Thread: RRC Running Rough

The screw on the Throttle Body is the Idle Screw.
The screw on the Flapper, is the Mixture screw.
Depending on which one you turned, you could have stuffed things up that way.
As in running way to Lean or Rich.

But it was running that way straight after I changed the dizzy. I was adjusting the screws to try and get it right.

What is the correct setting for the mixture screw? Is that one 2 1/2 turns from all the way in?

The Mixture screw (the Flapper one) is 2.5 turns. But that is just a guide so as to get the thing running. Further tweaks should be carried out.
It sounds like a whole heap of things have been changed at once kinda thing.
Put everything back the way it was a start again.
You say it was running that way straight after you changed the Dizzy.
So put it all back the way it was, and systematically go over everything.
You'll do ya head in otherwise.

Don't bother with the mixture screws. I had a RRC come in the other day with exactly the same problem. The adjustment you need to do is the clearance between the spiky rotor and the magnetic pickup inside the distributor. Unscrew the plastic cover, slightly loosen the 3 posts that the cover sits on, then carefully move the entire pickup plate so the air gap is around 5 thou. Check carefully for clearance to rotate before restarting!

The issue is simply that with a large air gap the voltage that is produced by the pickup falls below the minimum to reliably trip the ignition module. Reduce the gap and the voltage is within tolerance to a much lower revs.

Which is exactly the advice I give other people. But in this case, the spark stopped. I diagnosed it as the amplifier on the side of the dizzy. I also found out that my original dizzy does not spin freely when rotated and let spring back. So I just swapped out the complete unit.

If I put the original back in, it doesn't run, as it has the dead amplifier. Looking at it, I don't even think the amplifier will swap over to the old dizzy. The only ting that has really changed, is the dizzy. I reused the original new cap, button and leads that were on the original one.

Originally Posted by bee utey

Don't bother with the mixture screws. I had a RRC come in the other day with exactly the same problem. The adjustment you need to do is the clearance between the spiky rotor and the magnetic pickup inside the distributor. Unscrew the plastic cover, slightly loosen the 3 posts that the cover sits on, then carefully move the entire pickup plate so the air gap is around 5 thou. Check carefully for clearance to rotate before restarting!

The issue is simply that with a large air gap the voltage that is produced by the pickup falls below the minimum to reliably trip the ignition module. Reduce the gap and the voltage is within tolerance to a much lower revs.

Now that you say that, I do remember having to do exactly that when I replaced the vacuum advance module on the old dizzy. The plate moved and wouldn't start, so I had to reset the air gap. Thanks BU.

Bee Utey helped me out with my ignition module replacement. At first i plugged the wires around the wrong way and the car ran rough, similar to what you have described.
Although logic dictates against it, have you tried reversing the wires so the colours don't match up?

If I remember correctly the polarity of the wires dictates whether the spark fires on the leading side or the trailing side of the of the rotor button. I may have this wrong but either way it throws the timing out, enough to make the car run poorly.

The worst that will happen is your care will not run at all, until you put the wires back.

Ditto,

- Like a hairy mis ing goat...


- With the gap as 'normal' because I wanted to see how much it needed the smaller one.

It did.


Edit: -I also replaced the original rotor arm with the FORD one.
Cap is till original. (too much of a Scrooge... and it's working perfectly with new leads)