Rill Cosby

That sure seems like that would be a fault of theirs. Your engine is too advanced because of their procedure. But that is not my case. Their instructions do not state to double check with a timing light, though I did. And I believe they don't say that for a reason which will be explained below. I had to use one to get it running. That seems to be the case for multiple people and also for me. This is where the timing light comes in to play. Why would you have a timing light available and set static timing at say 15? I wouldn't. I know static timing varies from vehicle to vehicle when using this ignition but static timing of 0 - 10 should not cause any issues here. I say that because "Static timing is set at TDC. When you crank the engine, the 123 fires at 0 degrees advance until the engine starts and achieves 500rpm. Then the programming comes into play, activating the chosen curve and setting the idle advance at 10 degrees. It provides 10 degrees between 500 and 1000 rpm. Beyond that the selected curve takes over." Example Following instructions gives you 10 degrees at 0 to 1000 rpm. Above 1000 rpm timing is according to the curve selected. Using a timing light setting 10 degrees up to 1000 rpm is exactly the same timing as above. Setting the timing to other than 10 degrees "shifts" the curve higher or lower by the difference from 10 degrees. So, if timing is set to 15 degrees at idle (under 1000 rpm) then the maximum advance will be 5 degrees higher than specified by your chosen curve.

Verified by timing light. Mentioned in emails and my original post as well.

That is their factory installed curve for their distributor for our vehicles. I didn't even get to play with all the fun stuff.

That was my theory since the beginning. The problem was that there wasn't enough evidence to back that up, although that wasn't the purpose of this thread. I'm just going by the history of the engine, the few things I did look at and also, to be honest, the smell. It's a ring issue like I expected and now we are right back to the beginning. What caused it? I'm still keeping my eye on detonation issues. Surprisingly enough it just so happens I installed a part that controls detonation greatly, that also shows signs of faults. Not only externally but showed malfunction internally. But the latter is my word against nobody elses. That is until Ed of 123ignition tests it, after he has to replace the cap.

Well, to not keep you guys waiting I went out and decided to do a dry and wet test. Piston number 4 being the culprit in bold. Dry - 173 - 175 -178 - 137 - 178 - 178 Wet - 182 - 185 - 187 - 166 - 185 - 185 As far as tearing down the head that will be a little ways from now. If ever.

I will double check soon. Numbers if I remember correctly were in the range of 170-180 before compression. I'd have to find the piece of cardboard if we are looking for exact. The lowest cylinder, that was not this one, I believe was roughly 168. The cylinder afterwards is 130-ish.

I agree. I know the majority have good experiences. There does seem to be a small trend among bluetooth models having more issues than the other programmable models, outside of the caps. But yes, the distributor cap seems to be the same in all setups and should be addressed. I'm genuinely curious on to what other information you would like? I'm being serious because I would like to know as well to help pinpoint the issue, if even possible. It's a little different as I know the history of the vehicle so I'd be willing to share and that is why my mind is focused primarily on the timing being at fault. Because of one, the compression (before and after). Two, valve lash is correct. Three, no issues prior. I'd have to check the mileage but I'd say 15,000 miles ago this engine went through an entire rebuild. Only a little bit of head work but the bottom end was completely redone, timing kit as well. I'd like to think if it would have went bad, it would have went bad already. That's not necessarily true but man, what a terrible coincidence if it decided to now. I will get to it soon to do a leak down test and at some point get inside to confirm or deny valves.

Hmm, I don't think that's the vibe people are getting from this thread. Proven by almost everyone else who posted prior to you made a comment about that's how they shouldn't be running the show. If you stand behind them, without even reading the emails, how can you sit here and say they are a good company? You're part of the problem, my guy. The email is still there to view. I will mention again that in those emails before an argument even began and I quote "Also just to clarify, I'm not looking to get anything out of this. It puts me in a horrible situation being my daily driver, but it is what it is. I'm just explaining my experience and I would hope at the minimum I could at least return the thing and get my money back." In which the director sidestepped that and instigated. Why should that even happen?

What do you mean? I've already won. It would help if you knew what we were competing for. You made a dead topic "popular" and go from like 50 views to almost 200 views. One of the first things to pop up when researching this product. That could have made one person not buy this product, into possibly two, Hell, maybe three. I should be thanking you!

Then why are you even here?

I'm also still confused by your theory. If I could "beat" up my car before the install, why can't I " beat" up my car with a new distributor that is set to the same specifications of my old, functional distributor? I could "beat" it up 30 minutes before. Why couldn't I after the install?

I'm sorry, I should have been more specific with that. I meant to say I clarified that this could be a big, huge coincidence. You're missing the point of this post. This isn't in the "Help Me" section. Nowhere here did I ask for help on diagnosing a failure. Most of those things have been checked. Again, not what this post is about. What happens if it is shot rings, or if it's this, or if it's that? It will still be my fault by your theory. This is what confuses me. I've voiced my concerns with Ed in what could have caused this scenario to happen. His response was "very unlikely." I stated "but possible?" He stated "yeah..but unlikely" We discussed timing and how this distributor is supposed to work. I don't know why I have to explain that varying degrees of timing in each direction can be detrimental to an engine. Pair that up with a distributor that clearly is not functioning correctly as proven by it's own app, who knows what that distributor is doing internally. I have no idea what it's set to, nor do you, nor does 123ignition. Sometimes your senses can't save you before an engine failure. And trust me, I was looking for signs. I don't know what you're trying to achieve here. I have way more to lean on here than you do, albeit not much. Maybe you're trying to see it from both sides, but you are reaching, far. Your first thought was to think I got frustrated because something, that I didn't even know was broke yet at the time, happened that I couldn't understand so I started gunning my engine. Come on. There is no way you're not the director of 123ignition himself.

Thank you for reading. I remember coming across your post way back whenever I was doing research on these units. I remember when reading yours I convinced myself that you must have got the only fluke! haha. I've also come around to carrying various spare parts that can fit in the storage bin by the spare tire. Belts, a fuel pump, filters, a spare cap for your spare cap. Can't be too prepared.

I can at least say it's not a loose rocker arm. In that case, I have a perfectly good engine block with a bent valve for sale. Real cheap.