fitting new electronic ignition system, what the process to follow

[sparky]

Its christmas and santa has sent me a new Lumenition Electronic ignition

Before i go charging in during the break can i get some guidance on the procedure to follow and steps to check to ensure i dont completely mess up the timing and the wiring.

Any advice greatfully received

Cheers

[silverfox]

Send it back

[sparky]

And get what??
My points back or a new distributor

[silverfox]

Only joking sparky, It's just that I had a lot of trouble with mine. I'd be driving in heavy traffic and the car would just stop, quite un-nerving really especially on the motorway or halfway round a roundabout. Many people love them but I just lost confidence in mine. I fitted a petronix which has been excellent, (fingers crossed). Good luck with yours, Terry

[jleyton]

Hi Sparky,

Don't listen to Silverfox LOL Mind you, with a username like yours I'd have thought you'd know everything about electronics

Anyway, I know there are some bad reports about Lumenition but I reckon most of them are on systems that have been fitted for 20 or 30 years. I've got it fitted and no complaints.

Have you got the fitting instructions ? They're pretty comprehensive and straightforward - in case you haven't (and you've got their optronic system) then you can access them here: http://www.lumenition.com/new/suppor...stallation.pdf They also produce a Magnetronic' system.

I've always found them very helpful if you need to contact themhttp://www.lumenition.com/new/main.php/lumeni (pretty good for a contactless organisation )

Cheers

julian

[Giles]

Fitted mine a year or two ago. Just follow the instructions. Only thing I found was the timing was a long way out, would run but in order to get the timing right had to move the distributor round 1 tooth to get the adjustment in the right place, but nothing difficult.

[V Mad]

Has anyone considered the Accuspark? There is a video on youtube shows you how easy it is to fit all inside the dissy. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2lcx_Qr0KyM

(BTW no connection).

[KOY 23]

Has anyone considered the Accuspark? There is a video on youtube shows you how easy it is to fit all inside the dissy. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2lcx_Qr0KyM

(BTW no connection).

A cheap copy of the Aldon/Pertronix. A friend has fitted one to his V8 Land Rover, module just failed after 13 months, lets see how they deal with that.

Very wide temperature variations and vibrations in a distributor, components need to be specified for this environment and hence Aldon/Pertronix cost more.

John.

[sparky]

Thanks
Did you turn the engine over to TDC before fitting and which cylinder did you use when you set timing up
Was it No2?

Cheers
Phil

[silverfox]

Looks good Chris, very similar to the petronix. Is the price comparable, Terry

[V Mad]

Looks good Chris, very similar to the petronix. Is the price comparable, Terry

No Terry, it is much less expensive I think, under £40; see here http://www.accuspark.co.uk/ .

But whether Accuspark proves to be as good as the Pertronix (I have one in my Sunbeam) remains to be seen. Any electronic ignition system can be quite easily damaged so can fail prematurely. Typical scenarios are reverse supply, ballast bypassed on a 6v coil, wrong connections etc.

[Mark S]

I bought one of the Cray Bell units with new base plates from Stoneleigh in Feb (the same as Peter at LD sells so they can't be too bad) Exactly the same as the Accuspark.
Very easy to fit and has been spot on. Around a third of the price of the L uminition WITH the new base plates.

[Giles]

Hi Phil - re timing - just did it off number 2 with a strobe as normal once I had fitted it. In order to get enough travel on the distributor to get the timing right just had to move it round one tooth. Quite a simple job, you should not have a problem.

[sparky]

Hi Phil - re timing - just did it off number 2 with a strobe as normal once I had fitted it. In order to get enough travel on the distributor to get the timing right just had to move it round one tooth. Quite a simple job, you should not have a problem.

Cheers
Thanks for the info

[davidf]

Hi

I used a cheap timing light on No 2 to get a static timing (move the distributor body round till the timing light flicks) - at least you get an approximate position so the engine will start, then you can do a proper tick-over setting.
Also, I have noticed that the tacho doesn't read properly since I fitted the Lumenition - reads low at high revs. I remember a friend having a similar problem some years ago - could never identify why.