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Electronic Ignition


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Still looking for a spare module just in case, How's the Fox doing??

 

Lee,

Not looked at the Fox for a while, been very busy. Hopefully I'll have some time over the easter holidays to get the insides back together and put some paint on it, weather permitting!

 

Chris

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It sounds like trouble free stariting etc. has anyone on here got pictures of theirs if so can they post. Jack did you end up getting one :?:

 

Hi Mark.

 

I haven't, I was looking at converting from 6v to 12v and these guys do the conversion kit as well 8)

 

Cheers.

 

 

Jack.

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Hi. First of all, thanks, Jack, for asking me to come on the forum. I'll try to answer any technical questions as well as I can. Remember, I've been working on jeeps since 1971, including periods when (until recently) I have used my Willys MB as my everyday vehicle, and also as my company pickup truck. So reliability is what I know about - and the amazing thing about 60 odd-year-old jeeps is they ARE reliable if maintained well. Certain minor modifications help - this is where electronic ignition and alternator conversions come in. The same applies to any MV, although for practical reasons I wouldn't go to work every day in a GMC, for instance. But I am a firm believer that anyone who owns a jeep, or any MV or classic car for that matter, wants to ENJOY it. When the sun comes out in the summer, he wants to jump into his jeep and drive off somewhere, without the fiddling around to get it to start, and without worrying that he's going to break down while he's out.

I've read through the postings on electronic ignition, and take on board the point about information and prices. So in due course I'll be posting photos and prices for all the common MV electronic ignition kits. For any sales or customer-support questions, please direct them to me privately, but for any questions of general interest, please post them privately.

I’ve raised a new topic in MV Chatter, so please continue the thread by going there.

Hope I can be of some help. Thanks for asking me, and best regards, Frank Jolley, Jolley Engineering

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  • 7 years later...

I have just had electronic ignition & a new coil fitted to my Lightweight Land Rover and it runs very well. However I read somewhere that if electronic ignition is fitted, as with most modern cars it is best to fit spark plugs to match i.e. those with a R for resistance in the designation such as NGK BR5ES. Is this true and why?

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I have just had electronic ignition & a new coil fitted to my Lightweight Land Rover and it runs very well. However I read somewhere that if electronic ignition is fitted, as with most modern cars it is best to fit spark plugs to match i.e. those with a R for resistance in the designation such as NGK BR5ES. Is this true and why?

 

I assume you are talking about an unscreened 12v system rather than a 24v screened system.

 

You need to have some resistance in the HT circuit not just for RF suppression reasons but to limit the spark erosion taking place at the plugs and the distributor cap.

 

Some people are prejudiced against suppressed leads as they don't like the idea of any resistance reducing the voltage to the plugs. But because of the low current the average lead might cause a voltage drop of 10 volts which is nothing from 10kV or so.

 

The problem with these suppressed leads can be if the terminations get damaged or you try to change them. But if you use copper leads it would be foolish not to use resistive plugs.

 

Even if you have suppressed leads if you have suppressed plugs as well you will lose very little HT especially as it has more output now that you have electronic ignition. You will also have enhanced RF suppression as the resistance to be of benefit for suppression is much greater than for the spark erosion reduction.

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Clive, Thanks for you reply; so it seems that with my 12v GS Lwt it is worth changing the plugs.
Depends what the plugs are that you've got. Its good that your system is running very well so be wary of fiddling around until you've broken it!

 

I have done a lot of tests recently on various screened plugs but not unscreened ones. I tended to assume most these days had some resistance built in. I would put on ohmmeter on a plug & measure the through resistance. 1k-4k is needed to reduce erosion but & 10k-20k to reduce RF interference. But in either case it doesn't matter if that resistance is in the plug, the leads or suppressors screwed into the leads.

 

I've heard it said that you should open the spark gap now you have electronic ignition & have more voltage. I once did that & got to a show checked in then the Pig wouldn't start. Changed to normal gapped plugs & been ok for years since.

 

The thing to remember that although you might observe a good spark in a plug it may not be so good when under compression in the engine when a higher voltage is needed especially if accelerating & under load.

 

As for the leads these are bog standard ones. Are you suggesting I change these too for a copper set?
Nope

 

So just measure the plug resistance & if its a few thousand ohms then I would relax & enjoy the satisfaction of it running well :D

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I have been running a Jolley kit in a B81 Rolls Royce ( stalwart)

For the B series engines this kit is light years ahead of the standard points system.

It saves having to time the twin points set up and using a sector tool etc.

The electronic ignition throws a better spark which is so badly needed on military screened systems.

 

With the jolly system the 24volts on starting can be left as is or may set to run 12 volts all the time.

To get the full improvements from the electronic ignition removing the screened ignition leads and running civie protruded nose sparkplugs at a wider gap stops the B series sparkplug fouling problems and the civie plugs are cheaper and self clean.

The extra wire (power supply wire) can be run totally unseen inside the standard wiring tubes and housing, but is difficult to pull this wire though to do this.

The wire can be if it is too hard to run the thought the standard hardness etc can just be run to the distributor in plain site just to save time.

 

Electronic ignition is very worth while on the B series even if the cost is a bit high up front , it will save time and money in the long term.

You will no longer need to set the ignition timing again.

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Electronic ignition is very worth while on the B series even if the cost is a bit high up front , it will save time and money in the long term.

You will no longer need to set the ignition timing again.

 

I can second the above comment, having fitted the Jolly units to my Ferret, Saladin and Saracen. Though I had problems with the Saracen, it turned out that I'd wired up the coil the wrong way. (Presumably from having to use a mirror and work upside down!!) Since correcting the wiring the Saracen has work well since.

 

Andy

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  • 3 weeks later...

Hi all.

 

I fitted the Petronics electronic ignition unit to my M38CDN jeep 24 volt a year ago and it works great. Its a totally clean installation on the M38 as the coil is sealed in the distributor body and no extra wires needed. It took only a few minutes to install. The jeep starts and runs great. For startup and go reliability for shows, cruises and parades its fabulous.

 

The only problems I ran into were that when I went to a petronics dealer web site they did not list my military vehicle so I emailed them asking. They responded requesting the make and model of my distributor. I sent this info to them and they promptly quit communicating with me. I again searched and found a military vehicle parts dealer in the US mseriesrebuild.com that sold them and bought one. They were good to deal with and the transaction was smooth.

Sadly the price was more than double what I saw on the petronics site. I was told later that there is a nice cozy deal between some of the mil veh suppliers and petronics so you needed to go to the mil veh supplier to get one and they set the price, though I cannot confirm this and it was a year ago.

 

The following is from their site.

http://www.mseriesrebuild.com/services.htm

 

ELECTRICAL

 

 

 

  • NOW AVAILABLE; 24-VOLT ALL ELECTRONIC INGNITION MODULES

 

 

 

  • Our line of 24-volt electronic ignition modules is now expanded to cover both 4 and 6 cylinder military distributors. This covers all Jeeps & trucks with military standard waterproof distributors.

 

 

 

  • We also stock 6 &12 volt electronic ignition modules for early series non-waterproof distributors. All modules carry a 30-month manufacturer's warranty. 24-volt units are $155.00 each + $12.00 shipping & insurance. Cost is slightly higher on 6 & 12 volt units depending on the model. See Photo.

 

 

also see

http://www.pertronix.com/prod/ig/ignitor/default.aspx

 

You can plug in your disrtibutor number to see if they have a unit.

 

 

Regardless of that Ive had very good service from the unit.

 

:cool2:

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