[Healeys] coilt induction ingition

[Ed O'Neal]

Gents,

By way of recap:  When the points close current flows through the primary (12 volt) side of the coil.  When they open the magnetic field around the coil collapses across the secondary coil windings (high voltage) driving a high voltage current across the plug gap and firing the cylinder.  At the same time the magnetic field also across the primary windings attempting to drive a current across the open points and creating a relatively high voltage (perhaps 400 volts) which will want to arc across the open points and wearing them out quickly.  To mitigate this a condenser (capacitor) is places between the points coil connection and ground which absorbs the “shock” of the current being driven towards the open points and reducing the potential for arcing across the points allowing them to last longer.

Question:  Why would a larger condenser (capacitor) not reduce the potential for arcing across the points even more?  What might be the down side of such an attempt???

Thanks for your expertise in advance.

Ed


From: Healeys [mailto:healeys-bounces at autox.team.net] On Behalf Of Al Fuller
Sent: Wednesday, December 28, 2016 2:40 PM
To: 'Healeys, Forum'
Subject: Re: [Healeys] Mount a coil on an alternator.

Josef:

Petty broad brush you are painting some of us with there… [Quote: “People who swap a generator for an alternator like to modify in any way.”]  Without further comment to your over-statement, I WILL say the following:

I drive my car on multi-day cross-country trips and see the value in installing a modern alternator.  The generators on our cars were installed 50 years ago, and designed way before that to provide a fairly modest output [~20 amps, if memory serves].  The generator was barely able to supply the car’s needs as supplied, and modern use calls for additional and more power-hungry apliances in the car, such as headlights that actually light up the road ahead…

I now have an alternator that will power the car, headlghts, the CB radio I consider a necessity when driving in a multi car caravan, etc.  An added bonus is if it happens to fail, rebuild or repar are readily available.  Note that none of this drives me necessiarily to any other modifications.


Al Fuller
al at bighealey dot org
'65 BJ-8
'85 Rx-7

From: Healeys [mailto:healeys-bounces at autox.team.net] On Behalf Of josef-eckert at t-online.de<mailto:josef-eckert at t-online.de>
Sent: Friday, December 23, 2016 4:07 PM
To: Simon Lachlan <simon.lachlan at homecall.co.uk<mailto:simon.lachlan at homecall.co.uk>>; Healeys, Forum <Healeys at autox.team.net<mailto:Healeys at autox.team.net>>
Subject: Re: [Healeys] Mount a coil on an alternator.


People who swap a generator for an alternator like to modify in any way. Anybody who knows more about electrics know there is no need for an alternator at all on Healeys. its only to adjust the rehulator to work as it should.  But that´s to difficult for most I suspect.

those selling these alternators are quite happy to sell them as people like to modify and they also sell you one of these performance coils and they need to be kept cool and best is to put the coil in the boot to keep it cool. Haven´t seen that so far but can´t await to see it.



Josef Eckert

Konigswinter/Germany







-----Original-Nachricht-----

Betreff: [Healeys] Mount a coil on an alternator.

Datum: 2016-12-23T21:57:44+0100

Von: "Simon Lachlan" <simon.lachlan at homecall.co.uk<mailto:simon.lachlan at homecall.co.uk>>

An: "'Healey Group'" <healeys at autox.team.net<mailto:healeys at autox.team.net>>






I’ve had an alternator in my BT7 for a while now.
So, when I was doing the job, I looked at pictures of other people’s installations. Nobody’s coil was mounted on the alternator as coils were/are mounted on the generators.
I didn’t mount mine on the alternator either.
Now, I’m wondering why everybody found ingenious places to put the coils and nobody ingeniously adapted their brackets to fit onto their alternator.
Do alternators get too hot? Do they give off some kind of magic death ray that fries coils or what??
Any reasons not to do it??
Thanks,
Simon

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