Firstly, try to concentrate on the meter reading. If it’s varying only by a few degrees, there’s probably nothing to worry about. This is a disadvantage of digital meters. An analogue meter with a needle is more useful where readings aren’t constant. If the reading has more than a few degrees of variance, however, we think it’s telling you the distributor’s probably worn out. But first, if it applies to your car, change the points for another set and put a little grease on the cam lobes. For further tips and greater in-depth guides, bag yourself a subscription to PC and get loads from the workshop every month!
Multimeter tip
Does your multimeter flutter around unintelligibly when you connect the red lead to the points wire and the black lead to earth? A friend with a Renault 4 recently told us the meter on his seemed otherwise fine. So what’s might it mean?
Just so you know, whilst we may receive a commission or other compensation from the links on this website, we never allow this to influence product selections - read why you should trust us