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I've been reading the other threads about timing, etc., but haven't been able to solve my problems. Believe it or not, I've never set the timing on ANYTHING before. I went out to set the timing on my 710K for the first time today, thinking I had an idea what to do, but a few things came to mind that I wanted to clear up first. On a 12-volt car, no problem--I just hook the + lead from the timing light to the + battery terminal, - lead from the light to the engine ground, and put the clip around the plug wire to cylinder #1. But how would I do this w/ the 24-volt Pinz? Should I just use a separate 12-volt battery, hooking both leads to the separate battery and then only hooking the 1 clip to the #1 plug wire? I know--it's a basic question, but I've never done this before!!! Also, I opened up the distributor b/c my Pinz doesn't want to run very good anymore... It was doing pretty good for a while, always "spitting" and "popping" out of the rear carb, but otherwise was pretty good. Now, it runs pretty good for a short while, but then when it warms up a bit, it's like the power drops to next to nothing. From other posts on here, I'm thinking molex plug, red death, etc., but was also thinking that the distributor might be the problem.

With regards to the distributor, I checked for moisture in the cap, and there was none, but I noticed that the condensor (?) wire was just free-floating in the distributor cap and wasn't bolted down. There is also a bit of rust in there, and I'm trying to get some penetrating agent in there to free the rusty screws so I can remove the Pertronix parts to see what else I can find. I'm assuming that it is ok to use a small amount of PB Blaster inside the distributor, and hope this won't be a problem... Anyhow, the Pertronix coversion was done by someone else, so I wanted to make sure it was done right (Of course, if I did it myself, it woud probably be wrong at first, as well!). I watched the Expedition Imports video on the conversion, which was very helpful. However, I still have some questions. Where EXACTLY is the "advance mechanism" that everyone is talking about. I have seen other videos on MSD ignitions and saw that they had mechanical advance mechanisms in the distributor itself, but the exploded parts diagram in the Pinzgauer parts manual doesn't seem to indicate that the advance mechanism is in the distributor. Also, I got a new rotor, but I noticed in the Expedition Imports video that they said that about 1/8" of the rotor needed to be ground off the bottom of the rotor so it seats properly. I didn't do that myself, so I'm not sure if it's been done or not. It seems to fit on there pretty snug, but this is all new to me, so I'm not really sure...

Here's a link to the pictures I took of the distributor today, if that helps:

http://photobucket.com/pinz710k

Thanks in advance for any help! -Jon

You have many of the same problems I was having. I looked at your snaps and no, that wire should not be free-floating. I'd check the EI video again to get it in the right place. Your distributor looks like it could us a good cleaning, and may require a complete disassembly to do it right. I decided to have the distributor rebuilt since it was getting torn down anyhow, and since I have no experience with them I sent mine to Advance Distributor in Shakopee, MN. They specialize in Bosch distributors and had mine rebuilt, and they spec'd it to the Pinz power curve from the manual. I got it back in two weeks and it cost $200. Bear in mind this is the last thing I did after carb rebuild and balancing, valve setting, fuel and air filter replacement, plug gapping, fuel line replacement, and plug wire replacement, not necessarily in that order. A note on plug wire replacement. I was pulling my hair out trying to figure why I was getting wild swings in RPM. I thought the timing light was bad so I took it to the local speed shop to check on one of their engines and it was rock solid. Timing light good, plug wires bad.

Regarding the timing light, I've always hooked it up to the front battery with no problems.

Concerning the Red Death, My truck was running dodgy and when I checked the fuel filter it had red gunk in it. I took a look into the tank and saw the red lining falling away in sheets. I took the tank to Loopers in Rockville, MD, and they did a great job and not too much time. Check your fuel filter and take a look into the tank at the fuel gauge sender.

Good luck.

First, I would attach your timing light to the lower battery of the Pinz’s for your 12v.. Positive to the + of the lower battery and – to the ground.
The condenser isn’t used with the Pertronix, but left behind to fill the hole and if the Pertronix fails, you can re-install the points to get you going again.

Do not use a shotgun approach to repairing things... chances are you'll make things worse. If the rear carb is backfiring or "spitting ", I'd look at valve adjustment first . The "red death" would affect everything.... btw , I hate buzz phrases, everyone has the "Problem De Jour."
There are so many different things that can be your problem(s), troubleshooting requires you to logically eliminate them.... I'll leave that for Jim.... and a bottle of Jack .....it's been 10 years since I had to work on one of those 'spark ignition' fire traps

I just did my timing recently, and like you it was the first vehicle I ever timed. Your Petronix wiring looks like mine, which I was told by EI is the poor mans way of installing and not the recommended way, but it works.

1)That rotor needs to be ground down. The rotor I replaced and the one I got from EI (I did it on belt sander), are ground down to the slight shoulder on the router. Remove to here...about an 1/8":
2)Did you remove the magnet? The ring placement is very important.

3)That loose wire does appear to be the condenser wire. It can be bolted down with the Petronix wires so you can use it again should you go back to points.

If I am not mistaken, the advance is beneath the Petronix/points bits at the bottom of the distributor.

First inspect the cap center electrode(they can melt and stick), for the rotor, only remove half of the area to the step(1/8") to prevent breaking the cap or jamming the contact into it's bore.
Test spark, should jump at least 1/2" or better or the coil is bad. Firing order 1-2-4-3 clockwise.
Make sure carbs are sync'd or you are just wasting time(good engines sync around 8-10Kgh flow each).
Next start with airbox off. Use a pen light to look into each carb as it idles, look for dripping fuel. Shut off engine, look into carb bores again for dripping fuel, if it drips it means the float valve is not seating(check float /valve and bowl level)
Of course if float prob not present, the next step is a compression test. If you find a low cylinder try adjusting the valves and retest.
If compression is still low, the next step is removing the rocker arms and pressurizing the cylinder with air and listen for the leak.
If you hear it in the carb an intake valve is suspect, if you hear it in the exhaust pipe an exhaust valve is suspect, if you hear it in the oil filler the piston rings are suspect.
Use a tach to set idle to 900-950 rpm hot and timing at 8-10 deg btdc, if it pings back the timing off a couple deg at a time.
You can use a 12v automotive tach with a 2000ohm resistor to ground on the 24v power circuit or hook12v automotive tach tool power to Pinz battery that has the 24v ground cable, this bat is 12v
This should point you in the right direction.

that distributor is pretty rusty inside

does anyone know the correct overall height of the rotor? I have an aftermarket version without the should and don't know if it's been 'worked' on yet.

Winter Beater wrote:does anyone know the correct overall height of the rotor? I have an aftermarket version without the should and don't know if it's been 'worked' on yet.

You should be able to tell if it was worked on. Most (from my research) will use a belt sander to knock it down, and that is pretty obvious. Not as smooth as OE and the edges are not as rounded.