(IGNITION) Newbie method for testing ignitors
 

OK, so you've got a pocket full of ignitors and don't know if they are any good. And you can't make sense of those ignitor testing procedures in Haynes and the FSM.

No problem, here's a simple reliable method for the complete idiot:

1. Warm up the car and listen closely to the engine idle.

2. With the engine idling, unplug the wiring harness to the leading ignitor (the easy one on the front side of dizzy). The idle should get rough without the leading plugs firing. Plug it back in and the idle should recover fully. Remember those sounds.

3. Now unscrew and remove the leading ignitor, mark it and set it aside, you know this is a good one.

4. With the engine running, plug an untested ignitor into the wiring harness, then plug it into the dizzy. As you push the ignitor up against the dizzy casing, the idle will recover fully if the ignitor is good. No change means the ignitor is bad, bend a pin over and/or discard.

5. Repeat the procedure with the rest of your ignitors, mark the good ones and screw one of these back onto the dizzy - don't forget the dielectric grease! Reconnect the harness, put the rest of the good ones back in your pocket - you're done!

Ray

Uhg, I wouldn't test ignitors that way.

lol....I'm thinking electric surge at the contacts might kill a few ignitors...God forbid if you still have a manual fan and get careless.


:cool:

pull the plugwire, put finger in socket, crank :D

Hey, it worked for me. Here's how to test your fan clutch:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oi7BANPkh-Y

Nice one Ray. I pulled that trick on a buddy of mine, and I thought he was going to have a heart attack! :D Good stuff!

I just about had a heart attack watching that vid! Good stuff, thanks for the rush...:p:


:cool:

When I test them, I install them with the engine off. Then I use a timing light to verify the signal. Ray, doing it the way you are doing it may get the job done but is not the safest way and could cause damage to the ignitor in the process. :-)

Ray, as long as you know the fan clutch works, that's fine. If I have a question about the fan on one that comes in the shop, I use a broom. Nice vid.

I'm trying for a bit of humor here guys, something to shed a little light on what is REALLY going on under the hood and at the same time give us a break from those miserably written shop manuals.

Trochoid, yes you are absolutely right, use a broom, not your fingers, to test the fan clutch the first time. Which is of course what I did before making my movie. (I'm not real bright, but I'm not real stupid either).

And Doc, I hear you, the "install it and test it with the light" method is the best Mazda-approved method. But since I'm not getting paid by the hour, I decided to find (or rather accidentally discovered) a short cut to test my pocket full of ignitors. It took me about 10 minutes to go through the batch and it was kind of fun, so I thought I'd share it with y'all.

My "test 'em with the engine running" method does require a minimum of common sense (fingers out of the fan; don't touch the high voltage side of the dizzy, etc). But like I said, it worked for me, no high voltage jolts, no damage to the ignitors and I still have ten fingers. And I now know which of my ignitors are good and which are bad.

Also I think there are some real advantages to the Newbie method:

1) So simple, even a Newbie can do it.

2) It is absolutely 100% reliable (in fact the Newbie method showed that one of my ignitors that failed the Hayne's procedure works perfectly fine - go figure).

3) It quickly found the one bad ignitor in my batch, which was damaged a few weeks ago when water collected in the boot.

4) It's different, which appeals to my scientific curiosity.

5) Working on the fan and dizzy with the engine running presents certain possibilities for misadventure, however it also provides a much more instructive laboratory for the rotor head, whether Newbie or seasoned mechanic.

Come on guys, have a little fun, stick your finger in the fan and mess with your dizzy while the engine is running!

Ray

wasnt there a thread in the lounge a little while back of a guy who stuck his finger in the fan? it had some gruesome pics

I remember it...but it wasn't a stock fan, it was a freakin' stock Taurus electric fan!:eek:

Ray, I got your humor....maybe you can start a side job...we send all of our ignitors to you to test with a one-day turnaround and then you DO get paid by the hour for testing...:rlaugh:


:cool:

Yeah that guy should'a used a broom.

Send me your ignitors! I promise not to keep the good ones and send back the bad ones.

Hey, did you guys see this?

What happens when you forget to put your distributor cap back on:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kwKlbX0DSRk

that dosnt work for all people ray.

once i forgot to put the coil leads on and my buddy cranked the motor man did i get a fright when 6" blue sparks flew near my hand.

Only if you have some kind of direct fire set up. I'm using the 2nd gen installation, simple and works great:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n3Va3xwWzVQ

Wow, looks like you have been busy out there in Jefferson. Rotorhead and part-time movie producer.

See you Tuesday.