ignition module overheated

PostPost by: checkrail » Mon Jun 22, 2020 7:03 pm

Hi, Whilst trying to sort the tickover on my \webers I foolishly left the ignition on, resulting in a non starter'
The dizzy is fitted with electronic ignition by the previous owner with a black module inside the cap, there are no markings on it but looks very similar to a Aldon Igniter. I only left it on for 5 to 10 minutes so I presume it overheated.
I swapped over to a spare coil but no luck, It turns over fine but will not fire.
Have any of you guys had this happen?

Regards John
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PostPost by: Donels » Mon Jun 22, 2020 8:58 pm

I had a similar experience. I fitted an Aldon igniter and a friend left the ignition switched on, for how long is unknown but sufficient to overheat and ruin the coil. I replaced the coil and it started first time.

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PostPost by: derek uk » Tue Jun 23, 2020 4:44 pm

Not usual to burn out the coil but Russian roulette when you leave the ignition on with Aldon/Pertronix MkI units. If a magnet stops adjacent to the sensor in the module it will burn out the module after a very short but unpredictable time. Been there done that by switching the leads to the coil rather than suffering the ignition on failure. Reversal means instant silent failure. MkII Pertronix apparently have a safety circuit which prevents both of these failures so a good time to upgrade.
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PostPost by: wotsisname » Tue Jun 23, 2020 5:24 pm

I had something that sounds similar. The ignition unit in the distributor had a lot of small fractures in the casing.. it was quite old but had not been used much. After quite a bit of troubleshooting I put points in and it started very easily. I will probably put another back in but carry points in the boot.
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PostPost by: checkrail » Tue Jun 23, 2020 6:10 pm

Thanks for all the info.

I have had a sort out and found two other modules with the following codes on them:

042-V4 12AA-V4 The one off the Plus2 is 10Z-V4
I know one of the other two came off a GT6 I used to own, I was thinking that the '4' indicated the number of cylinders but obviously not.

John
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PostPost by: billwill » Wed Jun 24, 2020 10:49 am

Wellerman used to produce a kits for electronic ignition which was basically a simple pulse amplifier/sharpener. It was used with the points to give them a longer life and brisker running.

The original kit had resistors to control the current through the points (as some current is needed to keep them clean). They seemed to be designed to let 1 amp flow, but the wattage ratings of the 4 resistors in parallel was not up to the 12 watts needed if the engine stopped with the points closed.

I use one of these in my car, but fitted much bigger wattage resistors so that they will cope with engine stopped & points closed.

I noticed that recent kits for this unit have higher wattage resistors.

Wellerman kits were mostly sold by Maplin, but there may be other suppliers.

https://www.google.com/search?q=wellerman+ignition+kit
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