Date:         Mon, 26 May 97 08:44:08 CDT
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         Joel Walker <JWALKER@ua1vm.ua.edu>
Subject:      Re: VANAGON digest 1372

On Mon, 26 May 1997 01:57:33 -0500 tbill said:
>Could someone explain to me how a rotor can go bad in 3000 miles?  Some
>people replace them regularly whether they need to or not, others, like
>me, haven't replaced one since electronic ignition!

well ... it all depends on whether it was an OEM Bosch rotor or some
copy from a local parts place. it also kinda depends on the car itself.

yup. i've seen points and condensers go almost forever ... and i've seen
points last about one oil change. an old porsche mechanic that i used to
see told me that he thought it depended on the individual electrical
components in the ignition system: that when ALL of the components were
matched up (in resistance, inductance, or whatever), things lasted longer.
when one or more was waaaay out of specs (with regard to the others. not
necessarily outside the manufacturers specs), things didn't last as long.

sort of like the electrical version of gear tolerances in a transmission
or pistons and rods weighing close to the same in an engine.

i don't know if he's right, but it seems to make sense. to me. :)

joel