[Land-speed] Odd car related stuff...

[Bryan Savage]

I looked at the web site. The plug may help on my '71 F-250
but it won't have any effect on my '79 Ford Ranger.
Why?
The wiring diagram that they display, is of a breaker point ignition.
 
Modern ignition system work much differently.
They talk about their thing generating a pulse of electricity.
Well, that's exactly what modern ignition systems do.
A modern system does not use a "coil", it uses a pulse transformer
just like the ones used in radar transmitters. The control unit
sends a pulse of several hundred volts, about 10-100 microseconds long,
to the pulse transformer hooked to the plug. About 1.5 microseconds
after the pulse arrives the voltage at the plug goes from 0 to about
50,000 to 100,000 volts.
Modern racing ignitions send a much higher voltage to the pulse
transformer creating an arc at the plug in less than 1 microsecond
that has an enormous amount of power (watts). The spark at the plug
looks like a TIG welder on low current.

I don't plan to use them in my F-250,
Bryan




drmayf wrote:
> Have any of you looked at these doohickeys? I wonder..   
> http://www.pulstarplug.com/howtheywork.html 
> <http://www.pulstarplug.com/howtheywork.html>
>
> Also, my latest Harbor Freight has leakdown testers at $29.99. 
> Undoubtedly not legacy tools but probably good enough to toss onti the 
> race trailer for salt use.
> "US General item number 94190-3AXH" catalog 161-c winter 2008.
>
> mayf