Distributor Rotor + Cap
Thread Starter
3rd Gear
Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 3
Likes: 0
Distributor Rotor + Cap
I'm relatively new to working on cars, so please, bear with me.
For my father's birthday, I thought I'd put on an MSD rotor and cap on his 1978 Corvette. After I installed it, the car ran horribly. I put everything on exactly how it looked previously, and I even checked the firing order to see if that was messed up. (5 of the wires were in the wrong places)
Now the car doesn't even start. It sounds like the rotor is just grinding away under the cap, making a lot of clicking sounds. You can tell the engine wants to start up, but it just can't.
I've taken the cap and rotor off a million times to see if I've put them on correctly and now I'm at a stand-still. I go back to school in a few days and I don't want to leave this car unfinished.
Please help!
For my father's birthday, I thought I'd put on an MSD rotor and cap on his 1978 Corvette. After I installed it, the car ran horribly. I put everything on exactly how it looked previously, and I even checked the firing order to see if that was messed up. (5 of the wires were in the wrong places)
Now the car doesn't even start. It sounds like the rotor is just grinding away under the cap, making a lot of clicking sounds. You can tell the engine wants to start up, but it just can't.
I've taken the cap and rotor off a million times to see if I've put them on correctly and now I'm at a stand-still. I go back to school in a few days and I don't want to leave this car unfinished.
Please help!
Tech Contributor
Joined: Aug 1999
Posts: 14,384
Likes: 6,408
From: At my Bar drinking and wrenching in Lafayette Colorado
Put the original stuff back on and see what happens - if the problem goes away, you have defective MSD parts. If the problem is the same, you have an installation issue.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 6,640
Likes: 287
From: Ann Arbor Michigan
Are you sure you installed the rotor the right way? The rotor has a square peg and a round peg that matches a like hole in the dist. If you installed it wrong, it will sit **** eyed and run into the cap. Also, look at the inside of the cap to see if the rotor has damaged the terminals due to rotor mis-install.
Here's a picture.
Here's a picture.
Last edited by Duke94; Aug 27, 2007 at 07:10 PM. Reason: add photo
Thread Starter
3rd Gear
Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 3
Likes: 0
I put everything back how it was, and after some fiddling around, it now runs with the MSD parts on.
However, now, when I run the engine at a high RPM and take my foot off the gas, it sounds like there is some sort of air leak coming from the front of the engine. It's a "pssh" type of sound. Any idea?
However, now, when I run the engine at a high RPM and take my foot off the gas, it sounds like there is some sort of air leak coming from the front of the engine. It's a "pssh" type of sound. Any idea?
Thread Starter
3rd Gear
Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 3
Likes: 0
Thanks Duke, I appreciate the picture.
I will admit, I installed the MSD rotor without first taking off the adapter for MSD distributors. Needless to say, the rotor sat too high and scraped the inside of the cap a little bit, but it's okay now.
I will admit, I installed the MSD rotor without first taking off the adapter for MSD distributors. Needless to say, the rotor sat too high and scraped the inside of the cap a little bit, but it's okay now.
Advanced
Joined: Aug 2006
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From: Portland OR
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