Using GM Igniters
 

Hey folks,
I was just watching a video of a guy rebuilding a 13B and he mentioned that you can use GM igniters in a first gen. In fact he said that it would give you .4 volts more power to the coil and result in a slightly hotter spark. The process is supposed to be quite easy, only a slight re-wire. The next result is that you can use a $15 igniter instead of a $150.

So, what have you heard?
Do you know how to do this?
Do you know the part number for the GM igniter to be used?

Thanks for your time!

You can use other ignitors but I don't think any of them will mount on the distributor so you need a heatsink of some sort. We used Bosch ignitors on a friends car and they worked well.

Great Revhead, can you tell me more about the need for a heatsink?

I have my 2 of the stock ignitors screwed into a piece of sheet aluminum that is in turn screwed into the inner fender. Actually it is a piece of a house 'for sale' sign. I drove out across the desert to Sevenstock in 100 degree heat for 5 hours and didnt have any ignitors overheat. The heat transferred into the fender was apparently enough.

they do work, and they saved me about $250Canadian ...... I used them after my tach.. then car went dead thanks to the stock one failing.

I dont know if its due to the GM unit .. but ever since having it put in the tach needle bounces between 900-1500RPM at idle when theres a heavy current draw (headlights, rear defroster, fan, driving lamps) all on.

It had no effect (negative or positive) on performance so the tach thing is more than liveable considering the money it saved.

I'd like to see a DLIDFS system that uses the GM HEI ignitors.

Here's what the HEI module looks like:

http://dimequarterly.tierranet.com/a...s/tech_hei.gif

W - Connects to the positive lead at the distributor.
G - Connects to the negative lead at the distributor.
C - Connects to the negative side of the coil.
B - Connects to the positive side of the coil.


Does anyone know which mag pickup connector on the distributor is positive and which is negative? Knowing that bit of info and by following jeff20b's DLIDFIS wiring diagram it should be a snap to construct. Thoughts anyone?

GM HEI modules are known to be crap! Why put that in your car? I carry a spare in my GMC van cause they are a known POS!

I'm looking into those Bosch replacements and they seem pretty good.

Here's a pic of the Bosch module:
http://www.nardek.com.au/nard400.jpg
It's part number: 9-222-067-021, but good luck finding this in the states.

Wow. That's different from the one I'm looking at; it looks just like the stock one.

A Bosch ignitor that looks just like the Mazda one? Really? What's the part number?

06130

Can anyone please supply me with example cars for these ignitors? Year, Make, Model, and Engine size.

It makes it easier for me to order the parts.

I'd like to get a hold of some of each. The Bosch, because they have a reputable name brand, and the GM HEI because it's supposedly $20 each.

You should be able to get the HEI module at *any* auto parts store. That's the beauty of using that part. Ask for an “HEI ignition module for a ‘77 Corvette”.

The Bosch part #9-222-067-021 was used with success by REVHED but they appear to be for Australian cars only and I can't find a source here in the US. Not sure about the #06130. I can't find any reference to that.

I found it at Summit Racing, but it's really no bargain at almost $155 each :(

http://www.nardek.com.au/nard400.htm

What year Toyota Corolla were tehy used in?

What the hell is a Nissan BlueBird or a Mistubishi Magna / Sigma? I've never heard of the Holden/Commodore.

And what Ford product were they used in? On second thought, maybe it's not such a good Idea to use this ignitor...

Maybe finding the American equivalent of this Australian part would work.

Yeah, my thoughts exactly. I've done a lot of googling and can't find any good info about interchangability of ignitors. And the Bosch sites pretty much suck.

I'm also a little concerned about the HEI ignitors, I wonder if they can keep up with our high reving rotaries. These ignitors seem to be designed for low redline V8's. Just a thought......

That Australian site was the only one to come up on Google with my search terms. I have really stringent search terms because I dont want to weed through every site that has one little reference to one of my search terms...

I assume that an ignitor is just a really big power transistor, converting a low level signal (Magnetic distributor pickup) to a high level signal (+12 Volts to primary side of the coils). It shouldn't have any problem with the switching time difference.

I think there's only one of those modules on the cars they come on. Since boingers fire half their cylinders per rotation, thats 4 triggers per rotation on a V8. Hence, at 5000 RPM, that's 20000 triggers per minute. The rotary fires one time for each rotor face per rotation. (Leading OR Trailing ONLY) So that's 3 times per rotation. Hence at 5000 RPM, that's 15000 Triggers per minute... It's actually lower.

On a totally unrelated note, I knew exactly what the HEI ignitor was when I saw the picture... I just can't remember what the cars were that I saw them in. They're in everything that has a GM V8

The video that I saw with this idea used a part like the one inittab mentioned. I will try to watch the video again and see if I can find a part number.

I've been thinking, even if the GM igniters are considered crap (do they fail often?) at $20US/per igniter opposed to $300US/per igniter, I can buy alot of crappy fail-sooner GM modules. Actually the GM ones can both fail simutaneously 15 times before the price difference equals out. For my '80 with the igniters already installed on the strut tower, could I just mount them on aluminum plate in the same place? How much more difficult would it be to wire up DLFIDIFDLDES with these ignitors opposed to the stock setup ? Thanks in Advance.

George " Always looking for a cheaper solution to stock parts"

One of the reasons why I am so curious about the GM ignitors is because of the apparent ease of wiring for DLIDFIS. The little connector on the back of the stock ignitor is a PITA. I'm also not so convinced that they are that unreliable. Heat is what would most likely kill these things. Installing them on a good heat sink material with heat sink compound should be sufficient for reliable operation.

So,

what's the verdict ???

I put three GM HEI ignitors on a rotary powered B2000. If one fails, it'll be easy and cheap to replace. I'd say go for it.

Wow, I musta had too much coffee that day. :D For the price, go for it, just carry a spare module. :)

You can get bad aftermarket parts anytime you go to a cheep autoparts store. The gm igniters are no more prone to falure than any other igniter.

Persionaly I have seen more Toyota igniters go out than gm igniters. The Toyota ones are 120$ each and are straped to every toyota I have had to work with (minivan, 79 truck, 82 truck, 94 truck&4runner, mr2)

I have had alot of chevy v8 trucks (7) and have never had a problem with the HEI igniter. Most people who have problems with them seem to have had the problem with them in a single vehicle; leading me to beleave that there was something wrong with those vehicles causing the ignitor to go out time and time again.

wtf? haha

I think I might try this when I do my 2GDFLIS, the price really is right.
Grant

P.S. What if I used the 2nd Gen ignitor in the bottom of the coil?

i mounted my gm igniters rite off my disty by the original top screw, i think they are slightly more reliable ythan stock, and yes i carry 2 spares, ps they put out 20%more spark duration than the stockers , my tach worked fine after i wired around the factory harness sraight to the tach, and off the leadings instead

Dankus,

Any pics of you setup? I'd like to see for myself how it looks when you got it all done 'cause I'm thinking about switching to the HEI modules myself.

Since you put them right in the stock location you probably didn't need a heatsink right?

Can you explain, maybe in more detail, how you got around the tach problems when switching to the GM units? Did you just rewire the tach or something?

Thanks!

Has anyone done this and is there a wiring diagram/\?

Kevin

This shows which color wire, from the pickup (red and green), goes where on the ignitors.

For quick easy future reference!
https://www.rx7club.com/forum/attach...d=226602&stc=1

I did the DLIDFIS setup on my '83 awhile back useing GM igniters. Did a write up with pictures and everything. Should be able to find it if you seach the archives. Works great!

- David

Jeff
Thanks Much. The price is a bonus along with my general theme of simple is better. Won't feel bad throwing my box in the trash.

Kevin

I've had the HEI on my Probe GT for over a year and 20k miles now (due to a "dead" disty) and haven't had problems. Seems like a good/cheap alternative for the RX7 too. I'll have to give it a shot later.

As for finding the module at stores. It was used on '75-82? Gm vehicles.

The GM part # is 10482820
Niehoff part # DR400
Wells part # DR100 (what I have)

The ignitors pictured above are DR100.

I started poking around and found out I have a couple more wires comin put the dist. I need to figure out where they go. But I wanted to tell you I bought the gm ignitors. I stopped a the local pepboys and they only had one. Figure that out. A part that is known to fail that was in a couple a million cars and they have one. Well none now. And boy did he look at me silly when I changed it from a 79 nova to a monte carlo.LOL

Kevin:wallbash:

Two Black wires coming out of dist that go coax, Connect them to ??? I have power at the ignitors power at the + on the coils but no spark. Only thng I haven't replaced is the cap and wires. I've been building the car for 7 years but it's only got 135 miles on it????

Kevin

sumadarutherfrickin....
 

Two brand new Hei's... one from poop boys and one from badvance. they were both bad. three days of playing to test other peoples parts. Never again

Kevin

I carry a couple of J109s in the glove compartment of each car, just in case. And they were cheaper used than the GM ignitor.

The trick is to make sure the heat generated by the ignitor is dissipated satisfactorily, which is why you must use heat conducting grease to mount them. You can get it at the autostore checkout counter, or at Radio Shack.

25 years of RX-7s and 4 on the road now, and I've never lost an ignitor.

Keep a spare J109, a packet of heat sink grease and a little offset (right angle) phillips screwdriver in the glove box and you're covered.

can you use this setup with the 12a motor.. if so, how could this be done "and mounted to/from the disty???"

https://www.rx7club.com/1st-generation-specific-1979-1985-18/dizzy-square-one-hole-wire-762316/ This and more just keep searching for ddflis and anything like it.

you guys have waay too much time on your hands.
i see stock igniters all day in the f/s section for $20-25.
i personally would never put anything gm on my 7.

Attachment 302953 Cleaned the wiring up today somewhat and thought I would send a pic for the thread. Can everyone else tell what's going on in this? Sometime when your real close to it you assume it's as plain as day.
Now if I could get it to start warmmmmm................. timing ???24 and 16??
If I do this the bolt is almost at the end of the slot. Do I need to bump the distrib over a tooth?

Hi, we need an igniter, have put in a rebuilt engine, and need a source for parts. This is our first RX 7, 1980, bought it running but leaking oil like a sieve, got the engine rebuilt, now seem to have to replace most of everything else. Put a new starter in, now the igniter has gone. Do you know where we can get one? Thanks, we are new here,