2002 distributor in a 318 plz help...

[skunkworx]

I have a fresh built 2002 motor in my '84 318i. I have the stock '02 dizzy installed for correct cam compatibility (i have the 2002 cam, mine is no good). I need to know how to hook up the factory 318i distributor wires to the '02's single male spade connector on the distributor. The wires are one black and one yellow. Obviously its not plug 'n' play. I dont know what color the factory 2002 wire is, so i have no place to even begin. Any help is greatly appreciated as i need to get my car back on the road and this is the final thing holding it up from doing so. I wasnt able to find what i was looking for by searching. Thanks!

[Simeon]

Don't have much detail on the bosch electronic ignition the 318 has but I would think that you will need to recreate the wiring for standard points rather than the opto sensor with the bosch. Simplistically this is 12v to the + terminal of a 12v coil (ballast ignition is a bit more complicated) then the - terminal is wired to the condensor and points which opens and closes the circuit.

[skunkworx]

So what your saying is i just need to wire the (-) side of the ignition coil to the condenor on the housing of the distributor?

[Simeon]

Yes but that depends on whether the coil is compatible with the points and condensor. It also assumes that the coil is wired in a straight forward manner (I. E. It has either permanent 12v or a ballast resistance that is switched in and out by the starter solenoid in the usual way. I could be wrong but doesn't the stock bosch ignition switch off if the key is left on (and therefore have a more complex set up?).

If the coil supply works 'normally' then it should be straight forward. Give it a try, you can't hurt the points

[skunkworx]

Am i going to have any issues with fueling? I read somwhere that the 318's distributor has something to do with the fuel pump relay...

[Mike87]

Maybe this will help...

http://www.bmw2002faq.com/images/stories/faqs/318i_EFI/318WIRDIAG3.jpg

[skunkworx]

(nt)

[skunkworx]

Does anyone know if the 77-79 320i distributor would work? The direction is the same as what i need, (CW) but ive never seen one in person and dont know if it uses a condensor or the star type rotor with the plastic connector like my 318i dist.

By the way, i have seen that wiring diagram, it doesnt show me what i need, but thank you.

[Preyupy]

You are trying to drive a system that is set up for a Hall effect trigger inside the didtributor with a set of points. I have never tried to drive a Bosch ECU with a distributor, I'm sure somone has tried and made it work but it is NOT plug and play. If you take the cap off the original distributor and look at the internals you will see that it is completly different.

Is there any centrifugal advance built into the distributor? If not all of the advance is done done in the ECU and you might be able to use the original 318 distributor. Just install the drive gear from the 2002 distributor. The only reason to NOT use the 318 distributor is if it has some advance built into it (with the changed drive gear it would be a centrifugal RETARD)

[skunkworx]

The advance in the factory distributor is vacuum and is all done inside the unit, not the ecu. Simply switching the gears doesnt work because even though the dizz would be spinning the right direction, the advance would still go the wrong direction. It would retard instead.

What i will be doing is getting the 2002 tii distributor from Ireland Engineering with mechanical advance, and the "blue" ignition coil from a 71 2002. I.E. has the wiring schematic to follow. Bypassing the factory ignition pulse wires.

[skunkworx]

Don't have much detail on the bosch electronic ignition the 318 has but I would think that you will need to recreate the wiring for standard points rather than the opto sensor with the bosch. Simplistically this is 12v to the + terminal of a 12v coil (ballast ignition is a bit more complicated) then the - terminal is wired to the condensor and points which opens and closes the circuit.

This is essentially what will be happening, but i wanted to upgrade to Irelands no points dizzy with mechanical advance. Thanks!

[Preyupy]

Are you working on a e21 318 or a e30? If it has fuel injection you need to make sure the system sees the ignition signal so the fuel pump relay will turn on the pump. You need to also get a signal to the tach. You could retrofit the electronic pick up out of your old dist into the new one then just plug it in.

[TobyB]

This may myddy the waters, but my distinct recollection is that the early

points- type distributor turns the same way as a 2002, and it's only

with the electronic ignition in the 80 that the direction reverses.

I know- I've read differently- but I've taken several early- 320 heads

and they ALL had 2002- direction gears cut onto the cam.

And the early 320's dizzy's 2002- style, with a single lug for the coil. I'm pretty

sure we threw one in a friend's poorly- running tii and it improved things a whole bunch.

As to triggering the 320 electronics off the points... shoot, I THINK I remember

it's a 4- pole reluctor, which might mean you could rig up a 12v signal with

a pull- up resistor and ground it to get a switched voltage as a trigger...

...or maybe use a Pertronix like we do with the MSD box...

-but you'd need to play around to see what it liked.

And yeah, as in the other post, you certainly convert it all to points

(pr pertronix) parts and it'll throw sparks at the right time.

t

[Preyupy]

They switched to the reverse rotation dist in 1980 when they went to the 1.8 liter engine. All of the 2 liter engines were standard rotation. At the same time they went from Points to Hall Effect triggers. I just don't know if he is working on a e21 318 or a e30 318 as the fuel injection/ign systems are quite a bit different. He does not list where in the world he is located so I can't make the assumption he is talking about a US spec car.

[skunkworx]

Ive got it all sorted. I'm not going to have to fuss with jumping the fuel relay or worrying about the tach receiving signal. Ireland lined me all out. So for anyone who is looking for this same problem to be solved:

I will be using the TII mechanical advance distributor for that Ireland Engineering sells. I will be bypassing the pulse lead from the factory 1984 318i ignition module. There will be no issues with fuel pump relay or tach. On my car that all happens after the ign module. I also will be using an "blue" ignition coil from a 1971 2002. The only reason is because it doesnt require a resistor to be installed, as it has an internal one to keep the resistance ~2ohms.