Which Electronic ignition?

Hi everyone,

I posted the other day about my ignition problems and that I was thinking about moving to an electronic ignition.

I can see there are numerous options, ranging from cheap britpart to expensive lumenition magic.

I'm tempted by the middle of the road (at least expense wise) SimonBBC electronic ignition kit. I just can't seem to work out exactly which kit I need. Could someone point me in the right direction please?

series 3 1980 2.25 petrol. I think I have the duceillier dizzy.

Thank you

Dan

You've got me interested, sorry i can't provide any help. Not experienced with them. However, if anyone could explain the pros/cons of this then i'd be grateful. I'm having some ignition issues too.

BUMP

Trench Rat said:

You've got me interested, sorry i can't provide any help. Not experienced with them. However, if anyone could explain the pros/cons of this then i'd be grateful. I'm having some ignition issues too.

BUMP

Click to expand...

I'm by no means an expert, but as I understand it an electronic ignition will to some degree produce a better more consistent spark with less maintenance issues.
However when they go wrong there is little you can do to repair/change whereas with tradition points you can adjust and/or swap out tired parts. It also seems most people who have converted to an electronic ignition tend to carry points as spares - does this show little faith? I'm not sure.
I'm sure someone will probably correct me though...

Dan

The 2 bits that cause problems on a mech set up are the points and the advance and retard. You can swap the points for an electronic switch (some form of magnetic or optical sensor plus a big transistor) and still run the advance and retard. Or you can swap the whole lot for a system that has an electronic switch and electroninc advance mapping. You them need to select (or program) the advance curve. At low revs the mech advance and retards work OK, but at high revs they go all over the place. Having done all this on old motorcycles I can say the electronic advance is fantastic and transfoms the power, but only above around 5000 rpm and really gets into its own above 6000. On a series it may not make a lot of differnce. The points however are always a problem. The timing and the strength of spark depend on the points breaking contract cleanly, something they seldom do, they get dirty, arc,wear (so the timing changes). I would always change out the points but doubt going to a fully electroninc (inc adv/ret) system is justified on a series, even though they are much better. I put a strobe on an egeing I tuned when it had points and a mech adv/ret, Above 6000 the tacho image became a blur becuse it was shifting on the adv/ret, with the fully electroninc system it was a thin sharp line all the way to 7500 (the engine limit)

Tbh any electronic setup will be better and more reliable than points.

I have Luminition on my V8 TR7. And used the SimonBBC on my Series before I Tdi’d it. It worked as described and was great value for money.

I put a Lucas copy BBC distrutor with the electronic kit inside to replace the original Duc distrib. Also replaced leads and coil to the correct type, and new plugs. Less than a hundred quid and it's made starting easier and requires no chock in this weather, also much smoother revs through the range and cured a misfire. I haven't even timed it properly yet.

I've got the accuspark in my ducellier ,and they are excellent no problems in 5 years

I think mine was Accuspark also. Just remove old points and condenser and replace with electronic unit. 5 minute job. It is true that if it fails you are a bit stuffed but for £30ish it is worth carrying a spare. I decided on the points replacement module because I wanted the option of going back to points, not that I will but a future owner might like that option. An old style condenser is more likely to fail than electronic ignition module.

Col

I changed to electronic (Simon bbc) due to problems sourcing decent condensers. Starting much better now due to consistent spark. Still carry the old distrutor incase it fails, but to be honest you would just as likely have a problem with condenser so from a reliability point of view there is no difference.

I have a 123 complete dizzy, made a big diference to the acceleration and partly to fuel consumption.
timing with a strobe shows that it has no waver what so ever in all ranges.
selecting the correct advance curve was a little trial and error and depends on the condition of your timing chain and so on, if I was going to buy one now I would go for the "Tune" version with bluetooth and an app so i could really nail down the advance curve and as a bonus have a rev counter.
Simon

Appreciate all the advice!

Dan