Old school 323i distributor cap

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xavier
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Post Sun Oct 20, 2013 8:01 am

I have an early 323i e30 with the distributor on the side of the motor. How do I find which lead from the cap goes to cylinder 1. The cap is in not numbered, and I have got the leads out of order( I will beat myself later)
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hillbilly30
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Post Sun Oct 20, 2013 8:08 am

Someone with knowledge will give an easy answer with a pic or location on dizzy but I've always removed plug from cylinder 1, then got piston 1 to TDC on compression stroke. Then rotor will be pointing at 1 on the cap. As long as you know firing order the rest is easy!
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Brianmoooore
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Post Sun Oct 20, 2013 11:58 am

There's a notch in the rotor arm that lines up with a notch in the distributor body when the engine is at TDC with #1 ready for a spark.
The post in the cap that the rotor arm is pointing at will be the one that connects to the lead for plug #1, and from there, armed with the firing order of 1, 5, 3, 6, 2, 4, you can work out the rest.
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xavier
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Post Sun Oct 20, 2013 12:05 pm

Is the notch in the distributor body about 8 to 10mm or much smaller?
The notch in the rotor arm, is it at the base of the rotor arm, or on the part that the spark jumps from?
Is the firing order clockwise ?
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xavier
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Post Sun Oct 20, 2013 1:59 pm

Found it. Thanks Brian Mooooooore. Saved me catching the bus tomorrow