Points

[badali]

I noticed at the end of summer last year my car was harder to start and would stall occasionally at idle.  Yesterday I put in a new set of points and now the car fires up instantly and runs great again.  I have put about 6000 miles on the car since I bought it and this was the first problem I had with the run ability of the car.  A simple fix for under $20.  What is the typical life of the points in our cars?

[J. Huber]

Hey. As some of you know, I had a few cold and warm starting issues over the years -- usually remedied at least for a while by new points and plugs. (I can hear the chant of 1-2-3- 1-2-3 ...)


But then I finally chased down a cold start problem to a faulty TTS. Once I replaced that feller, I have had incredibly normal, consistent starts and long-lasting points. I would say I am at about 10,000 miles (about 4-5 years?). I can check. And if I didn't just jinx them, they are still fine. This is one reason I remain a purist -- sticking with points.

[kampala]

But then I finally chased down a cold start problem to a faulty TTS.

What is TTS?  Have tried to search and can't find what this acronym means.

I have points and it seems the car starts instantly cold or warm about 70% of the time.  The other times it needs to crank about 5 - 8 seconds.  I generally allow the fuel pump a 5 second head start.   TTS?

Thanks

[66andBlue]

TTS = thermotime switch; see http://www.sl113.org/wiki/Restricted/Engine-starting-aid-tour

[280SE Guy]

Back in the day if you had a 1960 - 1970 car you would change the points, cap, rotor, and spark pugs twice a year. First before the winter (as in Wisconsin or Minnesota) were it gets really cold, and then in the spring. Of course you were driving the car every day. I have been recently searching for some spare points, rotor and cap for my M130 W108 and was at the dealer this last Thursday and got a quote of (with MBCA discount):

Cap        $57.20
Rotor      $27.20
Points     $17.00

A far fetch from my order back in April of 1985 as seen on the attached image


Regards,

280SE Guy

[kampala]

Appreciated.  Thanks.

[mdsalemi]

Cap        $57.20
Rotor      $27.20
Points     $17.00

As an FYI, these are all, as you know, Bosch parts except the filter.  Typical pricing for these Bosch parts today, (not at a dealer of course) is as follows:

Cap: $14-$20 (depends on cast iron/aluminum distributor)
Rotor $7-$11 (again, see above)
Points $6-$7 (depends...)
Oil Filter (Mann OEM) $4

So, worst case today, for OEM Bosch parts for your 280SE, would be $42. That's not that bad after all these years!

[280SE Guy]

As an FYI, these are all, as you know, Bosch parts except the filter.  Typical pricing for these Bosch parts today, (not at a dealer of course) is as follows:

Cap: $14-$20 (depends on cast iron/aluminum distributor)
Rotor $7-$11 (again, see above)
Points $6-$7 (depends...)
Oil Filter (Mann OEM) $4

So, worst case today, for OEM Bosch parts for your 280SE, would be $42. That's not that bad after all these years!

Thanks Michael,

I have been meaning to get to a local parts center that handles Bosch parts to see what their price is. I'll bring your pricing along as a guide.

I was just thinking that I needed to add to my inventory of parts, maybe 2 or 3 sets of the tune up items for future use.

I have an ample supply of oil filters.

Regards,

280SE Guy

[mdsalemi]

Those particular prices were from AutohausAZ but I've found that for some of their parts, prices hover around the same...might be a bit more at a local foreign auto parts dealer, but worth checking out.