Hello everybody,
I'm a new owner of an April 1964 230SL. It is in a very good original, rust free and well-maintained condition. With a new soft top, a new interior carpet and a fairly new re-paint, it looks beautiful. It also drives very well. However, I was recommended to switch the breaker point to a Pertronix Ignitor. After reading the installation instructions at Pertronix website as well as experiences on this and other web sites, I came to the conclusion that it might be fairly easy to make the installation myself. So I ordered the module called 1864LA, which I understood should fit my distributor.
I followed the instructions; disassembled the old point wire, point (as new) and condenser. The distributor was clean and slightly oiled inside. Since the bracket for the vacuum unit needed to be grinded a bit, it was removed as well. Now, It was time to install the new unit. The adapter plate was fit and fastened. Next, the ignitor module was to be mounted. However, one of the tiny nuts fell off and disappeared down in the distributor bowl
Now, it didn't seem to be a fairly easy task anymore. The whole distributor needed to be removed in order to get the d-n nut out. The battery was removed, the vacuum unit removed and the distributor was taken out. At the workbench, the nut came out after a while. Since the distributor now was out, it was as good to continue the mounting on the workbench.
The ignitor module was fastened and the wires lead through the wire exit hole and rubber grommet. Before continuing, a check of the advance movement should be made. But it was stuck! No movement at all. After removal of the unit and investigation I found that the adapter plate was hitting a small clip that, most likely, held some part in fixed position. The simplest solution seemed to grind the adapter plate a little bit so the clip wouldn't interfere the advance movement. The ignitor module was fastened again (with one of the washers first disappearing down in the bowl...repeat...) and the magnet sleeve was installed. The bracket for the vacuum unit was grinded to give enough room for the magnet sleeve to rotate. The distributor, along with the cover plate and rotor, was mounted back on the engine. I was careful in mounting the shaft and rotor in the same direction as when removed. The vacuum unit was mounted and the advance bracket was fastened together with the ground wire that earlier was fit. Distributor cap on and the wires connected to the coil; red to + and black to -. Battery back and connected. Now it was time to listen to the beautiful song of a six cylinder West-German orchestra. Cranking...no ignition. Cranking...no ignition. What the h-l
What has gone wrong here?