electronic ignition

[ampwhu]

i checked this out today. this is how i think it works. can someone tell me if this is correct. red to + and black/blue to -.







i compared 2 old dizzy's i found in my workshop. the one on the left is a 25D and the one on the right (with points ect) is a DM2. can someone tell me what the difference is and which one would have been fitted to the 948cc engine originally.



thanks

[bmcecosse]

25 D - make sure the vacuum advance is working - otherwise throw it away and buy a new 45D from SimonBBC. At £25 or so brand new (check his shop on ebay) they are unbeatable value. I don't trust/bother with ghastly electronic ignition - but it's up to you. There certainly is no performance advantage on the basic A series engine.

[billlobban]

I believe that is in fact eletronic ignition kit from SimonBBC http://www.simonbbc.com/index.php?main_page=page&id=1
Look this up for instructions
Black to negative (becomes blue at the junction)
Red to Positive

[bmcecosse]

If the vacuum isn't working - the dizzy isn't worth fixing........ And the 45D is a much better dizzy (and a lot cheaper than the 25D he sells) - but that kit of course won't fit it!

[ampwhu]

how will i know if the vaccum is working or not?

the one currently on my car (not either of these dizzy's), works i suppose as i have no problems. surely i can just transfer this over?

the reason i want to change to electric, is fit and forget.

[ampwhu]

25 D - make sure the vacuum advance is working - otherwise throw it away and buy a new 45D from SimonBBC. At £25 or so brand new (check his shop on ebay) they are unbeatable value. I don't trust/bother with ghastly electronic ignition - but it's up to you. There certainly is no performance advantage on the basic A series engine.

i have looked and there's no chance he's selling them at £25 new. they are more like £55-60. out of my price range.

[PSL184]

45D's at £28.99.....
http://www.simonbbc.com/distributors/4- ... tor-morris

[bmcecosse]

And they were only ~£25 on his ebay listing a week or so ago....... To test vacuum - suck and see if the baseplate moves. If not - throw away! Yes - you can swap them between similar models (but a 25 vac won't fit a 45 dizzy) - not sure about the ancient DM2 - but I suggest at that age - it will be a miracle if the vac still works! Just because your engine ran doesn't mean the vac unit is ok.

[Declan_Burns]

Seems to be sold out at the moment.
Regards
Declan

[ampwhu]

45D's at £28.99.....
http://www.simonbbc.com/distributors/4- ... tor-morris

thats a points dizzy though. i want to change to electronic.

whats the difference between a 25D and a 45D though?

[Alec]

Hello Ampwhu,

the 45 is more modern and like all changes, little from the earlier design fits. Are you aware that the designation is only a type number? The critical number that gives the specification detail is stamped on the distributor body, e.g. 40975, just because the original is a 25D it doesn't mean that you can fit any 25D distributor and expect it to work correctly as there are dozens if not hundreds of variations.

Like BMCE I see little if any benefit in fitting electronic ignition modules.

Alec

[billlobban]

Before you go any further why dont you check to see if youve got any dizzies with a working vac advance. If the 25D (converted to electronic) has a working vac advance then use it. If the one on the car (presumably its a 24D as well) has a working vac then swap your electronic kit to it - no point buying anything if you dont have to

[ampwhu]

Hello Ampwhu,

the 45 is more modern and like all changes, little from the earlier design fits. Are you aware that the designation is only a type number? The critical number that gives the specification detail is stamped on the distributor body, e.g. 40975, just because the original is a 25D it doesn't mean that you can fit any 25D distributor and expect it to work correctly as there are dozens if not hundreds of variations.

Like BMCE I see little if any benefit in fitting electronic ignition modules.

Alec

i will unfortunatly be unable to change points etc in the future. the electronic system will be the solution thats best suited to me. i've been told by owners of A series cars, that once they are fitted, thats it. that sounds good to me and at my age, thats a welcome sight.

[ampwhu]

Before you go any further why dont you check to see if youve got any dizzies with a working vac advance. If the 25D (converted to electronic) has a working vac advance then use it. If the one on the car (presumably its a 24D as well) has a working vac then swap your electronic kit to it - no point buying anything if you dont have to

thats good advice. i have all the goods to do the job, i was just working out how it went together on a spare dizzy whilst in the workshop. the one on the car at present, looks like the 25D i have as a spare. the other one, the DM2, has appeared from somewhere??? i shall fit the electronic to the one thats currently in the car.

the car has an 803 in it at present, but i'm fitting a 948 in instead. i want to fit the electronic when i fit the 948. fit and forget if you like.



i presume the 25D will fit my new engine?

[dalebrignall]

i had a magnitronic system fitted to my car its great fit and forget .

[bmcecosse]

Yes - the dizzy will fit. Problem with electronic ignition is that it may fail on a dark/rainswept night - and absolutely no way of trouble shooting it. SimonBBC sells electronic versions - and kits to convert. But - each to their own! I just didn't want you to spend money on a dizzy with a failed vacuum unit - when a replacement vac unit costs pretty much the same as a complete new dizzy from Simon!

[ampwhu]

Yes - the dizzy will fit. Problem with electronic ignition is that it may fail on a dark/rainswept night - and absolutely no way of trouble shooting it. SimonBBC sells electronic versions - and kits to convert. But - each to their own! I just didn't want you to spend money on a dizzy with a failed vacuum unit - when a replacement vac unit costs pretty much the same as a complete new dizzy from Simon!

thanks for the concearn. i've enough bits to make a good one. as i said, the dizzy on the car works fine with the vaccum at present. it's in good nic to be fair. as i said, i'll be using the dizzy on the car and fitting the module to it. i'll also carry a spare dizzy with points in, in the boot just in case. but from several people have told me, fit and forget.

[bmcecosse]

As long as you have checked the vacuum unit on your dizzy is working properly - because it makes quite a difference to performance and economy.

[Alec]

Hello Ampwhu,

you say "but from several people have told me, fit and forget."

By chance I happened on this web page this morning. Note the penultimate sentence of his article. http://www.canleyclassics.com/?xhtml=xh ... 4135981287

This gentleman has many years in the trade working on classic cars.

Alec

[ampwhu]

i purchased mine from watford classics. they are a mg midget supplier. upon buying it (along with 3 other people) i asked about the product i was buying. i told him not to fill my head with flannel. he told me he'd sold around 1000 pieces and he'd had 3 returned. he suspected that out of the 3 returned, the chances were that they'd been installed wrong. meaning that they'd been wired the wrong way around, rendering them useless. he also stated that if i had any problems, i could return for a full refund. but he told me that this case would be unlikely.

time will tell. but if you don't try these things, then you'll never know.