New electronic ignition kit for £21

[DanRodd]

Hi all,im shortly going to be picking up a simonbbc:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/POWERMAX-electron ... 1c0f1d37c0

leccy ignition kit for my Minor (25d dizzy)
I had a lumenition kit to go on it that was bought years ago,and it doesnt fit,mainly the black ring doesnt go on down enough to get the cap on!

Anyway ive had these other kits(asides from being much,much cheaper than most kits available) on various Reliants over the last couple of years,and they are fantastic,totally reliable,prob done around 20,000 miles with them.
I know some will say points are fine,and in most case they are,but once one of these is fitted you would be amazed how much you can retard the ignition because with points there is so much wear,play and innacuracies that have to be accounted for when setting the timing.

It results in instant starting,sparkling acceleration and better performance,and more fuel economy.
No,i dont work for him or anything like that,but would like to reccomend the kits.i shall be trialling it in my minor,the first time ive had a leccy kit in one,and will report back.

Dan

[billlobban]

Dan I would be absolutely amazed to find that this simple kit improves economy by up to 17% when compared to an accurately set up set of points - is it really that good

[bmcecosse]

It can't possibly improve economy by anything like that amount! I don't believe it will increase spark intensity in the slightest - it's not a proper 'Electronic Ignition' in that sense - it's just a points replacement kit - and fine if that's what you want.
Can't see any advantage in being able to 'retard' the ignition timing - but in fact - this is part of the installation process, because the module is not in the same place as the points - you are not actually 'retarding' the timing - just repositioning the dizzy. Note the warning about jump starting - and high charge voltage!! I'll just be sticking to good old reliable points!

[aupickup]

my morris starts instantly on the key, i get good fuel economy and the 1098 is quite spritely

oh forgot to say i have points

[eastona]

OK, I have recent experience of this, in reverse! I had a lumenition kit fitted, I also had one on my midget a few years ago.

Recently the one on my minor failed, presumably with a short to earth, it fried the cable to the coil and the unit in the dizzy went up in a large plume of acrid smoke. I had to revert to points (in a pinstriped suit on a garage forecourt on the way to work ). The main draw for me to lumenition originally was fewer points to fit/clean/adjust.

I haven't noticed much difference if any in the fuel consumption, starting etc. going either way. When reverting to points power was down at first, but once the points were gapped properly and timing nearly correct (it still needs retarding a smidgen) I really can't tell the difference.

You're right BMC in fitting it I had to "retard" (i.e. swing the distributor) quite a bit which I put down to the difference in position of the unit/sender and points/lobes. In real terms I was putting it back to what it was before the switchover.

You can (truly) retard the ignition with either system, and you'd get the same result.

I'd love (if I had time, money and nothing else to do) to dyno the engine before and after, as I don't think my "seat of the pants" is good enough to tell the difference. It still starts first time.

Not sure I'll go back to electronic ignition. I'll just put up with gapping points!

A 17% increase for me would be from 40(the lower end of my economy figures) up to 47(ish) mpg or 45(the higher end of my economy figures) to 53(ish) which is astonishing/miraculous (depending on your religious persuasion )

Andrew

[GeorgeHurst]

Has anyone any experience of 123 dizzys? The Lumenition etc kits seem a sort of half measure between points and fully electronic, just my 2 pence, no preference for either (though I do still use points)

[DanRodd]

can i just say a few things based on my own experience of using these kits,albeit on Reliants but they still have an SU carb and 45d dizzy.
These are not in the same league as lumenition,in my opinion and from what ive read on here,they are very poorly made,expensive for what they are and unreliable.

The kit ive just bought and collected replaces points and condensor,condensors that are about these days are awful and are either dead out the packet or last a few hundred miles.modern points have a soft plastic heel which wears away much more quickly than the old teflon ones and close up/burn.

Having fitted about 10 kits to my various Reliants(before you ask,thats only 1 each )
it is very easy to detect a difference due to the smaller engine and power,any improvement is much more detectable than on a large car.
I always had Lucas points ands a good condensor prior to fitting one,and set to the right gap.
After fitting the kit i would get instant starting(Reliants are not as good as Minors in this respect in standard form)
Tickover was vastly improved,and pulling away was much smoother and more consistent.
I DID have increased acceleration and economy on all the cars ive fitted them to,hence why its a very common mod with Reliant owners.
It also takes into account wear in the dizzy,as it does not require a set of points to open and close in the right place.
By retarding the timing,i meant i could utilise the dizzys performance to the fullest by not having a pair of innacurate points getting in the way of things.

I have in 20k miles of motorway and town driving never had a moments trouble,and thats on 10 kits.
I will fit it tomorrow and report back on wether it has improved the Minor.It may be that there is no difference other than not having to keep checking and cleaning the points,but i suspect it will improve it.
If you want to stick to points thats fine,my mog is my only transport and i average around 900ish miles a month in it so want everything to work at its best and most economical.

[aupickup]

i do around 1200 miles a month in my moggie and i will at the moment stick with points, all the time i have new old stock supplies

[aupickup]

where do you get the £21.00 bit on my computer it says £26.00

[DanRodd]

thats with an uprated rotor arm,the standard kit is £21.

[moggyadventurer]

Hi,
Very interesting. Let me know how it goes - try fixing it when cold and see if you get an improved start from cold.
In all fairness to simonbbc, he supplies bull motif and is a decent sort.

[DanRodd]

in my personal view based on Reliants,four and three wheeled,they are fantastic and the claims are justified.
I will be fitting it tonight then slipping the dizzy in tomorrow morning.i will report back with what happens.

[eastona]

I do similar miles to aupickup Dan, I think all 3 of us do quite a reasonable amount, it's good to drive them, that's what they're there for! Maybe Reliants are picky about ignition with them being a V6 with a single set of points? Don't know as I've never had one. Mind you, 24 mpg (is that reasonable for a Scimitar?) to 28mpg is a 17% improvement, so maybe it's more noticeable on those? I'd be interested to know if it does make such a difference to the Morris.

Even if lumenition are poor quality (I'm saying nothing after my experience! ) you'd expect their performance to be not that dissimilar to this kit.

Let us know how you get on. Do you have current "unfettled" mpg figures to compare it to?

Andrew

[LordAnthony]

I've had a Simonbbc kit fitted for months and have been really pleased with it. I haven't been keeping an eye on fuel consumption or anything like that but it's one less thing to think about when servicing. The car starts straight away even on the coldest days. Except when I forget to turn the key first before pulling the starter, which has been known.

[DanRodd]

The reliants i mention are proper ones,Robins,Regals,Rialtos,Kittens and Foxes
I upped my average mpg on my last one from 60mpg on a run to 65mpg.

[eastona]

I upped my average mpg on my last one from 60mpg on a run to 65mpg.

wowsers, 65mpg, that's impressive. I'd be over the moon with that!

Very surprised too, as generally mine is driven in a "spirited" fashion although I'm treating it gently at the mo, it's my only car.

Andrew

[DanRodd]

later Reliant 3 wheelers can achieve a lot more than that,i think the highest in an economy run was 103mpg from a standard 700c Regal saloon.
Anyway ive fitted the lovely kit to the dizzy and shall try it tomorrow

[StaffsMoggie]

I have had a few bad experiences with electronic ignition kits so will always stay on points. As for Reliants, I have had a thing for them for years, they are great fun. I would love a Kitten but they never seem to turn up now.

[bmcecosse]

Uprated rotor arm ?? Wonder what that can be !

[DanRodd]

its made out of a better plastic and fits better on the rotor arm,unlike the utter rubbish that was sold to me from a Minor specialist,was rusty out the packet and shorted out.i know im not allowed to say who but there was a field full of cows next door,looking at a Minor bonnet badge

i would point out that its easy to critisicise something you havent tried,i always stuck to points before i started using these.Anyway im going to refit the dizzy now and see what its like