Lumenition Electronic Ignition. Are they any good ?
John Jenner
I'm considering fitting an electronic ignition to a Bedford CF motorhome
2.3lt petrol, under the assumption I would get slightly better mpg &
performance.
Has anyone fitted one of these?
What do you think of them?
do they increase mpg & performance ?
Cheers JJ
Dave Plowman
<m...@eclipse.co.uk> wrote:
> Hi
> I'm considering fitting an electronic ignition to a Bedford CF motorhome
> 2.3lt petrol, under the assumption I would get slightly better mpg &
> performance.
>
> Has anyone fitted one of these?
Yes. To a Rover P6B
> What do you think of them?
Excellent. Fit and forget.
> do they increase mpg & performance ?
Not over a perfect conventional system, but they don't go out of tune,
and can help with a worn distributor. Can help cold starting.
--
Dave Plowman dave....@argonet.co.uk
RIP Acorn
Willy Eckerslyke
> Not over a perfect conventional system, but they don't go out of tune,
> and can help with a worn distributor. Can help cold starting.
We used to have on on an old Marina 1.3 and concluded the same.
Only trouble was, when the car did ever play up it was usually
fairly serious. The Lumenition would hide small faults until
they were too far gone for a roadside repair - bit like a
modern car, really.
--
Regards, Willy. | Turn out
| and serve
ku.ca.rognab@801sso :liam-E | with custard.
Dave Plowman
<nospa...@mam.nospam> wrote:
> . The Lumenition would hide small faults until
> they were too far gone for a roadside repair - bit like a
> modern car, really.
On the P6B, before fitting the Lumenition, it was a every other Sunday job
tweeking the points to keep it spot on. No big deal with the external
adjuster and a dwell meter. Without, it would not be running well by normal
service time. So conventional ignition will often prompt a service through
poor running.
Willy Eckerslyke
> On the P6B, before fitting the Lumenition, it was a every other Sunday job
> tweeking the points to keep it spot on. No big deal with the external
> adjuster and a dwell meter. Without, it would not be running well by normal
> service time. So conventional ignition will often prompt a service through
> poor running.
Oh yes, I'm not knocking it, just pointing out that routine maintenance
becomes easily overlooked. In our case a few warning signs would have
saved some big trouble. Then again the system itself saved lots of minor
irritations.
Geoff Mackenzie
Too soon to talk about fuel consumption, although I will be able to
give firm figures in about a month, but it's absolutely transformed
the starting (which used to be a bit of a pig, hot, cold or warm).
Geoff MacK.
In article <91661819...@talita.eclipse.net.uk>, "John Jenner"
(m...@eclipse.co.uk) writes:
>Hi
>I'm considering fitting an electronic ignition to a Bedford CF motorhome
>2.3lt petrol, under the assumption I would get slightly better mpg &
>performance.
>
>Has anyone fitted one of these?
>What do you think of them?
>do they increase mpg & performance ?
>
>Cheers JJ
>
>
>
Andrew W. MacFadyen
thae van. But beware OHC Victor engined CFs were very prone to worn and bent
distributer shafts which caused rough running, the Lummintion system won't
give any improvement over points if the distributer is knackerd.
Andy M
Dave Plowman
<am...@post.almac.co.uk> wrote:
>
> Yes they are fine provided you wipe the optical parts everytime you
> service
> thae van. But beware OHC Victor engined CFs were very prone to worn and
> bent
> distributer shafts which caused rough running, the Lummintion system won't
> give any improvement over points if the distributer is knackerd.
I never cleaned them once in 5 years. Perhaps a bit over euthusiastic with
the oil? And they make a very big improvement with a worn distributor. If
there's wear on the bearings or cam, the dwell drifts with points. With the
Lumenition, the dwell is set by a precision made 'chopper'.
Ian Johnston
have any recommendations about Optronic vs Magnetronic?
Ian
Dave Plowman
Johnston) wrote:
> and does anyone
> have any recommendations about Optronic vs Magnetronic?
I had a 'Mobelec' sp? induction trigger system before the Lumenition, and
it failed. That's not to say it's a worse system in theory. But setting the
air gap is fairly critical, so may not have the same benefits on a worn
dizzy.
Might be academic though, who makes an aftermarket induction system now?
John Jenner
£110 inc Vat for Optronic PMA60 & FK316 fitting kit
The Gearbox in Longbrook St, Exeter (01392) 251725
have you found better ?
Cheers JJ
Ian Johnston wrote in message <782ott$fm$2...@news.ox.ac.uk>...
>So where's a cheap place to buy Lumenition these days - and does anyone
>have any recommendations about Optronic vs Magnetronic?
>
>Ian
Geoff Mackenzie
In article <782ott$fm$2...@news.ox.ac.uk>, Ian Johnston (engs...@sable.ox.ac.uk) writes:
>So where's a cheap place to buy Lumenition these days - and does anyone
>have any recommendations about Optronic vs Magnetronic?
>
>Ian
Demon Tweeks (mail order) is as good as any. I asked them the same
question, and they said that the Magentronic is a "budget"
version; all it does is replace the points. Lumenition has a
separate power supply and is the better product. I think the
difference in price is something like Ł30; as I wanted to fit and
forget on a car I never intend to sell I went for the Lumenition.
Geoff MacK
Andy Dingley
<dave....@argonet.co.uk> wrote:
> I never cleaned them once in 5 years. Perhaps a bit over euthusiastic with
>the oil?
I spent a _lot_ of time and money on developing ignition systems a few
years back. My preference is a Hall effect magnetic pickup. Optical is
OK, but some designs of distributor cap cause dust & dirt problems, so
wiping the lenses isn't a bad idea. The problem is mainly carbon dust
from a centre contact on the cap, especially if the rotor arm is worn
to no longer be so smooth. A dust cover between the HT & optical
sections makes the problem negligible.
rileyelf
an increase in MPG if you open the plug gaps up a bit, the reason for this
is you have more chance of igniting a diluted mixture with a longer spark,
and because you have more voltage avaliable you can open the gaps up a bit,
and still get a spark.
John Jenner wrote in message <91661819...@talita.eclipse.net.uk>...
John Jenner
Cheers JJ
rileyelf wrote in message ...
Bob Walker
: On Tue, 19 Jan 1999 19:08:50 GMT, Dave Plowman
: <dave....@argonet.co.uk> wrote:
: I spent a _lot_ of time and money on developing ignition systems a few
: years back. My preference is a Hall effect magnetic pickup. Optical is
: OK, but some designs of distributor cap cause dust & dirt problems, so
: wiping the lenses isn't a bad idea. The problem is mainly carbon dust
: from a centre contact on the cap, especially if the rotor arm is worn
: to no longer be so smooth. A dust cover between the HT & optical
: sections makes the problem negligible.
I also spent lots of effort developing electronic ignition systems,
for road cars and racing cars. I never found any optical components
rated for temperatures above 80C - which cars can easily exceed
in the engine compartment. Maybe it's different now - but I don't
think so.
I notice that the basic Honeywell Hall-effect sensors (HMC1021)
are rated up to 200C, so that should be OK :-)
My own prefe#rence was for a balanced, radio-frequency bridge
arrangement, which had the advantage that it was insensitive
to the spacing between the sensor and the rotating plate.
It produced much less than 0.5 degree error for a change
in spacing between 1 and 3 mm. That allowed more than enough
'wobble' for practical purposes. As a result, it was also
less sensitive to side-play in the distributor shaft.
The best racing system I managed would run at up to 1000 Hz
(=15,000 rpm on an 8 cylinder) and deliver about 30 W into
the sparkgap, for an input of about 4.5 A at 13 V. It looked
more like a flame than a spark!
-------------------------------------------------------------
The opinions expressed are personal. They do not necessarily
represent those of my employer.
Bob Walker, BBC Research and Development Department.
Kingswood Warren, Tadworth, Surrey, UK.