Electronic ignition

[Wally2]

Hi,
Just bought an electronic ignition kit from Accuspark, destributor, leads, coil, plugs, but upon reading insrtuctions, you have to test the vehicle voltage withe the engine running. The Moke (1965 English but neg earth) voltage was 15.5 volts with some revs on and the kit says that max is 14.5v or the electronics will get too hot and fail.
I've tested the voltage regulator acording to the manual and it was within limits but I've been advised that as I'm not doing much night driving and that the Moke is devoid of electrical things, that I can reduce the charging voltage. this I have now done (down to 13.5v).
Anyone else come across this problem?
Cheers
Chris

[Tim]

You might find that you run into other problems at the lower voltage, like your wipers will be slower, the headlights dimmer and the indicators might not flash as fast.

14.5V is pretty low, many vehicles will be charging at higher than that. The Accuspark's own voltage regulation can't be much good.

Tim

[Wally2]

Hi Tim,
Maybe its a case that Accuspark are just covering themselves if they get a failure, I did ask them to confirm that the kit was suitable for the Moke, which as regards the charging voltage should not be any different to a standard mini of the same vintage. Well I sall keep the old distributor handy just in case I have to up the voltage.
Cheers
Chris

[Daniel]

Hi Chris,

newer systems with alternators normally have a charging voltage of 14.4V and it is regulated very well, so the Accuspark ignition system will do fine.
As your Moke has the old dynamo the charging voltage will not be as exact as with an alternator. But reducing the voltage below 14.4 Volt will result in not fully charging the battery. I would not recommend to do that.
I do not know how sensible the Accuspark is against higher voltage. I would try to ask the seller again and tell him the problem. I´m quite sure you are not the only one with this problem.

Daniel

PS: I have an Accuspark since 2 or 3 years in my Mini without any problems but I have the newer alternator.

[Wally2]

Hi Daniel,
thanks for that, I've been out in the Moke tonight and I did notice that the indicators are winking slower so I will up the voltage a little, proberbly to approx.14.4v, I have it at 13.5v at the moment which I think is too low. I'm going to run it around for a while at these settings to make sure its all ok before I put the electronic distributor on.
I will contact Accuspark again but I dont think they are that understanding of dynamos!
Cheers
Chris

[Tim]

Try running at 14.4V and see how it goes - especially with the headlights on. I realise you say you rarely use it like that but you wouldn't want to get caught out coming home late from something. Its no fun trying to beat the dark home when you know you have a choice of either headlights or spark, but probably not both at once.

Tim

[Wally2]

Hi All,
Ran around for a while on 14.4v ish and all seemed ok so I've put the electronic distributor on. Have set the timimg by trial and error, will get it set properly when the Moke goes in for its MOT next week.
Cheers
Chris

[Wally2]

MOT went well, just a replacement lower ball joint required, also tuned up now and runs so much better. I've had to up the voltage a little, up to 15v, as the indicators stop with the headlights on. Will see how we go now.
Chris

[Tim]

Sounds like my motorbike. It has been fitted with electronic ignition, but it can't have headlights, indicators and a spark all at once. At night it misfires while cornering, in time with the indicators flashing.

Tim

[Wally2]

I've sent Accuspark an note advising them that I need to up the voltage and asking how just how sensative their gear is and that if it cannot cope with the voltage that the regulator is set to i.e. 15.8 to 16.7v then its not suitable for these (or minis of the same vintage) vehicles. I await their reply!
Chris

[Wally2]

Had a very 'helpful' reply from Accuspark.

''Hello , if your indicators don’t flash the relay needs changing , the indicators should flash at 12 volts without the engine running at no time should the car be charging at over 16 Volts

Lucas RB 106 and RB 340 regulators should normally have a Cut in voltage set between around 12.7 and 13.3 Volts and drop off 9.5 –11 volts

Regards ''

I think that the cut out has nothing to do with it, all it does is swap from battery to dynamo at about 12v.
Just tried the indicators with engine not running, they flash slowly but if you then pout the headlights on they stop flashing.
Chris

[Wally2]

Just had another look at this and found that all three spade connectors on the flasher unit were loose. I've tightened them up and the indicators now flash with the engine not running, headlights on and heater fan on. So will see how things go from here!
Chris

[Trundlebug]

HI Wally,

It's been some time since you fitted your Accuspark, can you give us an update on your experience with it?
Has it been any good overall?
Have you experienced better starting, performance, responsiveness or economy?
How has reliability been?
Would you recommend Accuspark to fellow Moke owners?

The reason I ask is that I'm considering fitting one to my '67 Moke, and there isn't much feedback from people who have fitted it but what I've seen is mixed.
Would much appreciate your experiences with it.

[Wally2]

Hi,
Accuspark has been on over a year now and I've covered over 3000 miles with no problems at all. The Moke starts every time, runs very well, better than with the points etc.
I was a little disappointed with the responses I had from Accuspark, maybe as the Moke is almost 50 years old they didn't understand the charging system design. Anyway all seems to working great now and no more scrapped knuckles setting points!
When I changed to electronic ignition, I changed the complete distributor, cap and leads so that I could retain the old one as a complete unit if I had problems, its still in the side pod!
I bought my kit from Accuspark via E-Bay
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Classic-Mini- ... 2a195217f0, pretty good value I thought.
Only difference from the original was that the dissy mounting plate only uses one bolt not two.
Hope this helps.
Chris

[spider]

Oh dear,,,, Wally - Chris - sorry mate, I'm not sure how to break this to you, however I'd express very serious concern on your new distributor. Rather than re-invent the wheel, here's a link to a sticky that I wrote on The Mini Forum;-

http://www.theminiforum.co.uk/forums/to ... tributors/

The electronics are very good and I doubt anyone would have an issue with that side of any of these conversion modules. I've tried a few different brands (Accuspark, Simon BBC, Luminition, Aldon) and only had one fail, but not through any fault what so ever of the kit itself, it was a failed Coil that in turn took out the Module. That was a Lucas Branded Coil (one of the new types) and I've had a number of these let go. I've switched back to the Bosch GT40 type Coils, I only went away from them as none of my usual suppliers stock them, so I have to get off my backside to actually get them!

For anyone considering one of these conversion modules, just be sure that the Coil you intend to use with it is suitable for the Module, if in doubt, check with the supplier.

In regards to the new Lucas Distributors (or any distributor for that matter), I have to say be very careful. There simply is no "Replaces all Distributors from 850 to 1275 engines". All Engine capacities and different states of tune need distributors with differing characteristics or advance curves. Fitting one that does not suit your engine can do very serious engine damage and much easier than you may realise (have a read in that link). To give a very brief example, there were over 30 different Distributor Advance Curves used by BMC / Leyland / Rover for the A Series Enginesand I have a list coving some of the Lucas distributors, which has around 3000 different advance curved that they produced over the years So, if Lucas produced over 3000 different advance curves, how can one distributor 'Suit all Engines' ? Why didn't Lucas just do that? If your engine has a low compression ratio, you may get away without damage - maybe - but it wouldn't be working as well as it should and damage in the longer term may still result.

I have written to a number of the suppliers of these 'Suits All Engines' distributors and asked them what the advance curves are or if they can supply the serial number. None have been able to as yet. None of these new Lucas Distributors that I've seen to date while having a Model type have not had a serial number. That tells us what engines they suit.

There are two sets of numbers on the Distributors to Identify them, one will be the Model (eg 25D4) and the other is the Distributor's Advance Curve it will usually be a 5 digit number starting with a 4xxxx, it may also have some letters with the number too.

I've had 4 engines through here now that have suffered terminal damage from these 'Suits all Engines' distributors. Be careful.