What does the distributer do?

I've spent some time with engines, polishing heads, replacing gaskets, cleaning them up, but I have never had the chance to deal with the electonics, and I was just trying to figure out exactly what a distributer does... I know it has something to do with the electronics, but how and why?

This is more for my own education than anything else... I'm just starting a restoration on a old beat up mustang... a project car, and I'll probably be needing as much help and advice as I can get. There is still alot I don't know about cars, so its time for me to learn.

It does exactly what its name implies - it distributes. What it distributes is the high voltage impulse from the coil to each sparkplug at the exact time when the spak is needed in this or taht cylinder. In contact type ignition systems it also sends a signal to the coil when to generate that pulse and then distributes it. In newer, contactless ignition systems the distributor just distributes the pulse, whlie the time of its generating is controlled electronically (with the help of a hall sensor or a crank angle sensor), and the latter is more functional as it can incoporate more ignition-related features, like knock sensors, which can save your engine in case of detonation by retarding ignition timing, but that's already a whole different story.

Here is a rather good drawing of the distributor. See if you can see how it works :)

http://www.gordon-glasgow.org/Images/18.gif

Alex

Thanks Alex. That explains alot... do you or anyone else outthere know of any good technical books that explain the concepts, components, and engineering theory of the automotive world. The only books that I've had the chance to go through were the Engineer to Win series. But they lacked the detailed "engineering" to a lot of the components, it just expained what they were, not how things were inter related, or what went into the design. I'm hoping on using this mustang more of a hands on tool to learning, but while I'm working on it, would really like to learn as much about the design, theory and capability of each major component such as the suspention set up, chasis design, transmission construction and how the gear system works on it, steering, brakes, engine, etc.

Thanks again.

KD