Clio - help, stupid mistake!

I know, bad form replying to my own posts but it does help to include all the information:

Clio 1.2RN 1996 vintage (mk1) 8 valve

Cheers,

Chris

Most engines IME fire 1-3-4-2 as you say, so if you know No.1, and can tell which way the dizzy turns (put in in 4th and push it slowly, or get an assistant to crank it on the starter), then just count around the dizzy cap in that order. There may even be an arrow marking on the body.

Been there, done that. Long time ago.

there are only 4 possibles, see which way the dist. turns, pick the top most dist connection, put the leads on as 1342, then just try to start it, if it won't go move all the leads round by one and try again etc.

I would have thought that 1 was cambelt end and 4 was flywheel end.

Rob Graham

I'd agree with that. That's usually the case, even on a transverse engine. The 'front' of the engine is the end with the pulleys etc. the 'rear' the end with the flywheel and gearbox, and cylinder numbering starts with number1 at the front, or pulley end. Mike.

Well whichever way round 1-4 are it runs now :-) and mine is 1 (Distributor & flywheel end) 2, 3 and 4 nearest the power steering pump and cambelt cover on the drivers side of the car.

Thanks for all the pointers folks.

For future reference: (as long as Google groups keeps it cached)

1 is the bottom most point then 3 is next going anticlockwise when looking at the top of the dizzy from the passenger side of the car, Then 4 at the top and finally 2 before getting back to 1 at the bottom.

Switch 3 and 4 and that is what is shown in the handbook for the car! Bloody Renault can't even get the manual to match the car (page 5.11 if anybody has one to check against).

Cheers folks,

Chris

It's french, and they really do number them back to front.

I don't remember that they did on a Renault Savannah I once owned.

R

Chris Dugan formulated the question :

Your first step is to find out which of the four distributer HT outlets is for number 1 cylinder. Take the plugs out of the cylinders, fit them back on the end of the HT leads with the plug bodies to ground, then jack up one drive wheel, stick it in fourth gear and get someone to turn the wheel in its usual forward direction slowly.

You need to both feel for the compression stroke on number one cylinder and watch to see a spark from the plugs. When you feel the compression and see the spark, that is the lead to be marked up as number one. Check which way the rotor turns and mark the rest up by their firing order 1, 3, 4, 2.

To feel for the compression, block the spark plug hole with your thumb, or even a stick with a bit of rubber on the end etc.. So long as it lightly seals the hole. Feel for your thumb being lifted by the air of compression escaping.

There's the way everybody else does things and is accepted as standard. There's then the french way, which means they do it the oppposite way around from the accepted standard, or they just find a totally different way of doing it.

Like a nice renault 6 cylinder lorry engine. You time it with No.4 cylinder on TDC, which in normal land would be No.3, but then again, everybody else would of just used No.1 for timing purposes, like has been used for decades. You can't beat the French for ignoring standards.