Whilst wiring in the Megajolt I was about to chop out the wiring to the original spark unit, dizzy and coil when I had a thought about retaining the distributor based ignition.

I could:

Remove and flog off the electronic dizzy, leads, spark module, single coil and associated LT wiring that make up the original ignition. Then install simple point to point wiring for the Megajolt (& fit a chopped down dizzy base for the pinto's oil pump) Or

Remove the dizzy, leads and single coil, leave the LT wiring for them intact but tucked out of the way. Or

Keep the original ignition intact with the HT leads from the dizzy tied out of the way so it can be brought back into service by swapping the leads and flicking a changeover switch.

The coilpack sits on a bracket off the rear of the cylinder head so there's no need for me to fit it where the dizzy would normally go. It wont make any difference to the amount of work or cost and just a few ounces weight difference to go for the full parallel system failsafe.

My only hesitation is that I haven't seen many others doing this and wonder if there's a reason why ?

Whats the consensus ?

Megajolt instal already has failsafe as EDIS provides 12 degree limp home on its own if Megajolt fails
What engine? If Pinto dizzy provides oil pump drive

I seem to remember the fail safe timing for the EDIS will be 10 deg rather than 12 I think?

^^^ what they said

the EDIS4 has a built in 'limp home mode' (although I thought it was 10° fixed...) its the one major advantage of using MJ + EDIS instead of the fancy modern all-in-one units

you can try this mode by just unplugging the MJ ecu, in fact most folk recommend getting the engine running on the EDIS alone before even fitting the MJ
(that way you know all the basics are working before you add the fancy bits )


a cut down dizzy to to drive the oil pump is all you need

[Edited on 28/1/2014 by mcerd1]

If you're worried just carry a spare EDIS unit.

My thinking was mainly to guard against coilpack failure. Ive experienced two coilpacks go down suddenly in the last few years both on relatively low mileage cars whilst the only isue Ive had with single coil systems is a gradual loss of spark efficiency, never failure. I drove cars with single ignition coils for many more years, for many more miles so feel I can trust them more. (Mind you they were both VW group cars so not sure if that says more about the brand than the technology)

^^ not heard of many coil pack failures with the ford ones of either type (early or late)

and from my own experience I just sold my focus tin-top at 136K and nearly 14 years old with what I'm pretty sure was its original one from the factory still working perfectly


but nothing says you can't carry a spare one if you like - they are fairly cheap too



[Edited on 28/1/2014 by mcerd1]

quote:

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Originally posted by Not Anumber
My thinking was mainly to guard against coilpack failure. Ive experienced two coilpacks go down suddenly in the last few years both on relatively low mileage cars whilst the only isue Ive had with single coil systems is a gradual loss of spark efficiency, never failure. I drove cars with single ignition coils for many more years, for many more miles so feel I can trust them more. (Mind you they were both VW group cars so not sure if that says more about the brand than the technology)

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Majority decision 10 degrees it is

quote:

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Originally posted by snapper
Majority decision 10 degrees it is

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Thanks guys I'lll strip out the old dizzy based setup as soon as it stops raining long enough to get it running on the Mj and Edis.

no need to strip out the dizzy untill your ready

get the trigger wheel and VR sensor mounted and working etc...

then just disconnect the wires to the dizzy to while you get the rest of it wired in
(that way you've got it as a fall back if the weather turns too good to resist while your half way though the swap)

then once your up and running on the EDIS / MJ you can start and strip out the old dizzy (assuming you've got something else to drive the oil pump)



have you got any base maps for your pinto yet ?

if not I've collected a few you can have a copy of

[Edited on 29/1/2014 by mcerd1]

That would be great if you could share those base pinto maps. I have sent my email address.

The trigger wheel and VR sensor are in the right places, the coilpack and Edis have been bolted in so just waiting or a break in the rain to run some temporary wiring to try it out.

[Edited on 29/1/2014 by Not Anumber]

Thanks for the maps Robert.

Removing the old ignition system allowed neater and simpler point to point wiring.

It started 1st time on the Edis on test and ran well on the Megajolt just with a default map, already it's much smoother to drive than with the distributor.

If the weather is kind this evening I will plug in the laptop and try loading ad tinkering with maps. For accuracy I should also check the trigger wheel/ sensor alignment to see if it needs any offset, any tips on doing this ?

nice one

whats your plans for the dizzy / oil pump drive ?

are you going for the cut down dizzy with the coil pack mounted on top or something like this:

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y170/mcerd1/Dax/DSCF1936.jpg


http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y170/mcerd1/Dax/DSCF1937.jpg


I'd like to say I made that on the lathe - but I actually got it as a strait swap for a couple of old dead dizzy's

[Edited on 4/2/2014 by mcerd1]

That looks good.

Id already mounted the coil at the back of the head so got a pal with a lathe to cut off an old distributor body just above the bearing, then cut the central shaft level and made a plastic cap to fit over it. It does the job, but yours looks neater.