engine and drivetrain Most Reliable/best Current Source For Electronic Ignition?

[robsanab]

Have had my Crane XR-700 w/ their FireBall coil (PS20 I think) for at least 10 years now... not tons of miles, but a daily driver in all conditions... never a problem.

[BillWilliams]

Encountering the delayed post syndrome

Edited March 24, 2014 by BillWilliams

[bluedevils]

My crane XR-700 works like charm over 10K miles, maybe more. Perhaps a better alternative is to install a Megajolt system which uses coils, EDIS and crank-fire stuff, not very expensive, and will work with carbs, 318i EFI or Kugalfischer. 

[pkchopp]

Got rid of the distributor, Never looked back   +1

[thehackmechanic]

It's all about being comfortable with what you're using. Points are part of the charm of vintage cars, but that charm goes down the tubes right damned fast when your points close up or the little nylon block breaks on the Tappan Zee Bridge. For around-town knockaround cars I leave in the points. For cars I take on long hauls I put in a Pertronix. Only time a Pertronix ever croaked on me was when I had the coil and ballast resistor mismatched, the resistance was too low, and the Pertronix saw too much current.

[Mike Self]

I'm gonna sound like a stuck record (that in itself is kinda Luddite!) but I've had the old Delta Mk 10 units on my 2002s for well over 40 years.  They're capacitive discharge (CD) units, and use the original points simply as a set of relay points to trigger the secondary voltage to the spark plugs.  As such the points carry only 12 volts, not the thousands of volts needed to fire a spark plug.  The Mark 10B units have a little switch that allows you to go back to traditional points if the CD unit goes bad while you're on the road.  And to set dwell on the points, you switch the CD unit off, set the dwell and turn it back on.

 

I've had a couple fail over the years, but whenever I see one at a swap meet, I snap it up--usually for a few dollars.  I'm sure there's a modern version of the Delta unit being made now...but they've served me well.

 

cheers

mike

[eurotrash]

go big, Big K.  www.123ignitionusa.com

[Beaner7102]

go big, Big K.  www.123ignitionusa.com

 

 

You beat me to it - this was going to be my recommendation. 

OR 

Grab two Hotspark and put one in the glovebox.

Beaner7102

[bluedevils]

Regarding 123, what is the difference between switched vs tune options?

[eurotrash]

switched is preset curves.  Tune is PC programable curves with 10 set points on a graph.  Vaccuum advance, and rev limiter.  And you can have two programmed in.  Just add a switch to ground the wire related to the curve you want.  Or even have a passenger tune on the road using the program on a laptop and save it as you go...

Edited March 26, 2014 by eurotrash

[JohnS]

It's all about being comfortable with what you're using. Points are part of the charm of vintage cars, but that charm goes down the tubes right damned fast when your points close up or the little nylon block breaks on the Tappan Zee Bridge. For around-town knockaround cars I leave in the points. For cars I take on long hauls I put in a Pertronix. Only time a Pertronix ever croaked on me was when I had the coil and ballast resistor mismatched, the resistance was too low, and the Pertronix saw too much current.

What he said

 

BTW, the company that I work for 'Granite Construction' is one of the selected builders of the new Tappan Zee Bridge.  Hope it's a successful project.

 

http://www.tappanzeeconstructors.com/

Edited March 26, 2014 by JohnS

[KFunk]

The Delta Mk10 does sound cool, but I can't find any newer versions, and I don't frequent the swap meet circuits.  That 123 system looks great for tuning, but I'm not ready to spend that much on something a bit complicated (I'm not a fan of tuning, I just like to bolt-on and go).   

 

I'm leaning toward getting the Crane XR3000 and PS91 coil from Summit, and maybe a spare HotSpark later for emergency usage.

The reason for the XR3000/PS91 over just the XR700, is just that its not that much more expensive, and might as well get some more power out of the deal. 

I looked into the CraneCams company, and yes they did go bankrupt back in '09, but they were bought out by S&S Cycle, which is a well known and respected motorcycle parts supplier.  It sounds like they should still be making good quality products. 

I might order in the next couple of days

[eurotrash]

Kev.  I have the 3000 that I took out of my car and Dizzy.  50$ less the 15 I owe you and 5 for shipping and its yours.  The wires on the flasher got a little boogered when removing it from the dizzy, but other than that, its a runner. 

 

Although, 10-20% of what you spent on that build seems high value, if it allows you get the most from it.

Edited March 26, 2014 by eurotrash

[KFunk]

Kev.  I have the 3000 that I took out of my car and Dizzy.  50$ less the 15 I owe you and 5 for shipping and its yours.  The wires on the flasher got a little boogered when removing it from the dizzy, but other than that, its a runner. 

 

Although, 10-20% of what you spent on that build seems high value, if it allows you get the most from it.

That sounds like a great deal, but why'd you take it out?  Just going with 123 system entirely instead? You're including the dizzy?

I've currently got an 002 with history/advance specs unknown, and wouldn't mind trying a dizzy that might be in better shape, but it's probably not completely necessary.  Mine has weights and springs that swing around, but I have no idea if they're doing it right.

Ignition was just something I figured I'd worry about later, once I got the major internal parts taken care of. 

[TobyB]

Oh, this is getting silly-

 

http://www.autosportlabs.net/MegaJolt_Lite_Jr._-_A_DIY_Programmable_EDIS_Ignition_Controller_-_Users_Welcome!

 

is of course the right answer!

 

Honestly, for 90% of average drivers, the pertronix is an improvement over points.  Especially if you use a coil designed for it.

 

Back in the days that we HAD to run points, they were one of the most- frequent maintenance items on a car, and 

the #2 cause of 'It won't go any more'...

 

I usually add an MSD box just for the rev limiter- and yeah, it does improve things just a little.  But it has a rev limiter,

and for me, that's the winner.  Hell, I even triggered one off the points on the street car.

 

The M10 doesn't need a flamethrower to light it off....

 

t