M2 Escort ignition system upgrade

JayCay_K · 06-09-2021, 09:45 AM

Hi everyone,

I recently got my car and I've been struggling with getting it to run smoothly. After searching the ol' interweb, I was able to guidance about setting the ignition timing.
On the kent 1600 x flow, I believe the firing order is 1243, anti-clockwise on the disi, 4 BTDC, with the disi cap pointing to #1 cylinder.
All done but it seems cylinders 3 & 4 aren't firing. The car has a bad miss, so i pulled the plugs and they were both wet with unburn't fuel. This leads me to believe there's something wrong with the disi.
Has anyone had similar problems?
I would like to upgrade the entire ignition system to an electronic system, any advice with regards to brands and where I can get 'em from will be highly appreciated.

Thanks in advance,
Jon

Tassie f100 · 06-09-2021, 09:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JayCay_K

Hi everyone,

I recently got my car and I've been struggling with getting it to run smoothly. After searching the ol' interweb, I was able to guidance about setting the ignition timing.
On the kent 1600 x flow, I believe the firing order is 1243, anti-clockwise on the disi, 4 BTDC, with the disi cap pointing to #1 cylinder.
All done but it seems cylinders 3 & 4 aren't firing. The car has a bad miss, so i pulled the plugs and they were both wet with unburn't fuel. This leads me to believe there's something wrong with the disi.
Has anyone had similar problems?
I would like to upgrade the entire ignition system to an electronic system, any advice with regards to brands and where I can get 'em from will be highly appreciated.

Thanks in advance,
Jon

Just as an experiment try 1342

JayCay_K · 06-09-2021, 10:15 AM

I'll give it a shot, thanks.

Vesper Martini · 06-09-2021, 10:31 AM

Its 1243, but off memory I often used to get the rotation of the disi wrong making 1342
which would result in 2 & 3 not firing

Vesper Martini · 06-09-2021, 10:31 AM

copied from another thread:
Firing order on a xflow is 1243 which isn't a regular firing pattern. Most 4 cylinder engines are 1342.
1 is at the front, 4 is at the bulkhead.

There are two TDC's when lining up the marks on the front pulley and front cover. One for cylinder number 1 and one for cylinder number 4. You have to make sure that you have TDC on number 1 to set the timing. When looking for TDC on number 1 the valves need to be shut. At the same time you have number 1 cylinder firing cylinder number 4 piston will be at TDC with the valves open. The easiest way to check is to take the rocker cover off.

TDC on number 1 = valves shut and rockers NOT moving on number 1, and valves on number 4 moving.
TDC on number 4 = valves shut and rockers NOT moving on number 4, and valves on number 1 moving.

JayCay_K · 06-09-2021, 10:34 AM

Thanks Vesper, I'll try this out.

JayCay_K · 06-09-2021, 01:28 PM

Update...
The timing is right.

simon varley · 06-09-2021, 01:39 PM

I run a Bestek. Jon is active on a few of the forums but based in the UK shipping might be a bit much.

Tassie f100 · 06-09-2021, 02:03 PM

Bit confusing Google experts list both firing orders,so I guess it isn’t going to hurt bu giving the 1342 order a go,either makes it better or worse.By the way if the distributor is firing,then it will be alright.basically all the dizzy does is point the spark in the right direction

**Rallye Sport** · 06-09-2021, 05:39 PM

Maybe worth checking for play in the distributor shaft, the bearings tend to get sloppy after many years, they can also grind out the rotor cap contacts making things worse again. This mainly leads to an erratic misfire over all cylinders though.

Try Burton power UK for electronic units and conversion kits.