Monday, 23 June 2014

Adjustable Ignition modifications

After having bought an adjustable pickup last year, I was disappointed that I couldn't get it to work with my zeeltronic ignition, after some investigation Borut sold me a more sensitive unit designed to work specifically with the Mark Dent adjustable pickup.

Since putting the engine back together I have been avoiding trying the ignition for fear of it still not working, so last weekend I bit the bullet, and sure enough it still didn't work! Fortunately the original Suzuki pickup still worked so I had a backup plan.

Moving the adjustable pickup back and forth I could sometimes see a signal by kicking it over, and looking at the rpm with the handheld programmer plugged into the ignition box, so I was thinking it was a problem of gap between the pickup and the crank web cut out. Also the sliding part of the adjustable ignition was not sitting flush with the body of the adjuster, which could also allow air leaks, so my plan was to take some material off the adjuster to have it sit flush with the body and also countersink the screw hole, to enable the pickup to sit lower, and close to the crank web.

I took off a couple of tenths in the lathe and then setup up the milling machine to drill the hole, managed to find a drill (just under 12mm diameter) and set about gently drilling the hole. I took off less than a millimetre before trying it out, and low and behold I can now get a signal even in the fully advanced position. I still used a good blob of gasket silicon, to ensure it is sealed correctly, but for the moment I should have sparks!