404 Automatique burning points

Edmund

Member
Fellow Frogger
Joined
Jun 17, 2012
Messages
185
Location
Johannesburg, South Africa
Hi fellas,.I bought my 4th 404 a year ago, 1974 404 Automatique, lovely smooth car. About 4 months ago I've been having a consistent issue with it, it misfires especially as you approach a hill, the misfire will last a few seconds or so then I soon discovered that points were burnt and they were still relatively new, I use Echlin points which are not know to give trouble, I replaced both points and condenser, same problem. I scraped the old points nicely, put them back on with the old condenser, same problem, they burn. My mechanic then swopped my dizzy, he gave me one of his old dizzys, bought a new set of points and condeser again and that seemed to cure the problem for a long time. I've been driving for 2 months now with his dizzy, no misfire issues except I haven't been happy with the loud tappets(my mech tried setting them twice), there's still a few noisy ones and I took carb in for a service and it's been pretty good although the car doesn't always start 1st time, sometimes it does, sometimes not and I'm not happy with the idling. When I tried adjusting the carb a few days ago, I just couldn't get it right, the car is constantly hunting. Took it to my mech again today and again the points are burnt! Pitch black this time! It had never given me any misfires though like it would previously. Ignition timing is on point, I'm not sure about points gap because my mech doesn't use a feeler gauge, he uses his "experienced eyes" as he calls it. Other folks have advised I use a resistor because there could be too much spark reaching the points which I find strange because I'm using a regular 12V coil but my mech did replace the wire from condenser to coil once upon a time with what seemed like a generic wire(does the type of wire matter?) He also attached a small bulb between the coil wires, he says it helps to show one if alternator is working or not. Today he also realized that there is a bit more smoke coming from the breather pipe than usual and he suggests we rebuild the engine as he suspects loss of compression which may be causing my woes although the car has a decent amount of power. Fellow Pugnuts please help. The car is factory fitted with an 1800 if that matters.
 
I'd check to make sure that the coil is the right one for your setup.

It might be that you have a high energy coil that draws too much current through the points.

Alternatively, maybe there's meant to be a ballast resistor on the coil. I've never seen a '74 404, but that's about the time ballast resistors appeared on 504s. Without a ballast resistor the coil will get hot and the points will burn.

Have fun,

Rob.
 
The coil is 12V oil filled, I think it's the correct one for points. The '74 404 is exactly the same spec as the last ones you had in Aussie circa. 1970, they don't use resistors
 
I agree with Tom_95. If you're sure the coil and condenser are right, there can't be much more to it than the points. Too small a gap and they might bounce around a bit, neither properly opened or closed. The fact that the burning is black is unusual. Arcing normally leaves a grey or white residue. If there are a lot of fumes, perhaps they're getting into the dizzy and giving the arcing something to burn.

Usually best to adjust points with a dwell meter, but feeler gauges are going to be better then even the best calibrated eyeball.

Have fun,

Rob.
 
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