wireless lower distributor plate

H

harryc

Senior Member
Just curious how many have used the wireless distributor plate and actually had it function for an extended time with no problem. I have had one for several years and have had to constantly fiddle with it to keep it functioning. I am going back to the wired type
 
I put the modern wireless plate in. I only do about a thousand miles a year but have never had a problem.
What kind of problems have you had?
 
It's worked for me, but only after I installed an automatic spark advance device – in other words, after I stopped rotating the plates in relation to each other. I have a wired type ready to swap in if it goes on the fritz again.
 
I have used the wireless plate for about 8000 miles with no problems. I did have to trim the little connector tab so it won't ground out on the upper plate. I have not noticed it waring a grove or any arcing on the lower plate.
 
There are two ways that the wireless lower distributor plates can be used .

The wireless lower plate when used with modern points requires the use of the modern plate adapter .

The adapter has been known to short out.

I don't recommend the use of modern points or anything to do with them.

I have used the wireless lower plate with original points and have never had a problem
.
When used with original style points , an acorn nut fits on the post of the points .

The acorn nut rubs against the brass contact ring on the wireless lower plate .

When the distributor is advanced or retarded , the brass acorn nut remains in contact
with the brass contact ring of the lower plate at all times .

This contact of the acorn nut and brass ring takes the place of the wire that WAS once used between the upper and lower plates .

There is spring pressure between the brass ring and the acorn nut .

The way that the brass ring is attached to the wireless lower plate gives spring like tension to hold the acorn nut against the brass ring for contact .

This setup has been fail safe for me .
 
No Issues with mine in 15 years. I see that there is now available a better designed copper tab. Last weekend I made up a new distributor as a backup and used the longer wire lower plate.
 
I had Nurex wireless modern setup installed in 2012., Went back to original design. Nurex worked OK for awhile, then started getting stall at stop, poor low speed idle, motor missing under heavy load going up hills from a full stop. After going back with original plates issues were gone, problems have not returned. While troubleshooting tried different condenser, different distributor lead, different cap, different dist. body, different carb, different points, different coil, different plugs, etc., etc. Finally went back to original plates to fix it.


My theory is the wireless contact between the plates degraded (resistive), and when the rpms were lower the generator allowed voltage to drop to a loaded battery voltage, and the poor contact in the plates gave me poor spark.
 
As long as the battery has some charge , the engine will continue to run whether the generator is charging at all or not

I've used the wireless lower plate on some of my model A's for nearly 25 years with excellent service ..
 
The only problems I had was very damp conditions like a over night rain. Quick wipe and engine heat took over.
 
I actually wore out a wireless plate. The acorn nut wore through the brass plate. My guess is it failed after 25,000 miles.
 
Twenty five thousand miles says a lot for the wireless lower distributor plate .

I really like the wireless lower plate and feel that its the easiest and best way to go .
 
30 Closed Cab PU said:
Nurex worked OK for awhile, then started getting stall at stop, poor low speed idle, motor missing under heavy load going up hills from a full stop. After going back with original plates issues were gone, problems have not returned.
Click to expand...

Man, the sheer number of things that have been linked to instability at idle or stopping boggles the mind. You think idle is just the engine doing its thing, easy to achieve, but no, turns out idle is like the engine operating at the absolute edge of its capabilities, just barely functioning. God help you if a grain of sand gets wedged in the wrong place.
 
alexiskai said:
Man, the sheer number of things that have been linked to instability at idle or stopping boggles the mind. You think idle is just the engine doing its thing, easy to achieve, but no, turns out idle is like the engine operating at the absolute edge of its capabilities, just barely functioning. God help you if a grain of sand gets wedged in the wrong place.
Click to expand...

From what others said, typically stall at stop is usually attributed to Carb. I was stuck on and off for weeks thinking carb issue. After I tried a known good carb (worked great on another club member's car and still had the problems, I started looking at the electrical/ignition. Started swapping out stuff with parts I had on hand. Finally asked around and also checked some forums, and a couple of different sources told me to switch back to original plates. Was told that sometimes the connection between the 2 plates wears/corrodes, or gets dirty, and does not give a good contact. This due to the large "horseshoe" contact moving every time you move the spark adjust.

I do believe that some or a majority using wireless plates have not experienced this. It is just another random low occurrence issue that can crop up, frustrating to troubleshoot if you do not know it is a possibility.
 
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