distributer wiring

[worfdog]

can anyone tell me on a 1988 carbed festiva where the three wires go on the ignition module. i know one goes to the positive side of the coil,another to the neg. side and the other to the white connector beside the dist. the module is marked A, B+ and C. i'm sure the B+ goes to positive side of the coil, but not sure where the A or C goes. the original harness got lost, i really have no idea. the haynes manual is useless on this. your help would be greatly appreciated.

thanks

[WmWatt]

I still have the diagram I made when I changed mine (carb'd '89).
A is at one end of the module-, B and C at the other (C inner, B outer)
C has a little + sign beside it
Here are the wire colours on the diagram:
A - brown
B - GBY (green, blue, yellow?)
C - G (green?)
There's a snow storm outside or I'd run out and make visual confirmation.
If you need the visual say so and I'll do it when the weather clears up.

[WmWatt]

That wasn't much help, was it? You need to know where *both* ends go...
C goes to the other terminal on the ignition coil
A goes to the single wire connector hanging somewhere near the distributor.
A is the timing wire you disconnect when setting the idle speed and timing. It eventually goes into the computer. I don't think it's critical as the car will run with it disconnected. Once when I went to check the idle speed and timing I found it had been disconnected by a mechanic and not reconnected. I had been driving without it for some time.
The connections are actually all shown in the Haynes manual on page 12-21. On that diagram the wire from B is black-and-white, from C is blue, from A is blue-and-orange. I'm not colour blind that I know of but the colour of the plastic coatings on the wires inside the distributor have been altered by time and temperature.
I went outside and lifted the hood to take a look, the storm having let up, then dug out a junk yard carburettor I forgot I had. It all checks out.

[worfdog]

thanks for the response wmwatt. i'm going to have to make a new harness. from what i understand,C+, goes to the positive side of the coil, B goes to the negative side of coil and A goes to the connector beside the dist. the color of the wires in the haynes manual means nothing to me because the old harness is gone. i'm just afraid that i may hook the two wires to the coil up backwards and burn the module up.
again thanks for the quick reply.

[25Horseplay]

Why not put a want ad in the FS section for a harness?

[WmWatt]

Assumed you knew where the B went. I'm at the public library now but will take another look at the B and C connections to the coil when I get home.

[WmWatt]

Routing for ICM wiring is:
A to computer
B to coil +
C to coil -
Also if you don't have the wires currently, all use 90 deg (aka right angle) spade connectors on the module end. It's a tight fit inside the distributor and they have to be low profile.

[worfdog]

thanks wmwatt, thats exactly what i needed to know.i've already got the ninety degree connectors i hooked it up the way you described and it started.

thanks again for the help.

[WmWatt]

Good news. Don't want to fry a pricey ICM.
I've noted the routing on my diagram in case anybody asks again.

[Mike McKown]

Okay, where does the fourth wire off the distributor go to? Carbed Festiva. I know the first three that come off the module. There is a fourth that runs from a little square box on the outside of the distributor. What is the box and where does the wire lead connect? It looks like a black wire but I can't really tell.

[FB71]

thats a radio noise suppression capacitor. It goes to the positive side of the coil.