[AzCal Retred]

Kudos to you! Your methodology worked well enough, I'll replicate it when I'm in that position. I like points, at least you can see most of the ignition system operation. As you say, these aren't Indy cars, so close enough is good enough. B.W. seems to have no problem making his Asbo rocket ships fly using points.

To me that's their charm, big obvious pieces that move real slow. You can time them alongside the road with your eyeballs & a bit of twig and be very close. I still can't get over the measurementless "adjusting the valves cold based on spin" thing, but it works. Appropriate technology.

[Karl Fenn]

Well the thing l like about it relates to the fact it's simple electronics easy to understand, l rode with points for decades and decades they gave very little trouble you could not fix within 15 minutes.

[Paul W]

But then on some vehicles they needed fixing quite often.

[ddavidv]

Points fiddling isn't that bad provided they are easy to access. Obviously on Bullets they are. When they are on the rear of a V8 engine (looking at you, Chevrolet) then much more of a PITA.

[cyrusb]

But then on some vehicles they needed fixing quite often.

Which vehicles would that be? It's not the points, it's the operator. Not lubing the cam is the root cause of point failure. That system on a v8 is the same system on our single. That leave our points 1/8 the work to do. Yes, the silver eventually burns off the contacts, particularly if your condenser is bad, but lack of lube brings you down way before that.

[Paul W]

Nothing to do with the operator in my case; I find that quite offensive. Points are easy enough to look after. I first started working on engines using them in about 1969 and I still have a "dwell meter" in my tool cupboard and I have a 1930 engine that still uses points - I've just got it going after many years of it sitting idle. I did grease the cam....

What makes points fail is poor/faulty quality condensers. They either work well, or fail, then the points rapidly burn. I just grew tired of replacing them. NOT on an Enfield, btw - mine is an iron engine but with factory TCI, so no distributor fitted. I'm not sorry it doesn't have one. I posted earlier how I was having to buy two or three condensers at a time for my little car in the hope of finding one that worked out of the box. Modern ones seem to be less reliable than in the past - possibly because of their place of origin.

Some years ago I built my own competition car from the chassis up, including all the wiring. The engine was re-manufactured (as back to factory specifications or better, not just reconditioned). Having jumped through all the UK/EU rules book hoops to get it road legal (it passed the Single Vehicle Approval Test first time, not many do) I took it out for it's first road run, did about 100 miles. The following day it wouldn't start. The points had blackened due to a failed (brand new) condenser. I went through ten years of similar points failures, ALL related to poor quality condensers, before switching to an Aldon/Pertronix Ignitor, which is an electronic trigger which replaces the points altogether and needs no condenser. The breakdowns were cured forever, it was more or less fit and forget, as per in all modern cars.

I've had three other occasions where condenser failures have caused me breakdowns. Once in a newly serviced Nissan (that one was really difficult because we had a caravan, three kids and a dog involved - coming back from a holiday. Another was in my Ford and another in a Vauxhall/Opel.

About fifteen years ago I drove the car 95 miles to compete in an off-road trial. I met another competitor who had built the same type of car as mine, with the same engine. His car arrived on a trailer. He came over to compare notes and in discussion told me how unreliable electronic ignition was, in his opinion. An hour later his engine cut out on a hill section. After I'd finished my section I went over to offer any assistance. His points had burned out! I offered him the points setup I carried in my spares packup but unfortunately it was a later type than he used with a different design and it wouldn't fit his distributor. That was the end of his day because he had no other spares with him.

I've never had a failure of an electronic ignition system. My son's Honda Integra did have a temporary failure a few days ago but this was caused by a hose clip tail contacting wiring to the coil, wearing through the insulation and shorting it out. He was back on the road in half an hour.

[cyrusb]

Nothing to do with the operator in my case; I find that quite offensive. Points are easy enough to look after. I first started working on engines using them in about 1969 and I still have a "dwell meter" in my tool cupboard and I have a 1930 engine that still uses points - I've just got it going after many years of it sitting idle. I did grease the cam....

What makes points fail is poor/faulty quality condensers. They either work well, or fail, then the points rapidly burn. I just grew tired of replacing them. NOT on an Enfield, btw - mine is an iron engine but with factory TCI, so no distributor fitted. I'm not sorry it doesn't have one. I posted earlier how I was having to buy two or three condensers at a time for my little car in the hope of finding one that worked out of the box. Modern ones seem to be less reliable than in the past - possibly because of their place of origin.

Some years ago I built my own competition car from the chassis up, including all the wiring. The engine was re-manufactured (as back to factory specifications or better, not just reconditioned). Having jumped through all the UK/EU rules book hoops to get it road legal (it passed the Single Vehicle Approval Test first time, not many do) I took it out for it's first road run, did about 100 miles. The following day it wouldn't start. The points had blackened due to a failed (brand new) condenser. I went through ten years of similar points failures, ALL related to poor quality condensers, before switching to an Aldon/Pertronix Ignitor, which is an electronic trigger which replaces the points altogether and needs no condenser. The breakdowns were cured forever, it was more or less fit and forget, as per in all modern cars.

I've had three other occasions where condenser failures have caused me breakdowns. Once in a newly serviced Nissan (that one was really difficult because we had a caravan, three kids and a dog involved - coming back from a holiday. Another was in my Ford and another in a Vauxhall/Opel.

About fifteen years ago I drove the car 95 miles to compete in an off-road trial. I met another competitor who had built the same type of car as mine, with the same engine. His car arrived on a trailer. He came over to compare notes and in discussion told me how unreliable electronic ignition was, in his opinion. An hour later his engine cut out on a hill section. After I'd finished my section I went over to offer any assistance. His points had burned out! I offered him the points setup I carried in my spares packup but unfortunately it was a later type than he used with a different design and it wouldn't fit his distributor. That was the end of his day because he had no other spares with him.

I've never had a failure of an electronic ignition system. My son's Honda Integra did have a temporary failure a few days ago but this was caused by a hose clip tail contacting wiring to the coil, wearing through the insulation and shorting it out. He was back on the road in half an hour.

Wow,you offend easily. Keep your rubbing block greased, but you knew that.

[Karl Fenn]

I think if you buy a crap condenser you are asking for trouble, but the savings on points ignition is cheap compared to electronic, you can replace the whole lot once a year for just a few quid anyway.

[Paul W]

TCI ignition has no rubbing block but the one in the 1930 J.A.P. engine I just sorted out will probably outlast me now. It was still intact after 90 years or so. The points gap on the magneto (and that of the spark plug) was set too wide, so the cam or the heel certainly hadn't worn out. The spark was very weak so it wouldn't run.

I only ever bought OE condensers and points, for obvious reasons but if they are rubbish quality there's not much more one can do apart from carry yet another spare set and hope for the best. Which is what I put up with for years. The condenser in the Nissan I had break down on me was only fitted three weeks before it failed and shorted out. Lesson learned.

Most Bullet owners (myself included) don't use their bike for primary transport or ride many miles in a year so it probably makes little difference to them. I'm just happy, based on my own experiences, to have bought a traditional looking iron barrel that doesn't even have a distributor fitted. There's nothing to service in the TCI ignition system on this bike apart from ensuring the external wiring harness and connectors are looked after.