Ignition modification to get motor to run 8 degrees after Top Dead Center

[Farrah Day]

Not with you on this one Loner, how is the inlet valve open ATDC - would not by then the valve be closed?

Surely it is more likely to be open BTDC... but then perhaps there's something I'm missing here as I have no experience in this area.

Just an observation.

[Farrah Day]

I see what you mean, I was only thinking about the first TDC of the cycle.

To be honest, I'd never even heard of a 'waste' spark'.  I guess you only get this on small less sophisticated engines.

I take it that engines with distributors don't suffer from this problem.

[mscoffman]

100% Correct.  Distributors will never see this.  Most single output coil systems are immune, but there are exceptions.  Motorcycles usually have the problem, and almost all 1.5-16 HP small engines have it. 

This happens with magneto spark engines. The flywheel
is keyed directly to crankshaft. The magneto magnet
is directly inside the flywheel (or equiv). 

If the flywheel were geared to the crankshaft then
there would be no problem - but the flywheel is directly
on the crankshaft so you have this 2 to 1 spark problem.

Normal bigger engines do not use a magneto as they have
an alternator and a electronic or breaker-point ignitions
with an HV autotransfomer ignition coil.

A magneto is an alternator with a permanent magnet
field and so it is always on but is voltage unregulated.
Aircraft engines used to use magneto based ignitions a lot
as it was consider simpler and more reliable.

:S:MarkSCoffman

[Mark69]

Hello, I would not recommend a points type ignition system to be what you guys are working on.  Like Les said, parts are extremely hard to get and points wear too quickly, requiring scheduled adjustments.  Electronic ignition is the only way to go to be as accurate and adjustable as possible.  Talking about motorcycle ignitions is the place to start looking since a generator will have the same number of cylinders as a motorcycle, (1, 2 cylinders usually unless you have a big generator with 4 cylinders).  I am sure companies like Mallory and MSD are making performace ignition systems for motorcycles with adjustable advance controls.  Visit a performance motorcycle shop and talk with the mechanics, they will get you in the right direction or call up MSD or Mallory.  It would be worth it to spend more on buying a system already developed then trying to make a circuit unless you really know what you are doing.  Again, points is not where you want to go.  There is a reason they stopped putting them in cars.

Mark

[mscoffman]

@all

I think that running an existing Internal Combustion
Engine on pure HHO is an interesting and valid and useful
experiment. But I wouldn't want to attempt this long term
unless the engine was specifically designed for use with a pure hydrogen fuel.

---

What I would do for this hydrogen ignition is find
an engine that has room for a second ignition coil,
identical to first, located next to the flywheel at the
appropriate hydrogen angle. Maybe a bracket can
be made going from the original coil to support the
new one.

It should be possible to connect two standard automotive
ignition coils back to back with 20gauge wire and also
ground the minus terminals to the engine chassis.
Use the Imhotep Standard automobile coil that he used in
his Emergency Light. Then run the ignition coil of the
engine to the HV terminal of one automobile coil
and the engine sparkplug to the HV terminal of the other.
The engine should now be able to run stepping the
HV spark voltage down to about 12Volts LV then
stepping it back up in the other coil.

Once you have proved this works, one can use Low
Impedance (resistance) MOSFET transistors as
switches to control the Low Voltage terminals of
the automobile coils. It is much easier to switch
and control the low voltage circuit then it is
to control the HV one.

The reason this is good, is that you will not need an
independent power supply for either the electronics or
a CD ignition. Also, you will be able to test some of
this circuit without having to do any prior mechanical
modifications to the engine, which is how I like to work.
You will need a overall phase control signal like from the
the valves maybe magnetically derived, that can be used
to knock out the extra spark pulses. The LV power from
that extra spark pulses can be use to switch the mosfets.

:S:MarkSCoffman