Upgrading Perodua Kancil K4 660 from Contact Point Distributor to Electronic Distributor

Overall, an electronic distributor provides more consistent ignition, which results in a more efficient engine; it also provides optimum timing and higher performance throughout its service life with zero maintenance.

However, it comes with the tradeoff that any failure of electronics will be sudden, without developing early warning symptoms, and a failed electronic distributor can generally only be repaired with a 1:1 swap.

1. 10mm hex socket wrench (optional, but good to have as nearly all other bolts are 10mm)
2. 12mm hex socket wrench
3. 21mm spark plug socket wrench

Optional:

1. Prepare ≥1.5m of Black and ≥1.5m of Red wire
2. Splice onto the distributor's pigtail wires (butt connector or solder + heatshrink):
   • Black ↔ Black
   • Red ↔ Red
3. Route the conduit through the engine bay and cut to length, leaving ~5cm slack at the coil end
   • Secure to battery positive cable or A/C piping
4. Thread both wires through the conduit. Seal the distributor-end of the conduit (tape/heatshrink)
5. Crimp T-tap spade terminals onto the coil-end of both wires
   • Heatshrink over spades for strain relief
6. ✅ Continuity check: Probe distributor-end plug pins → coil-end spades

1. Unplug the coil's right-side connector
   • Optionally trim back 2cm of sleeve for easier access — do not nick wires
2. Clamp T-taps onto these 2 wires, pointing toward the distributor to reduce cable stress:
   • Black wire
   • Black wire with red stripe
3. Connect spades per the table below

1. ✅ Continuity check: Probe coil-end plug → distributor-end plug
2. Finish all heatshrinking/taping

1. Mark the distributor angle: draw a line across engine block → distributor body with the paint marker
   • Makes it easy to restore the contact point distributor if needed
   • Gives a starting reference when installing the new distributor
2. Unplug the spade cable below the distributor — tie it off, it will not be reused
3. Remove the 12mm bolt
4. Remove the distributor by gently wiggling and pulling in a straight line
   • Minimise wiggling to preserve the shaft angle for reference when installing the new distributor

1. Place old and new distributors side by side
2. Transfer the angle mark to the new body as a dot (not a full line — final timing will differ from the contact-point setting)
3. Rotate the new shaft to match the old shaft angle
   • ⚠️ The shaft is asymmetric (one side has a notch) — do not install 180° off
4. Install the distributor — it should slide in with little resistance if the shaft angle is well matched
   • ⚠️ If you hit a hard stop, do not force it — remove, look into the block, and realign the shaft
5. Install the 12mm bolt slightly loose (distributor should rotate with medium hand strength)
6. Connect the power cable plug

Change all 3 spark plugs to the newly purchased resistive plugs so we have all our new ignition components installed before timing adjustment. If you had purchased a pack of 4, it is expected to have one left over; keep it as a spare.

1. If you have a feeler gauge, check and gap the new spark plugs to 0.7–0.8mm as they may differ due to manufacturing tolerances or shipping damage
2. Using a spark plug wrench, remove the original spark plugs
3. Inspect the original spark plugs, if they are in good condition (no structural damage, excessive wear or heavy deposits), keep them as a spare together with the contact point distributor
4. Install and hand-tighten the new spark plugs by using just the socket part of the spark plug wrench (or your fingertips); if you feel resistance, back out the spark plug up to a full circle to align the threads
   • ⚠️ The plugs should screw in with very light resistance. Do not force the new spark plugs in if you feel an increased resistance, cross-threading will destroy the aluminium threads of the engine block
5. Use a wrench to tighten the spark plugs to the final torque
   • 🔧 Torque specification: 27 Nm or 20 ft-lb
   • If you do not have a torque wrench, then use an ordinary wrench to add:
     • New plugs: 180º (½ turn) to 240º (⅔ turn)
     • Used plugs: 30º (1/12 turn)
   • ⚠️ Do not over-tighten the plugs as this will destroy the aluminium threads of the engine block

1. Clear all tools and debris from the engine bay
2. If using a timing light gun, remove the service hole cover from the upper side of the bell housing of the transmission
   • This is the rectangular rubber dust cover below the distributor
   • Be careful not to burn yourself if the engine is hot (the distributor and other connected housings will also be hot)
3. Start the engine without load (A/C off, lights off)
   • If it won't start, check the distributor’s power cable polarity
4. Warm up the engine thoroughly
   • The carburetor is equipped with an automatic choke function
   • If functional, the automatic choke adds up to ~1000RPM while the engine coolant is cold, until the coolant warms up to ≥60ºC
   • We need to wait for the automatic choke function to clear to achieve the actual engine idle RPM
5. Adjust engine idle to ≤900 RPM before timing adjustment
   • If the engine revolution exceeds 900 rpm or is unstable, adjust the engine idle speed to 900 RPM
   • If the idle adjustment screw is hard to reach (the air filter assembly needs to be removed to see it), you can proceed with timing adjustment at slightly higher idle RPM, but the timing may be slightly off optimum and require fine tuning after getting a feel of the engine performance with driving
6. Loosen the distributor bolt slightly so it can rotate with light friction to hold position under the engine’s idle vibration

Reference image if you lost track of the starting angle:

Note regarding distributor rotation and corresponding timing adjustment:

• Clockwise (away from yourself) → Advances timing (increase in angle)
• Counter-clockwise (toward yourself) → Retards timing (decrease in angle)

1. Advance timing until light knocking begins (RPM may rise slightly)
2. Retard timing until knock is completely gone
   1. Listen for about a minute to give the engine time to settle into its new timing
3. Tighten slightly so we can proceed with testing across a variety of engine loads
4. Optional: Mark an aligned pair of small dots on the engine block and distributor to note our starting angle as a baseline for when we perform initial testing and tuning later

1. Clamp the timing light inductive trigger to the spark plug resistive cord of the No. 1 cylinder (toward the timing belt/driver’s side)
   • Pay attention to the indicated direction on the timing light trigger, it should point toward the spark plug
2. Point the timing light into the service hole of the transmission (below the distributor), at the numbered scale and flywheel
3. Specified ignition timing:
   • Electronic distributor (Kancil 850 specification): B.T.D.C. 5±2° at 900 RPM
   • Contact point distributor (Kancil 660 specification): B.T.D.C. 7±2° at 900 RPM
   1. Adjust the distributor installation position, until the ignition timing mark of the flywheel is aligned with the indicator
4. Tighten slightly so we can proceed with testing across a variety of engine loads

1. ✅ Verify:
   1. Rev to 3000–4000 RPM — no knock
   2. Add load (A/C, lights) — no rough idle
   3. Rev to 3000–4000 RPM again — no knock
   4. Remove load (A/C, lights)
   5. If the engine was knocking, not smooth or otherwise unstable in any test, loosen the distributor bolt slightly, retard timing, and retest
2. Mark our final timing angle by drawing a continuous line crossing from the engine block to the distributor with the paint marker
3. Tighten the bolt to the specified tightening torque: 19.1±3.8 N⋅m (1.95 ±0.39 kgf⋅m)
   • If you don’t have a torque wrench, tighten this bolt arm-tight only — do not lean body weight on it, the aluminium thread is easily destroyed by overtightening
   • Use blue Loctite if backing-out is a concern
   • A light dot of RTV silicone on the mating face near the screw hole will also prevent vibration from rotating the timing adjustment
4. Finally, double-check that the distributor does not rotate freely by hand and alignment does not change under idle engine vibration

Some additional tuning may be needed to optimize the timing across different driving scenarios, after you get a feel of the engine performance over a few days.

The factory specifications for the Kancil 660 (7° B.T.D.C.) and 850 (5° B.T.D.C.) may not be optimal because the electronic distributor’s curve is designed for the 850cc cylinder, which has a larger volume and slower combustion than the 660cc. On the smaller 660, the same curve can cause the spark to fire slightly early.

As a result, the optimum base timing may fall between the 660 and 850 specs — for example, 6° B.T.D.C. at 900 RPM. Small variations (0.5–2.5°) are expected due to manufacturing tolerances, engine wear, or subjective preference for smoothness and throttle response. Do not fixate on achieving a specific angle by adjusting or modifying other aspects or unrelated components of the engine.

The primary goal of timing adjustment is to eliminate knocking, which can damage the engine over time. Improvements in fuel economy, throttle response, or smoothness at different RPMs are secondary and considered fine-tuning.

1. Finish any remaining heatshrinking or taping
2. Dress the cable run to minimise stress and short-circuit risk; cable-tie to existing harness or pipes
3. Final check: no tools or debris left in the engine bay