… Next to my previous post on pistons (I am still waiting before purchase), what about electronic ignition system …
What make , price , installation and results on the car health … All the common stuffs …
Thank you in advance ,
Christian.
I had an Aldon Ignitor installed and it really does the job.
Sorry - I am not that technically minded or able, so can only refer to it by name rather than how complex it is to install. If you live anywhere near Sheffield I will happily point you to the garage that installed it for me on my 71 Sprint.
Regards, Andrew
I fitted an Aldon Ignitor on my S4. Very easy to fit, it simply replaces the points and condenser in the distributor.
No ugly boxes, just one extra wire from the distributor is all that is visible.
Now three years on and going well.
The only slight downside is that electronic ignition makes the tacho’ a bit erratic.
This topic and electronic ignition has been discussed quite a bit on the forum. If you do a quick search you will find lots of advice and opinion
Aldon Ignitor every time for me. I’ve had one on all three of my Elans, and they’ve all been completely reliable,
Steve
elans3
I have found Luminition okay over many years. I had one failure with a Piranha. Both are infra-red systems and probably “old school” now. Luminition box is not so ugly.
Ken
I have been using the Piranha for over 20 years, no problems.
In typical British car paranoia, I carry a backup unit.
I dunno guys — 10 bucks for points and condenser --chance to check the timing chain ever year or so --I just cant make the transition — -ed
The jury is out. I put an ignitor on my +2 a few months ago and was delighted. The other week, I went to the car and it wouldn’t start. After a lot of frustration, and without finding a cause, I put points back. With a bit more fooling about, it started, and is going well again. I have sent the ignitor back to Aldon and they have helpfully offered to put it on a tester and check it out. Was the ignitor at fault? Dont’t know.
best regards, iain
You are damm right , Ed .
The point is , electronic ignitor are today’s technology and can compete with today’s “Lucas made in china” point & condenser … Maybe , you’re lucky enough to have better product … Had a lot of friends with mini’s or Triumph with this kind of problems ; Why should it be different with an Elan !?!
Second is the access (Rhd + bigger airbox)and my ability to make them work properly… + Electronic ignitor does work as a rev limitor , does it ?
Last , I always hear than the drive was much better with (as bonus) lower fuel consumption.
Anyway , classic point & condenser will always found a small place in the boot …
Christian.
Christian my road goign Esprit and Plus 2 have had lumenition optical electronic ignition for over 20 years with no problems. I have kept the points and condenser in the glove box of each car and have never used them in all that time.
My competition Elan runs a Bosch based points distributor as electronic ignition is not allowed, good quality components for the Bosch distributor are still available from my local ignition specialist, the points are the same as used on Posche 911’s from the same era. A separate electronic rev limiter is fitted which is allowed by our rules. Once a year I remove and check the distributor and every couple of years or so I replace the points but otherwise it also never gives any problem.
regards
Rohan
How about the points-triggered electronic ignition systems? They take the load off the points as only a ‘small’ current is passed and used to trigger a transistor to switch the 4A (or so) coil current. The points last longer and you can easily bypass the electronic module if it fails…
Matthew
I have only had one problem using points and condenser when the wire to the points failed after after 43 years of service —I use a centrifugal rev limiter at 7000 rpm [sounds like the thing exploded when it hits the limit ]–the distributor comes out if you remove the cap and rotor so you can work on it on the bench —some times old and new technology don’t mix – --ed
Hello all
I went the full electronic route. Mallory optical distributor and their MSD 6AL box with rev limiter and Magnacor wires. The box sits in the nose below the rad. Mallory provided a smaller cap to clear the carbs. The tach was converted with a new board installed by specialist who does tach conversions for the Tigers.
Very happy with the results on starting, economy, reliability.
Phil
Hi there
I used to run Luminition in my +2 until it failed. Then I was stuffed and went home with the car on the back of an AA transporter. If I had points fitted I would have been able to fix it at the side of the road. (I suppose I shpould have carried spare points and condensor but I didn’t!)
The car is running well on points (yes the Lucas ‘made in china’ variety) with no problems. I currently have no desire to change back to an eletronic system.
It is however very much a personal choice.
Good luck
Andy
The one thign to avoid on an Elan, unless you want to replace the tach is a capacitive discharge ignition system.
The Tach on the Elan is triggered by the coil current so any electronic ignition system that does not allow the coil current to go through the tach will cause the tach to cease functioning properly.
The Lumenition and Ignitor systems are just points replacement systems so the coil current goes through the tach and the tach works. Well at least the tach works if you remember to connect the supply line to the lumenition or ignitor to the fuse block and not to the coil.
I had one problem with the ignitor on my car in 6 years of operation. The wire rubbed against the magnet ring and the glue holding the two pieces of the ring separated allowing the magnets to shift. The car started running on two cylinders, so I pulled over. I was able to use race tape to tape the two pieces together and drive the 25 miles home. I then glued and heat welded the pieces back together and it has been fine since.
My weber engine came with a piranha system, but I switched the ignitor over when I swapped engines.
Rob
Note that the most vehement opponent of using an electronic alternative to breaker points is…
Drum roll please…
The person who doesn’t use one and also doesn’t claim to have ever had trouble using one.
Odd that there isn’t a huge aftermarket in breaker point conversions for modern automobiles. Wonder why that is?
I’ll grant one point: If the points are bolyxed, you often can get the car home by fiddling with it. IF you have appropriate tools and light source. Somewhat over a million miles ago, I did have an ignition failure on an early pointless Toyota that left me stranded on a sub-zero day, I knew it was spark failure and I couldn’t make the darn thing work by fiddling with it, and I wasn’t particularly happy about it. I got over it.
If it comes down to replacing points on the side of the road, I’d personally rather be replacing my Pertronix, as it would be much easier to do. It would cost more to carry a spare; about $75.00 U.S, which is why most of us with significant Scottish ancestry don’t carry one.
Old and new technology don’t mix? Ed, what kind of tires are you running on your Shapecraft??
welllll for the first time EVER I had to get towed home ------problem was a loose negative coil wire I could not see that had loosened [or not been tightened up after my fiddling with it] and had become powdered up and lost contact —aint no cure for stupid --the end of a 40 year record ----I have hankook tires 205 13 60 because they were free from the old formula ford series -they replaced the Good Year blue streaks that were on it -but alas it is tire time so the only one I can find in the correct size for the car is ------[wait for it] --------------------Sumitomo tire 205 13 60 – -but I would prefer Canadian tire rayon bias ply -ed
I like electronic ignition…the car starts and runs better. Electronic ignition is not any harder to trouble shoot than points but it is different so you have to know what your “should” is. What should be on this wire… Basically most electronic ignitions take some kind of trigger from the distrubutor. If is is a two wire it is most likely an ac voltage that triggers if it is three wires ii is a hall effect pickup 5v ref, ground, and signal. the box is connected to this trigger and you need 12v and ground or it won’t work. I do carry a spare if the part is hard to find… Now on the optical ones I do not have any experience but if I had one I would learn what you should see on each wire with key on, signal when cranking and anything else I could learn about it so when I had no spark I could figure it out. I think the increased cost is offset by the better running…I would change to electronic in my 1950 jeepster if I could find a 6v electronic ignition…sometimes it can be hard to start.
All electric/electronic equipment can and, given long enough, will malfunction. However, modern elctronic ignition systems are well developed and, it must be said, reliable.
The one, insurmountable problem with points is that they are deteriorating from the moment they start being used. The gap gradually closes up as the plastic cam wears away and the unavoidable transfer of metal from one contact to the other commences, gradually building up the infamous ‘hill and hollow’ that affects both the strength of the spark and, to some extent, the ignition timing itself. Also, it’s not unknown for keenly maintained cars to have a little too much oil on the felt pad which can find its way on to the contact faces, causing misfiring and failure to start (now how do I know that?).
So, with a points set-up, although everything may be hunky dory when you first fit 'em, you know full well that from then on the engine is gradually losing tune to the point where you have to put in a new set. Apologies to all you traditionalists but points are an iron-age solution that would never have seen the light of day had electronic ignition been available to Mr Kettering.
Hi Christian,
TTR now sell a new distributor with electronic ignition, Magnecor leads and coil with optimised advance for road or track for ?180 - seams good value if you are going to put a ignition kit in to a worn distributor.
Regards
Steve