Slow Day

[pamcopete]

Must have been a slow day. I set up the test rig to run the "Ultimate" coil (17-6903), an Autolite #63 spark plug and an Iridium spark plug in the test rig, powered by a 6 volt lantern battery. This to simulate a hard start condition with a low battery.

YouTube Video

The plug in the foreground is the Iridium, the plug in the background is an Autolite #63. I dimmed the lights so you can see the spark.

This is to demonstrate that one of the reasons you would buy the "Ultimate" coil is not just because it produces 82,000 Volts, but that it also produces a usable spark with just 6 volts, which means that it will also start easier under adverse conditions.

The occasional "miss" in the video is just the camera. The spark never actually missed.

Keep in mind that the stock TCI and other aftermarket electronic ignitions will not even work with less than 9 volts on the battery.

 

[pyrocentric]

Very interesting. After watching my voltage drop in bad situations I can certainly see the benefit. The iridiums always seem to fire in the exact same place too, I'd never noticed that when I was playing around with them.

I've always wondered about this...how do you trigger a continuous(or very rapid) spark like that. Are you rotating your regular ignition system manually? Built a custom circuit? What causes the coil to lose its ground and fire? Something I've wondered about ever since seeing those guys put spark plugs in their exhausts to make flame throwers.

 

[anysnail]

the same jagoff that sold me the coil that melted my TCI said that the iridium plugs are easy to break. something about, uh, hell i can't remember. i don't believe a word of what he said now. i am gonna buy your green monster setup, pete, but one question. without doing anything more than making my main jet a 135 and having great large holes throughout the exhaust would putting iridium plugs in make my engine any better or worse?

 

[pamcopete]

anysail,

Well, I was skeptical as well that any plug could make a difference, so I ran some road tests to check gas mileage, which is a good indicator of engine efficiency, and here are the results:

These numbers were obtained by riding the same 30 mile route, round trip 60 miles and returning to the same gas pump to fill up and figure the gas mileage.

The final run was done with the Iridium plug (BPR7EIX) and you can see that it is 4.5% better than the Autolite #63. The 17-6903 is the "Ultimate" coil.

Generally, better gas mileage means the engine is running more efficiently. Greater efficiency
is also the path to more horse power.

 

[pamcopete]

I've always wondered about this...how do you trigger a continuous(or very rapid) spark like that. Are you rotating your regular ignition system manually? Built a custom circuit? What causes the coil to lose its ground and fire? Something I've wondered about ever since seeing those guys put spark plugs in their exhausts to make flame throwers.

Well, the results of this demo wouldn't mean anything unless the PAMCO was firing the coil, so here is the test setup I used. In this video I am firing the "Green Monster" with the PAMCO being triggered in a lathe.

PAMCO driving the Green Monster coil

That's a 1" gap being jumped!

 

[bloodthirstysystem]

very nice pete..
what would happen with the Dual output performance Ignition Coil (pamco kit) with 6 volts powering it? any spark at all?

 

[pamcopete]

blood..........,

What is the part number of the coil you are referring to? I have done this test with the "Green Monster" 17-6810, and the basic coil 17-6822. The "Green Monster" produces a healthy output, but not as good as the 17-6903 "Ultimate" coil. The 17-6822 basic coil does produce an output with 6 volts, but it's very weak. Not sure it would actually run the engine, but it would be fine at, say, 8 Volts.

This is just to demonstrate another advantage to using a high output coil. It's not just about more HP or better gas mileage, but also easier starts, especially electric motor starts with a low battery or in the cold.

The PAMCO itself works all the way down to 3 volts, so the limiting factor is the coil.

 

[Lunatic]

Hey Pete, have you considered making replacement ignitions for other bikes? A friend has a 75 CB360T that is being a major pain in the ass and the problems have been mostly ignition related. We've been wishing there was a nice replacement unit available.

 

[bloodthirstysystem]

i was asking about the coil that comes with the $130 pamco kit, it doesn't show a part number for it. probably the 17-6822 you talk about.

with a kick only bike and a headlight with a toggle switch i figure the basic coil would be plenty

 

[pamcopete]

lunatic,

I have a project to develop ignition systems for several Honda models because their points system is either identical or similar.

When the systems become available, they will be presented on my other web site www.cb750ignition.com and www.cbignition.com

 

[Lunatic]

lunatic,

I have a project to develop ignitoin systems for several Honda models because their points system is either idenmtical or similar.

When the systems become available, they will be presented on my other web site www.cb750ignition.com and www.cbignition.com

Cool Pete! I'll keep an eye open for them. I hope the little CB's are on your list

 

[pyrocentric]

Okay, I imagined you were using your ignition in a drill or lathe. That one inch spark is amazing.

Apparently the flamethrower guys wire up a relay to make a buzzer circuit and add a condenser to suppress the arching inside the relay.

 

[anysnail]

i didn't realize until you said something that you had THREE different coil setups on mixesxs. the stock replacement, green monster, and ultimate. geeze now i have to make a decision. green or ultimate? hmmm...

 

[pamcopete]

i was asking about the coil that comes with the $130 pamco kit, it doesn't show a part number for it. probably the 17-6822 you talk about.

with a kick only bike and a headlight with a toggle switch i figure the basic coil would be plenty

Yes. I ran that coil in my '81/H for a few weeks last year and I thought it was a great coil. It produces 37,000 Volts which is almost 4 times the stock points coils 10,000 Volts.

Its higher primary resistance of 4.5 Ohms also means that it runs cooler and will probably last longer. That also means that it only draws about 1/2 the current of the other coils, so it's great for PM no battery systems or for getting home if your charging system craps out. You can run for 8 hours with the headlight off and the regulator unplugged just on the battery (if you catch the failure right away).

Having a kick start also means that your battery voltage does not drop when you start up so you will get more than enough voltage from the 17-6822 with a low battery or in the cold.

I have run all of the coils that Mike offers in either my '81/H or '78/E, so my comments are not just about the test setup. I ride every day and I have installed all the coils, plugs, and wires to test under actual riding conditions.

 

[marvintheminnow]

nice big blue spark! hopefully in my future soon.

btw i dropped the parts of at the post office this evening, should be there thursday or friday.