[AT] conventional or electronic ignition

[Cecil Bearden]

One of my small forklifts needs spark plugs about every 30 days.  It always 
starts missing.  It is still a 6 volt system.  It starts great, but just 
fouls plugs even though it does not burn oil...  Should I put in a 12 volt 
system with a 12v coil or is there another trick??

Cecil in OKla


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Ken Knierim" <ken.knierim at gmail.com>
To: "Antique tractor email discussion group" <at at lists.antique-tractor.com>
Sent: Tuesday, June 13, 2006 3:41 PM
Subject: Re: [AT] conventional or electronic ignition


>
> I've had one failure on an HEI... somewhere around 270Kmiles on that
> unit, the wire broke off where it comes out of the magnetic pickup
> (just like someone else mentioned).
>
> I've always worried about having a module die so I keep a spare in my
> toolbox (been there something like 20 years), and now I've got a spare
> magnetic pickup in the shop. I usually inspect it when I have it open
> to replace the cap and rotor. If you don't keep those maintained, you
> can get arcing through the rotor. If you haven't also maintained the
> nylon bushings on the centrifugal advance weights, it'll wear down the
> pivot points too.
>
> My brother put a V8 HEI on the distributor tester (with a power
> supply) in high school auto shop and cranked it up. He had used solder
> to connect the tower terminals together and set up an impromptu spark
> gap to give the energy someplace to go. It melted the solder wire back
> until it got to almost 3/4 of an inch before the spark found someplace
> else to go... and it had a VERY respectable amount of fire and arc
> from it. The breaker point unit in the same test just didn't come
> close.
>
> All-in-all, it's a big improvement over the breaker points, IMHO. Less
> maintenance (NOT "Zero maintenance"!) and more consistent ignition.
> Not great for engine speeds over 4000 RPM, but I don't run there a lot
> anymore. And you can get parts for them most places.
>
> After all, everything breaks, given enough time. I'm certainly broke
> most of the time. :)
>
> Ken in AZ
>
> On 6/13/06, Ralph Goff <alfg at sasktel.net> wrote:
>> I've heard of several local failures that left the person walking. One 
>> was
>> my brother in a 79 Chev pickup that just quit one winter night on the way
>> home. Had to be towed. The other was a friend last fall. 1980 GMC. Lucky 
>> he
>> had a cell phone to call for help in the dark on an un travelled road. 
>> True,
>> it was a 25 year old ignition system but it gave no warning, just quit 
>> like
>> that.
>>
>> Ralph in Sask.
>
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> Remembering Our Friend Cecil Monson 11-4-2005
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