Electronic ignition
 

I am considering changing the ignition on my 52 Victoria to an electronic system. I am curious if those that have tried it find it to be a worthwhile upgrade. I have always felt that the ignition on the flat heads to be shakey, at best, I would hope that this will make it foolproof.
Thanks.

Re: Electronic ignition
 

Re: Electronic ignition
 

It's like everyting else ,If they work there great. When they don't there junk. I have a Mallory breakerless from speedway mtrs, on my 48. The module went out of it within a few months. That's ben 20 years ago. Haven;t had any trouble sense. My car ran a lot sharper the minute I pot it in. Could have ben the old dist. wasn't right I would do it again Be sure and use the surge box or what ever they call it.

Re: Electronic ignition
 

Re: Electronic ignition
 

Jim & 48cpe. What surge protector are you guys talking about?
I've never heard of this before, nor used one?
Thanks
Jim

Re: Electronic ignition
 

It's a little box about 2 by 2 in. wires [ I think ] connects in series from the hot wire to the ignition hot wire It s kind of like a resister . It just absorbs the spike in voltage from the gen. or alternator I think that is why I lost the first module I didn't have one on

Re: Electronic ignition
 

Huh. Never knew they existed

Re: Electronic ignition
 

6 VOLT WITH GENERATOR MIGHT NEED ONE OF THESE :

http://mallory-ignition.com/active-power-filter.html

Re: Electronic ignition
 

You have 2 things to fight.
1. Voltage spikes that go higher then the ignition can handle.
This is solved by installing a metal oxide varistor between power in and ground.
The mov is passive until the clamping voltage is reached.
Select clamping voltage to fit aplication 6/12v.
2. Stray frequencys.
Noise coming from ignition and generators.
A choke coil lets DC current pass and filters away AC frequencys.
Noise filters for car audio is cheap ;)

Re: Electronic ignition
 

Bubba,

It says this is compatible with their "Unilite" distributors. Can it be used in other applications? Do you know the "pin-outs" on it?

Re: Electronic ignition
 

That i dont know as a rule we dont use them but i have customers that do.
I think it is needed on any electronic unit especially if you are using a generator etc. Many generators produce some really nasty looking voltage.
A clean rebuild generator with a good quality voltage regulator might not need one at all.....

Re: Electronic ignition
 

I have a Pertronix unit along w/their coil in my 8BA , and as Bubba says a "clean rebuilt generator and a good , quality voltage regulator ". No problems after 2 yrs. , so far .

Re: Electronic ignition
 

A simple capacitor at the generator calms down some of it to.

Re: Electronic ignition
 

Also change to a higher voltage output coil so you can run a larger plug gap which will improve mileage and performance. Just make sure you have good plug wires.

Re: Electronic ignition
 

How much more plug gap ? What is safe ?

Re: Electronic ignition
 

i DONT AGREE WITH THE LARGER PLUG GAP ON THE FLATHEADS!

Plug gap goes with the engine (not the ignition system) a low compression flathead doesnt really benefit from a wider gap. The advent of the wider gaps came with leaner air fuel mixture and emission standards.
I guess if the flathead was lean then a wider gap might help try to ignite the air fuel mixture.
However the wider gap requires that the coil put out extra voltage . Extra voltage can be hard on the plastics used in these old ignitions.

Re: Electronic ignition
 

Ok , I understand . Thanks Bubba ! - FF

Re: Electronic ignition
 

When Richard was doing all his ignition testing, he tried numerous plug gap settings and as Bubba says the stock works best. Especially on a low compression engine like a flathead. Max plug voltage id quite low 8-10 K on a 8.5CR.

Re: Electronic ignition
 

When I first got my crab style electronic distributor, I opened the plug gap to .040. I continually had trouble with the caps cracking or carbon tracking. Went back to .025 gap. The engine still runs great and haven't had a cap problem in years

Re: Electronic ignition
 

Can one of you smart guys confirm/deny my thought process:
I've always thought that the Battery was the "cushion" in the system.
In that you charge the battery and all attending connections come
from a point from the battery? No?
Maybe Jseery can explain it better?
I have been running Pertronix modules for more than 25 years, using
solid core Packard 440 wires and alternators. No troubles, and no cushioning device
Jim

Re: Electronic ignition
 

Yup, all true. A smart man taught me that it's the engine, the combustion chamber, that dictates plug gap... not the ignition system.

I love reading posts in "muscle car" forums by guys bragging about how wide their plug gaps are. In our world, all mammoth plug gaps do is wear out your ignition system in a big hurry.

Re: Electronic ignition
 

Everything is in parallel and the battery does act as a buffer. BUT not sure it is than simple because you would have to know what the electronics are sensitive to and what all is floating on the generator signal. As Bubba has stated a scope would indicate what was coming out of the generator, but you would still need to know what the electronics are sensitive to.

Re: Electronic ignition
 

Since all wires has resistans and the power to the ignition originally is taken between the generator and the battery you should in theory get a cleaner power if you attach the ignition directly to the battery pole.

Re: Electronic ignition
 

Maybe if I were using a generator, the interference would be different from using an alternator.
Anyway, I haven't had any issues. Thanks, J for the diagram/help
Jim

Re: Electronic ignition
 

An alternator would be the same basic arrangement. You most likely have an internal regulator, but the alternator, battery and vehicle loads are all still in parallel and all connected to ground. The battery is still acting as a buffer for the alternator with the same issues of what else is riding on the alternator output and what, if anything, messes with the electronics. I would guess not much as yours seems to be working fine! The interference would be different between an alternator and a generator.

Re: Electronic ignition
 

Electronic ignition systems are great on a flathead when they are working well. When they pack up way out in the middle of knowhere you are stuffed and generally wont be able to fix it. The original ford helmet and crab systems are very good and reliable for touring cars and can be repaired fairly easily if there is a problem. Carry spare points, condenser and coil. Henrys original design called for the distributer to be serviced every 50,000 miles ! Of course all the components in the system should be in excellent like new condition and not eighty year old used components which should have been thrown out years ago. Regards, Kevin.

Re: Electronic ignition
 

My '47 has an alternator and electronic crab. Been running a number of years without any problem. Babba made me a matching spare kit including coil which I keep in my trunk (along with a carb and pump). If the electronic dies, I just need to do the swap and I'd be ready to continue.