What is this Green Wire?

My friend's car neither has the green wire nor the capacitor (condensor) next to the relay. Does your car have the factory CDI ignition units or has the ignition been modified at some point in time?

Also, watch the black wire near the lock -- you may shear it off when closing the hood.

Thanks John! I appreicate everyone's updates....now for the bad news:

Can't get engine to light. After:

1. Replacing bad cap/rotor
2. Verifying plug placement on cap per Montreal Ignition Troubleshooting Guide (and manually spinning old cap rotor out of car by hand to verify firing order lines up with plug wires - visualization exercise on my part)
3. Seeing good spark at each plug
4. Verifying when engine is @ TDC, rotor points to #1 plug wire
5. All grounds are good and making connection with boxes, coils, etc.

Engine wants to crank badly but wont. Only conclusion is that with trying to start is 10+ times over past few weekends, the engine is too wet with fuel. When I pulled the new plugs, they were wet and overwhelming fuel small came from heads.

I have plugs pulled, (lightly) covering the holes and letting the engine ventilate.

Any other ideas? Am I missing anything?

Thanks, JP

Edgar: engine sounds great. That is EXACTLY the sound I want to hear in mine.


Tom, Thanks for the thoughts. The installation of the ignition systems is exactly like the drawing on the last page of the attached document.

SPICA timing is verified...got it rebuilt from Wes Ingram and he puts a timing mark so timing will be correct.

John...you are always welcome. Would love the help.

Will check the points, I definitely only hear the fuel pump when ignition is on. Thanks for that tip.

Hopefully will have a positive update tomorrow.

Again to all the crew...thanks for the help!

JP

John, I hope that posting the following in my ignorance may help others....

This is my first non Bosch FI Alfa so points are new to me. Attached is a pic and I am wondering if I am supposed to sand the curved metal band on the point while still in the distributor or take the points out altogether?

Thanks, JP

Hello JP,

about the mysterious green wire :
here some pictures of my "original"-Montreal (with AC) :

you can see there was also a green wire, but please dont ask me where it come from or what is the function of the small box (I'm no electrician) !

Hope that help's you !
greetings
Andreas

Andreas, the green wire you show in your photograph is also visible in JP's photo in post number 1 (and also in my car). He has another green wire attached to a condenser that has been added to his car in the past.

JP, Start looking at the center of your rotor in the above post, then drop down about 1" in your posted photograph and you'll see the nut that holds the rotor on; then, imagine a clock face at the 5:00 position from that nut. Your lower points are closed but they are visible between the nut and the whitish yellow wire where it is crimped near the spring, to the 'points set'. You can gently open the points with a small screw driver or your fingernail and slide a very small piece of 400 grit 'wet or dry' sand paper or a very fine 'points file’ between the points to clean them up, if they are not new.

I would also clean up the brass 'contacts' on each end of your rotor and the brass 'contact' that is midway on the left half of the rotor arm (in your photograph), where it runs inside the distributor cap.

If you have a battery charger, it is probably a good idea to fully charge your battery. The little 65 amp battery barely has enough 'juice' to turn over the V8 more than three or four tries. I'd like to go with a more substantial battery (like the group 31 the 164 has but it would not fit in the well). I may try a group 24 when I have a chance. Never give

Mark

AS Monti said:

Hello JP,

about the mysterious green wire :
here some pictures of my "original"-Montreal (with AC) :

you can see there was also a green wire, but please dont ask me where it come from or what is the function of the small box (I'm no electrician) !

Hope that help's you !
greetings
Andreas

Click to expand...

According to the electrical schematic drawings, this green wire goes (via the Voltage regulator) to the D+ terminal of the alternator. The beige device inside the box is a ceramic resistor, used as "Alternator Excitation Resistor." The pink wires supply voltage from fuse 2 in fusebox A, a circuit that is energized when the ignition switch is turned on.