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Bosch BIP373 Uk supplier?
MkIndy7 - 28/4/11 at 01:22 PM

Afternoon, all

Does anybody know of a Uk supplier of the Bosch BIP373 Coil drivers?, they seem very hard to find anywhere other than from the States and I'm wanting to get things up and running asap.

Finally got the new Duratec running by wireing up an EDIS in limp home mode so I could concentrate on only the fueling as althought it was sparking when connected to the MS it often sempt erratic and weak and i'd never really trusted it was doing what it said it was.

Started pretty much first time with a fueling level etc i'd used before so i'm betting its the coil drivers, so if I can get hold of some i'm going to replace them and if that doesnt cure things i'll be looking to downgrade it to running the EDIS.

So if anybody knows of a UK supplier or where I can get hold of them sharpish, or as a backup how to downgrade the MS to running the EDIS anyhelp would be most appreciated.

Cheers, Ian

matt_gsxr - 28/4/11 at 01:34 PM

googling tells me that halex86 on ebay seems to sell them though.
http://howardperformance.co.uk/shop/category_62/Ignition.html?shop_param=cid%3D%26

so the answer is yes

I bought mine from www.diyautotune.com in the US. Had them for a year and only fitted them yesterday (after blowing up a Fairchild version and getting home on the wrong end of a tow rope).

jeffw - 28/4/11 at 02:45 PM

Strangely I have 4 BIP373 as part of a DIYAutoTune kit I bought from the US. Totally unused and still in sealed packets. According to the invoice I paid $66.30 including P&P.

Make me an offer...and I'm going to Stoneleigh on Sunday if that helps.

http://www.diyautotune.com/catalog/bosch-bip373-coil-driver-mod-kit-p-230.html

This is what I have x4

[Edited on 28/4/11 by jeffw]

daxtojeiro - 28/4/11 at 08:03 PM

quote:
Originally posted by MkIndy7
Afternoon, all

Does anybody know of a Uk supplier of the Bosch BIP373 Coil drivers?, they seem very hard to find anywhere other than from the States and I'm wanting to get things up and running asap.

Finally got the new Duratec running by wireing up an EDIS in limp home mode so I could concentrate on only the fueling as althought it was sparking when connected to the MS it often sempt erratic and weak and i'd never really trusted it was doing what it said it was.

Started pretty much first time with a fueling level etc i'd used before so i'm betting its the coil drivers, so if I can get hold of some i'm going to replace them and if that doesnt cure things i'll be looking to downgrade it to running the EDIS.

So if anybody knows of a UK supplier or where I can get hold of them sharpish, or as a backup how to downgrade the MS to running the EDIS anyhelp would be most appreciated.

Cheers, Ian


Its highly unlikely to be the spark drivers. Even the old VPs didnt cause a weak spark, they simply stopped working after melting! I've sold hundreds of MSs with the BIPs and never had a failure (apart from one that a mate managed to get wet)

Id look into dwell settings, wiring, ground points, etc, first. Could be noise related if its erratic.

Phil

MkIndy7 - 28/4/11 at 08:32 PM

Well I now know my dwell times were up at 6ms, and it always ran the Pinto engine... (while it was like this my Mechanic friend put his fancy snap-on timing light on it and said the spark timing was all over the place)
But while doing lots of searching for these replacement drivers i've finally found some sample values that it should be about 2ms!.
I know in the megasquirt manuals etc it says to reduce it after the car starts etc but as it worked and came set like that i'd obviousley overlooked it.

So are the coil drivers now likely to be damaged? or if I re-conect it all up and put a lower dwell angle in, is it likely to still work and run ok?.

The MS is currently running the fueling ok, while an EDIS is running the sparks in limp home mode so would that indicate that it is ok and is not suffering from noise? (the last time this MS was suspected to be suffering from noise the coil driver was replaced when it was sent back for repair)

P.S its not the BIP373's that its blown it has 1 older VP and one something else in it.

daxtojeiro - 28/4/11 at 08:56 PM

The Ford coils should run at 3.6mS dwell time. They should be fine running at 6.0 for a while, especially if they still fire the coils, although upgrading them to the BIPs isnt a bad idea. But I dont think they will cure your problem.

My gut feeling is its noise causing the irratic timing. When the MS fires the coils it can generate a lot of noise if the wiring isn't grounded correctly.
Try it with the dwell set correctly, if its still the same then have a read of these files:

http://www.extraefi.co.uk/wiring_basics.html

http://www.extraefi.co.uk/resets.htm

Phil

MkIndy7 - 28/4/11 at 09:09 PM

Cheers Phil, they will have been running at 6ms for the last 2 years i'm betting! although a slight saving grace for them is the coil is only live when the fuel pump is running.

Will try putting the ignition back to being run by the MS and reduce the dwell times down and see what I get, as said i'd still prefer to get some BIP's for the safety margin. It did seem like 1 side of the coil pack was weaker sparking or less reliable compared to the other which was why I was suspecting the coil drivers

Strangely on the Duratec CPS the wires on the original Ford loom are just a twisted pair, so i've kept the original shielded wire from the pinto setup and joined to the Duratec CPS plug as close as possible. They do shield the coil pack plug wires tho, so again i've kept the shielded wires and jointed them as close as possible to the MS.

Can always have a good look at the trigger logger and get a screen cap tomorrow,

Thanks again, Ian

jeffw - 29/4/11 at 06:11 AM

So, did you want my BIP373s or not ?

MkIndy7 - 29/4/11 at 02:04 PM

quote:
Originally posted by jeffw
So, did you want my BIP373s or not ?


Sorry I didn't mean to appear ungrateful, As the post will be alover the place this weekend and i'm not going to Stoneleigh I was just waiting to see what other options there were out there. (will PM you with an offer for them)


But on a brighter note, and god knows whats any different!
Wired everything back into the MS and it starts and runs sweet as! just wish I had the clutch pipe back so I could drive it out of the garage n get on with things

I've checked the coil dwell settings and its only a 6ms starting dwell and then 3.6ms.. should I be trying to reduce these any further or are they ok?
Will have to try and borrow that timing light again now and check its doing what its supposed to again just for my own piece of mind.

ed1801 - 29/4/11 at 06:55 PM

Hmmm... did you accidentally fix a poor ground or connection when you reassembled?

daxtojeiro - 30/4/11 at 02:43 PM

quote:
Originally posted by ed1801
Hmmm... did you accidentally fix a poor ground or connection when you reassembled?

Seems like thats exactly what's happened.

Glad you got it running, didn't think it would be the drivers, Id leave well alone now, just ensure those grounds are good,
Phil

MkIndy7 - 30/4/11 at 03:16 PM

I'm not sure really, the only Megasquirt connection I altered to Add the EDIS in was to tap into the Crank Position Sencor and I'd already tried that both ways round and either way it always showed strong and steady on the laptop and Rev counter.

I'd definitely seen it where one side of the coil pack plug was getting a nice 12v as you cranked the engine and the other side showed nothing hence me thinking it was maybe a coil driver. Just nipping out for another Jerry Can of fuel so I can run it again, fingers crossed it's cured anyway!

tamtom - 6/5/11 at 10:32 PM

quote:
Originally posted by jeffw
So, did you want my BIP373s or not ?

Hi Jeff,
how much do you want for them posted or can collect if local, im in se london and occasionally go brands hatch if any good?
otherwise pay pal?
thanks,
Tam.