Dwell on it long enough.

[_shel_ny]

...

.

Edited September 8, 2011 by shel_bizzy_48

[Jim Saraceno]

So, how can you tell if your dwell meter is accurate or not?

[grey beard]

Shel,

I have discovered that some MoPar distributors pivot the breaker plate from a hole on one side of the distributor cam. This means that as vacuum advnce occurs, the dwell will, in fact, change. Other distributors use a ball bearing surface that surrounds the cam, allowing the plate to move without the dwell changing.

From the distributors I've looked at, it appears that the big cap units use the superior ball bearing advance plate for the points, while the small cap types have the pin pivot for the advance unit.

When dwell changes with engine rpm, this usually indicates some unhappiness inside the distributor. If I see this in an L6 MoPar distributor, I will disconnect the vacuum advance and see how the dwell looks at high and low rpm. If it changes only with the vacuum pot connected, look to the breaker plate travel issue. Check it out.\\

I have also found several distributors with loose or worn pins that hold the centrifugal weights, so every time I have a distributor out to change or set points, I always pull the breaker plate and check out the bottom end of things, while it's in the vise and I can look at it.

In my humble opinion, a working dwell meter is many times more accurate than the best mechanic's feeler gauge touch.

Good luck.