earth wire for the coil.

if it is any help, i have the full electronic ignition system here from off an uno that was in our scrap yard a week ago.

i can run some checks on my uno coil and tell you what each pin does.

however. using a simple battery, bulb and 3 pieces of wire you could work out yourself what the pins do.
on the coil you have 4 pins. 2 pins would be the positive, and 2 pins would be the negative. (my personal guess is that 2 pins on one side are positive, and 2 on the other are negative)

not forgetting that the Uno you got the coil and distributor from would use one of the negative pins to to drive a rev counter or some other electronics that panda does not have.
hence having 4 wires going into the coil. on the 4x4 panda with ignition module it has 3 wires connected to the coil, and on the old points system it would have only 2 wires connected to the coil.

im not sure if this is helping or not.. sorry

sadly i do not know what wire colour does what. i know that on a panda a blue with black stripe is an ignition live, and on my ignition module 4x4 setup the green wire is the earth for the coil.

if you were local i would just pop around and fix it up for you. it would only take me the time to connect all the wires together and bolt the new bits in place.


just one thing to note, the vacuum advance from the old points distributor could be swapped over to use on the distributor with the ignition module. pretty sure they are the same part.
 
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hmm i am not sure what you mean there.. Edit: scrap that. if you mean the original coil feed as in the live coming from the car (the blue with black stripe wire that comes from the loom next to the wiper motor on the panda) then that is a ignition live and that goes to the orange or red wire (as they both do the same thing)

the original panda coil has a + and - on it near the input pins.

the coil is triggered by earthing the coil. the points or ignition module just earth the coil to ground to cause it to "spark", therefore the coil has a constant supply of 12v going to it while the ignition is on.

the coil does not need any special input. just an ignition live.

the best way to think of the ignition module is by looking at it as "powered points" where as they only work if they get an ignition live. hence the extra wire going to it.

the ignition module wires in, in the exact same way as the old points system. the green wire coming out of the points, is the earth wire for the coil.

if it is any help, i have the full electronic ignition system here from off an uno that was in our scrap yard a week ago.

i can run some checks on my uno coil and tell you what each pin does.

however. using a simple battery, bulb and 3 pieces of wire you could work out yourself what the pins do.
on the coil you have 4 pins. 2 pins would be the positive, and 2 pins would be the negative. (my personal guess is that 2 pins on one side are positive, and 2 on the other are negative)

not forgetting that the Uno you got the coil and distributor from would use one of the negative pins to to drive a rev counter or some other electronics that panda does not have.
hence having 4 wires going into the coil. on the 4x4 panda with ignition module it has 3 wires connected to the coil, and on the old points system it would have only 2 wires connected to the coil.

im not sure if this is helping or not.. sorry

sadly i do not know what wire colour does what. i know that on a panda a blue with black stripe is an ignition live, and on my ignition module 4x4 setup the green wire is the earth for the coil.

if you were local i would just pop around and fix it up for you. it would only take me the time to connect all the wires together and bolt the new bits in place.


just one thing to note, the vacuum advance from the old points distributor could be swapped over to use on the distributor with the ignition module. pretty sure they are the same part.

I am having a mental block with it, I dont usually with electrical stuff, but for some reason this is doing my head in! I`ll probably have a pop tomorrow (& put the new screen in) if its not raining, maybe it`ll suddenly make sense when I`ve got it & the wiring diagram in front of me at once.

All the vacuum advances are the same on the FIRE lumps, the only variation is the angle of the pipe, but theres usually enough pipe for that to matter. I`ve already put a new one on.

I will use the original matching Uno coil, I`ve just got to decide whether to connect the Panda feed wire to the orange or green, looking at the wiring diagram the greens are negative, the red & orange positive.. So I`d say orange or red to the red on the dizzy, either of the greens to the green on the dizzy, the other green to the blue/black Panda feed... I think...
 

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