Ignition system

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Wrigs2019
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Joined: Sat Aug 24, 2019 1:45 pm

Ignition system

Post by Wrigs2019 »

Working on servicing the ignition system on my SII 330GT. I’ve been searching old posts and have lined up some items that I think I will need. Items include a Blue 12v Bosch ignition coil, 25 feet of Packard 440 spark plug wire and 12 Bosch spark plug wire ends (Bakelite 1k ohm). I will try to attach some pics. Just want to get a consensus that these parts are correct.
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Wrigs2019
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Re: Ignition system

Post by Wrigs2019 »

5F386F3D-59B3-43F0-8BF4-FC8584515E79.png
Wire
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Wrigs2019
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Re: Ignition system

Post by Wrigs2019 »

Spark plug connector
E5F05898-0B74-450F-AFE0-E81DEEBCFC16.png
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330Jim
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Re: Ignition system

Post by 330Jim »

Depends on what your definition of correct is. The Bakelite ends are the correct style and will work just fine. The wires should be Cavis not Packard but if you use some carb cleaner to remove the name not many people will notice they are not the same as the factory ones. The Bosch coil will work as long as you do not use the factory resistor. Visually the coil is the most obvious incorrect part, it should be a Morrelli (sp?) Which are a dark red in color and they should have an external resistor. Again do not use a resistor with the Bosch coil. Functionally what you have will work perfectly. If you want to use the factory resistor, but use a more common coil. Look for a Bosch red coil, assuming they are still available.

Cheers Jim
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tyang
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Re: Ignition system

Post by tyang »

There are a bunch of directions you can go with the ignition system. Are the coils missing on this car?

Any solid core black 7mm ignition wire will work. You will also need grommets to insulate them at the spark plug tubes. The ceramic resistors are commonly used but actually not concours correct. Orange or black rubber boots are more correct. The 1 ohm resistor ends are to help cut down some of the RF interference on the radio, but who listens to the radio on these cars? These resistors also fail, and cut down on spark energy, so I don't use them.


Tom
'63 330 America #5053
tim
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Re: Ignition system

Post by tim »

Greetings... I tried the Bosch resistor terminals and the car never ran well. I changed to some Rajah Hotrod terminals and problem over. The Bosch Blue coils are the smaller diameter than the Marelli ones by about 1/8 inch (you metric guys can figure that out for yourselves). I have searched for a good coil that will be the same diameter and haven't found one yet. As to the appearance, there is a wonderful new product called "paint" , If you do a search here for the postings about painting coils and resistors with the "correct" (I hate that word) color you will find a thread second in length only to the one about air horns.

Tim
1964 330GT 5769 -the big yellow taxi 61&66 Morgan +4's Daimler SP250 Turner 950S and some other dull stuff plus a brand Mercedes C300 4matic
330Jim
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Re: Ignition system

Post by 330Jim »

The Bakelite resistors are easy to check, just use an ohm meter and do a resistance check on them, they should be 1k ohms. Ideally there should be about 10k of resistance from the rotor contact point in the distributor to the end that fits on the spark plugs. I regularly check this resistance when looking for ignition problems. Realistically anything from 0 ohms to something over 20k ohms will work. Very high resistance will cause issues, usually the problem wires have infinate resistance when you have a bad wire. I also compare the resistance of each wire to the other ones. If there is one that is substantially different than the other I will take a closer look at the ends of the wire and test things like the resistor. Sometimes I find the resistor is not screwed in correctly on the wire and reinstalling it fixes the issue. If the resistance in your wires is close to zero and you are not running a special wire ie spiral wrapped, then I would recommend running a resistor spark plug.

FYI I do run the Bakelite resistors on a couple of my cars. Mine are old and I did find a few bad ones that I have replaced with ones that tested good.
I have also used new bakelite resistors on another car without issue, but I believe a couple of those failed the wire resistance test above and I had to reinstall them to get a good connection.

Cheers Jim
DWR46
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Re: Ignition system

Post by DWR46 »

Tom: I would be careful regarding the spark plug connectors. Certainly, by about #6500, 330's used the Bosch style Bakelite connectors. I agree early 330's used black rubber boots, but the Bakelite connectors definitely appear later on the cars.
Wrigs2019
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Re: Ignition system

Post by Wrigs2019 »

Tom, I have their original Magnet Marelli coils. Are they something that can be serviced/rebuilt?

Leaning towards using the Rajah terminal connector. I have heard mixed opinions on solder type vs non-solder using the solid core wires. Any opinions from the forum?

Clint
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Wrigs2019
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Re: Ignition system

Post by Wrigs2019 »

Coil
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tyang
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Re: Ignition system

Post by tyang »

DWR46 wrote: Thu Apr 09, 2020 2:05 pm Tom: I would be careful regarding the spark plug connectors. Certainly, by about #6500, 330's used the Bosch style Bakelite connectors. I agree early 330's used black rubber boots, but the Bakelite connectors definitely appear later on the cars.
Hi Dyke,

You're right. I have my head around 250s these days and this 330 did use the bakelite connectors. Thanks for keeping me honest!

Tom
'63 330 America #5053
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tyang
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Re: Ignition system

Post by tyang »

Wrigs2019 wrote: Thu Apr 09, 2020 4:37 pm Tom, I have their original Magnet Marelli coils. Are they something that can be serviced/rebuilt?

Leaning towards using the Rajah terminal connector. I have heard mixed opinions on solder type vs non-solder using the solid core wires. Any opinions from the forum?

Clint
You can test them with an ohm meter. Does someone have the spec handy?

Tom
'63 330 America #5053
tim
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Re: Ignition system

Post by tim »

Greetings... Should be about 1.5 ohms and the resistor should be about 1.5 ohms as well. The Bosch Blue coil is about 3 ohms which is why you don't use and external resistor. The Kettering ignition system, which is what our cars have, like about 3 ohms resistance. This keeps the coils from overheating and the points from burning.

Tim
1964 330GT 5769 -the big yellow taxi 61&66 Morgan +4's Daimler SP250 Turner 950S and some other dull stuff plus a brand Mercedes C300 4matic
Wrigs2019
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Re: Ignition system

Post by Wrigs2019 »

Thanks Tim,

It appears one of my resistors is bad reading 9 ohms. Both coils and the other resistor are 1.5ohms. I’ll try to clean up the contact points to see if it needs to be replaced.

Clint
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Wrigs2019
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Re: Ignition system

Post by Wrigs2019 »

Here is my data point for “Regal Red” coil paint. I just cleaned up the resistors no paint.
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