BMW Distributor

When you hear the term BMW distributor, the first thing that comes into your mind are those BMW auto parts dealers. Well, you are wrong! Before you can set your vehicle into motion, you first have to turn on the ignition switch, right? Do you know what lies inside the ignition system, which starts the motor for the car to run? It is the distributor.

 

The distributor is nestled in the ignition system of an internal combustion engine in particular. The distributor is that device which is tasked to route those high voltages in their proper firing order to all of the spark plugs. How does the distributor function? Just like any other system, the distributor is intertwined with some other parts. The rotating arm, or simply called as the rotor, is placed inside the distributor cap just on top of the distributor shaft. The rotor is responsible for contacting the central high voltage cable from a certain coil through a spring loaded carbon brush. At this point, the rotor arm simply passes but without touching all of the output contacts which settles in connection the high tension cables and the spark plugs of each of the cylinders. By this act, the high voltage energy is made possible to jump the gap from the rotor arm towards the contact. Moreover, the distributor shaft contains a cam that facilitates the operation of the contact breaker.

The centrifugal advance unit that forms part of the distributor enables the rotation and advanced movement of the spark timing in a higher engine rpm. There is usually the presence of the capacitor that responsibly prevents the sparking and wearing of the contact points.

 

BMW distributors were popular in the older versions of this luxury car. But these modern engine designs that are equipped in today’s modern cars such as the BMW now do away with the presence of the distributor and coil. The older process of distribution has been done away with but instead performed directly through the primary circuits and spark plugs. The advantage of which is the doing away of switching high voltages that oftentimes cause severe troubles especially during damp conditions.