13 replies to this topic

[The.Yellow.Mini.Guy]

Hello all you nice 'electronic ignition conversion' helping friends..

I have a metro 1275 and i'm thinking of going to electronic ignition, heres the setup i was thinking -

- http://www.ebay.co.u...#ht_5043wt_1108

- with this coil - http://www.ebay.co.u...#ht_4641wt_1108

Does that seem right?, am i going in the right direction?, and one more question.. whats this whole coil 'ballast' thing? i don't get it


Thanks in advance for any help

[lrostoke]

To check which coil you are running look at the wiring

If the coil as a white/pink and a white/yellow wire then it is a ballast coil.

You can use either a ballast coil or a non ballast with the conversion kits. You alter the wiring to suit.

option 1..Ballast coil...keep the coil wiring standard do not remove any wires.
The new conversion kit, run the black wire to the coil negative, the red wire you run a new 12v ignition fed feed to it, take a feed off the white wires on the fuse box. do not connect the red wire to the coil

option 2..If your system is Non ballast as standard then its easy connect the red wire off the conversion to the coil positive, the black wire to the coil negative.

option 3...convert a ballast system to non ballast ...remove the white/pink and white/yellow from the coil positive....run a new coil positive feed from the white wire on the fuse box...coil negative keep standard.....now connect conversion as in option 2 above.

Edited by lrostoke, 06 August 2012 - 08:29 AM.

[jimnali]

Do you need actually a new coil? The one shown is a standard coil so will not give any advantage over your existing one (provided it is in working condition) You could also fit a "sports" coil which might help give a stronger spark but is not essential.

[The.Yellow.Mini.Guy]

To check which coil you are running look at the wiring

If the coil as a white/pink and a white/yellow wire then it is a ballast coil.

You can use either a ballast coil or a non ballast with the conversion kits. You alter the wiring to suit.

option 1..Ballast coil...keep the coil wiring standard do not remove any wires.
The new conversion kit, run the black wire to the coil negative, the red wire you run a new 12v ignition fed feed to it, take a feed off the white wires on the fuse box. do not connect the red wire to the coil

option 2..If your system is Non ballast as standard then its easy connect the red wire off the conversion to the coil positive, the black wire to the coil negative.

option 3...convert a ballast system to non ballast ...remove the white/pink and white/yellow from the coil positive....run a new coil positive feed from the white wire on the fuse box...coil negative keep standard.....now connect conversion as in option 2 above.

thanks!! i'll bear that in mind.. Is there an advantage to ballast or non ballast?

[The.Yellow.Mini.Guy]

Do you need actually a new coil? The one shown is a standard coil so will not give any advantage over your existing one (provided it is in working condition) You could also fit a "sports" coil which might help give a stronger spark but is not essential.

I don't need a new one but i figured while i'm at it i might aswell replace the whole lot?, I only chose that one because it said "works with our kit" haha..

could you recommend a coil? as i'm upgrading the points setup i might aswell upgrade the coil

[jimnali]

I can't personally give you anyrecommendation SimonBBC seems to advertise a Lucas Gold coil as ideal for their Powerspark conversion. You should include a new set of HT leads and plugs. Give SimonBBC a call and maybe they can put a bundle togather for you.

[dklawson]

Before you spend any money on coils....

As one member of this board once put it, "Sports coils are good for pub points". The reasoning is basically that a generic coil will provide more than enough voltage for good strong sparks. With points ignitions you cannot take advantage of all the coil's ability to produce high voltage and strong sparks. Why? The voltage of the spark itself is not controlled by the coil, it is controlled by the spark plug gap and the fuel/air mixture. The charge/discharge timing of a coil operated by points prevents you from being able to "open up" the spark plug gap to get a higher-voltage spark. Electronic ignitions turn on and off differently than ignitions with points and that in turn allow you to open up the spark plug gap for a "hotter" spark. With an electronic ignition, even those generic coils will allow you to open the plug gap so why pay for bling unless you want something pretty in the engine bay?

As Steve said, you have several options on what to do with coils. The least expensive is to keep the coil you have if it is working and simply fit the aftermarket electronic ignition. If you want to, then you can open the spark plug gap a bit (perhaps start at 0.030" and go up a little from there if you want to).

[The.Yellow.Mini.Guy]

I can't personally give you anyrecommendation SimonBBC seems to advertise a Lucas Gold coil as ideal for their Powerspark conversion. You should include a new set of HT leads and plugs. Give SimonBBC a call and maybe they can put a bundle togather for you.

I gave him a call and it helped out, cheers

[The.Yellow.Mini.Guy]

Before you spend any money on coils....

As one member of this board once put it, "Sports coils are good for pub points". The reasoning is basically that a generic coil will provide more than enough voltage for good strong sparks. With points ignitions you cannot take advantage of all the coil's ability to produce high voltage and strong sparks. Why? The voltage of the spark itself is not controlled by the coil, it is controlled by the spark plug gap and the fuel/air mixture. The charge/discharge timing of a coil operated by points prevents you from being able to "open up" the spark plug gap to get a higher-voltage spark. Electronic ignitions turn on and off differently than ignitions with points and that in turn allow you to open up the spark plug gap for a "hotter" spark. With an electronic ignition, even those generic coils will allow you to open the plug gap so why pay for bling unless you want something pretty in the engine bay?

As Steve said, you have several options on what to do with coils. The least expensive is to keep the coil you have if it is working and simply fit the aftermarket electronic ignition. If you want to, then you can open the spark plug gap a bit (perhaps start at 0.030" and go up a little from there if you want to).

thanks for the feedback!

I had a call with simon from simonbbc and asked what coil would be good for an upgrade, since the reason i wanted electronic ignition in the first place was for an upgrade so i figured i might as well go all the way and change the coil.. he recommended a lucas gold coil, 5 minutes after i put the phone down i walked to the mini and realized i already had a lucas gold coil.... so there was no need to change it! Although i feel stupid for not noticing i'm glad i did! haha I ordered some stuff from him so when the kit comes i'll try gapping the plugs, i'm assuming theres a certain tool for it?

[dklawson]

i'll try gapping the plugs, i'm assuming theres a certain tool for it?

Yes and no. You can buy expensive customized tools for setting spark plugs but they are not necessary. I have several "cheap" tools and I use them together.

What I do is first "close" the plug gap by tapping the bent electrode over a bit to close the gap. Then I use a "wedge" type tool (not very accurate) to open the gap back up. I check the gap using a wire gauge. I use the wedge to open and the wire gauge to check.

The link below is to the wedge (or taper) tool. Don't be tempted to use them by themselves. They are not very accurate.
http://216.23.190.13...cs/12-21375.jpg

The link below is for the wire gauge to check the gap.
http://www.oneprojec...ug-gap-tool.jpg

[freshairmini]

...i'm assuming theres a certain tool for it?

Yup, one of these https://www.google.c...iw=1280&bih=879

or a good feeler guage set will do https://www.google.c...iw=1280&bih=879

HTH

Edit: looks like dklawson beat me to it! with some better advice as well. too slow haha.

Edited by freshairmini, 06 August 2012 - 01:58 PM.

[leroy26]

when you say ' take a feed if the white on the fuse box ( number one fuse i presume) ' what do you mean?

do i cut the white wire and join it to the + feed or do i modfy the fuse box somehow?

please keep replys simple!

[lrostoke]

Can do it a few ways...strip some insulation back and solder a new wire to it, then reinsulated.

Or I used one of these connectors on an exisiting wire, and it gave me an extra terminal to connect to

[leroy26]

likin that connector! thankyou