Cheap DIY Electronic Ignition

Tiesco

Tiesco

XS650 Addict
Messages
363
Reaction score
723
Points
93
Location
Sodus, New York
Before I begin I would like to direct you to this thread. ( https://xs650temp.proboards.com/thread/7899/19-junkyard-electronic-ignition ) It's pretty straight forward and Mr. Riggs knows much more than I. Please correct any misinformation that I spread. I'm still learning as I go along. I plan on just condensing the information to the best of my understanding(which isn't all that much) and making it a bit easier to find. I'm no expert I just want to share this information seeing as I haven't seen all that many people showcasing this setup. I hope these threads are useful to you.

I have been planning on putting an electronic ignition on my 77 since I bought it. I was having trouble finding a new set of points and the ones I had were badly worn. I started looking around for electronic ignitions and came across this thread. Mr. Riggs used the pickup and reluctor out a Toyota 22R motor from the 80s. Here's a part of Mr Riggs setup.
12.jpg
toyota ign.jpg


I found my parts our of a 1985 Isuzu pickup truck. There really isn't that much of a difference.
20200416_161859.jpg

20200416_155948.jpg

It easily fits up against the points plate but you'll have to grind off the little pins off.
20200417_165255.jpg

There will be more to follow.
 

Attachments

  • 20200416_154453.jpg
    20200416_154453.jpg
    187.6 KB · Views: 194
Last edited:
As far as I know, a hall effect sensor isn't all that much different from an electric guitar pickup. Something passes over the magnetic field produced by the pickup, disrupting it, and sending a signal. Think of the reluctor as the guitar strings I guess (the thing that disrupts the field).

Now what comes next is an ignition module. Most people use a GM HEI ignition module
hei.jpg


The distributor that I grabbed had an ignition module in it so I saved a few bucks by not having to buy one
20200416_170542.jpg
The B and C stand for Battery and Coil.

I did a search on the part number and came across this website which may or may not be of use to some of you.

https://www.asia-traffic.com.tw/en/product/Ignition-Module_ASM-1009.html
 
Last edited:
Next is a coil. I used one off of a 1981 cb750 and spare plug wires I had laying around for my truck.
20200416_114825.jpg

Mr. Riggs used a coil that a vast majority of GM cars used. If you walk around a junkyard they can easily be spotted
gm coil2.jpg

I didn't understand the purpose of using this but his logic was "it's big, powerful, and common"

Here's a diagram for putting this all together
ignition circuit.gif
 
The reluctor on both mine and Mr. Riggs had to be slid further down the shaft. I used a 14mm socket and just tapped it down further. I didn't take any pictures of this but here's Mr. Riggs
reluctor.jpg reluctor 2.jpg

I squared it off in the lathe. The ID of the reluctor , measured the same as the part of the shaft that the breaker cam mounts to (7.95mm). I just took some same paper and WD40 and bored out the ID to 8.03mm which is what the breaker cam measured. Then I cut the tip off the reluctor. A little bit of filing here and there and it all kinda fits right on.
20200417_192259.jpg
20200417_203308.jpg

The two arms need to be ground off in this picture still.
 
Last edited:
I had the top end aprt at the time so I tested it on the bench by just hooking a battery to the system
20200418_122634.jpg


Here's a video of it working on the bench. I probably played with it longer than I should have lol. It was pretty cool to watch.

To time it, I set the timing mark to the full advance on the crank and held weights all the open and lined one of the reluctor arms with the pickup and tightened it down. It started right up no problem and then I checked the timing with a timing light and messed with it until I got it where I wanted.

I actually tried setting the timing both ways. First on the advance mark fully advanced and another time on the F mark fully retarded and both times I noticed that the timing ended up being retarded the same amount when I checked it with the timing light. I guess the reason for setting the timing at the full advance position is so that the small amount of free play that exists at the retard position is taken out of the equation and can help with more accurate static timing but it didn't make a difference to me.

And here's a video of it in action

I still have to safely relocate the ignition module so it's not just dangling but more on that when I get around to it.
 
Last edited:
:hijack:
Has anyone ever tried the Pertronix Ignitor point eliminator system on an XS?
I used this on a CB160 racer years ago and it worked really well. It was the Volvo kit I think.
The motor is a similar config to the xs; points on the cam, 360 crank.
 
Here's what I've come up with so that I'm satisfied with it.
20200429_181733.jpg

My only problem is that the housing makes contact with the pickup. Does anyone know if there's some sort of extended housing available?
 
xjwmx said:
on the same site, from a long time ago, is the orignal pamco experiment using a baby food jar lid. i've never understood why people don't make those since it's low cost and about as simple as it can be
Click to expand...

I would like to read that thread if it can be found.
 
Steve C said:
:hijack:
Has anyone ever tried the Pertronix Ignitor point eliminator system on an XS?
I used this on a CB160 racer years ago and it worked really well. It was the Volvo kit I think.
The motor is a similar config to the xs; points on the cam, 360 crank.
Click to expand...

If this pickup shits the bed then I'll give it a try. I imagine there's someone else using it
 
Tiesco said:
Next is a coil. I used one off of a 1981 cb750 and spare plug wires I had laying around for my truck.
View attachment 165579

Mr. Riggs used a coil that a vast majority of GM cars used. If you walk around a junkyard they can easily be spotted
View attachment 165586
I didn't understand the purpose of using this but his logic was "it's big, powerful, and common"

Here's a diagram for putting this all together
View attachment 165587
Click to expand...
The purpose of the big coil is more energy to the plugs which will allow wider plug gaps than normal producing a more complete efficient combustion. With an HEI ignition plugs gaps of .050 to .065 plus are common without misfire issues. I posted a video of the HEI on a XS
on the forum in one of the ignition threads,look it up.
 
Last edited:
It reminded my of the ya mama pipes I had at one time. They sounded great at idle and chilling in the parking lot, but at 60 mph for an extended time and I couldn't hear anything for hours afterward.
 
Jack said:
The purpose of the big coil is more energy to the plugs which will allow wider plug gaps than normal producing a more complete efficient combustion. With an HEI ignition plugs gaps of .050 to .065 plus are common without misfire issues. I posted a video of the HEI on a XS
on the forum in one of the ignition threads,look it up.
Click to expand...

Gave it search and that seems mighty cool. I leaned towards a more conventional coil because I was concerned about the potential of running too hot on a long trip. I assume that you're more likely to burn a coil before you burn a hole in your pistons.

What plugs were you running in the video?

Id like to know the specs of the GM HEI vs the module that I am running. Mine is very small compared to the GM one but who knows if size actually matters in this case
 
Last edited:
That's not my video. As long as your ignition doesn't over advance you'll be fine,that an a good forged piston for insurance.
 
Bushyeyed1 said:
It reminded my of the ya mama pipes I had at one time. They sounded great at idle and chilling in the parking lot, but at 60 mph for an extended time and I couldn't hear anything for hours afterward.
Click to expand...

Eh. As long as the exhuast is behind me it doesn't bother me all that much. With just headers its right under me and gets annoying. Not to mention the bystanders it probably bothers.
 
What I will likely do next to this is machine a keyway in the reluctor so that it can't move. I am not to sue how to do that though...
 

Similar threads

R
My experience with the xs charge and XSCharge electronic advance ignitions
2
Replies
32
Views
2K
Flash1977
Flash1977
BluzPlayer
Wannabriden's D Port Re-Port
7 8 9
Replies
161
Views
11K
BluzPlayer
BluzPlayer
L
Installing A Tri-Spark Ignition System
Replies
4
Views
2K
LTGTR
L
scott s
Other ignition options
2 3 4
Replies
72
Views
10K
Beags64
B
bobstraps
Crusty n Rusty
Replies
8
Views
1K
bobstraps
bobstraps
Back
Top