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Electronic ignition
PAULD - 29/4/20 at 01:51 PM

Following on from my query about voltage stabilisers, before I take the dash out, I am thinking of converting to electronic ignition on my pinto. I have spoken to three of the suppliers and no one can tell me if theirs will affect my rev counter. As per my previous post my car has a mk4 cortina instrument cluster. Can anyone give me a definite answer?


obfripper - 29/4/20 at 02:15 PM

If you are still using a coil/distributor as part of the electronic setup, it will still work the same.

If you are using megajolt/edis or other wasted spark setup, you will need to construct a diode array from the both the coil trigger wires back to the tacho, or use the tach out signal from the edis unit or megajolt looped through just the coil of a relay to give a voltage spike to simulate the spike of the coil signal. There are wiring diagrams for both of these on the megasquirt manuals, and probably on the megajolt manuals too.

Dave


SteveWalker - 29/4/20 at 03:26 PM

The simplest, cheap way to add electronic ignition to a pinto engine is to use a Sierra distributor (with hall effect sensor), Sierra amplifier and coil. As it is still using the coil and distributor as normal, the tacho will work in the same way. Obviously, if you want to go fully electronic and ditch the distributor, you'll have to look at something more complex - but you'd need to keep the distributor (or a cut-down version of it) physically in place, as the oil pump drive relies upon it.

[Edited on 29/4/20 by SteveWalker]


steve m - 29/4/20 at 08:48 PM

I put an acuspark system on my xflow, and it transformed the startup and running, and it did not affect the electric tacho

I had in the past lumention (sh!t) and a home made amplifer system from a kit, equally SH!!!T

the pinto version is below, and an easy fix from points etc to electronic

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Ford-Cortina-Escort-Capri-Pinto-Electronic-ignition-Motorcraft-red-rotor-K19/180838767583?hash=item2a1ad49bdf:g:jVcAAOSwjMt eZnsU


JC - 30/4/20 at 06:21 AM

I’ve just fitted a 123+Tune distributor to my supercharged Locost. A straight plug in and play swap - you can get them with all the OEM advance curves or fully programmable ignition. Not cheap but it’s really effective and easy!


mcerd1 - 30/4/20 at 10:03 AM

quote:
Originally posted by SteveWalker
The simplest, cheap way to add electronic ignition to a pinto engine is to use a Sierra distributor (with hall effect sensor), Sierra amplifier and coil

^^^ thats fine if you get all the bits from the carb'd sierra
(these still have the Vac. advance and the plug for the amplifier hangs out the dzzy on a short length of wire)

but most of the later sierra's have EFI with fully electronic dizzy's that are completely hollowed out and need the ECU to control the spark - these are useless without an ECU
(these ones have the plug attached directly to the side of the dizzy and have no Vac. advance)


Dingz - 30/4/20 at 08:10 PM

I may have a spare dizzy and amp somewhere, I’ll try to find it in the next few days if you might be interested.


PAULD - 1/5/20 at 01:37 PM

Thanks Dingz, just trying one would be great, just to see if it affected the rev counter. I'll u2u my phone number.


PAULD - 2/5/20 at 03:45 PM

Hi Dingz, can you call me again please, the number you left me isn't ringing.